rEvolver Festival 2027 Call for Submissions

ORGANIZATION: Upintheair Theatre
DEADLINE: Aug. 7, 2026
WEBSITE: https://upintheairtheatre.com/opportunities/artists/

CALL FOR ARTISTS:
UpInTheAir Theatre is now accepting applications for the rEvolver Festival, May 26 – June 6, 2027. We invite submissions from artistically and culturally diverse companies and artists from across Canada to have their work considered for presentation.

Download the full application form at: https://upintheairtheatre.com/opportunities/.

**If a written application is a significant barrier to your participation, please notify us in advance to discuss how we can accommodate your needs, such as through a verbal process, video, or assistance with your application. Contact us at dave@upintheairtheatre.com, sarah@upintheairtheatre.com, and/or our Access Coordinator: Amy Amantea amy@upintheairtheatre.com.

About the Festival:
rEvolver is an incubator of new work with a focus on formal innovation, supporting artists or companies who identify as emerging and/or early/mid-career at transformative junctions in their careers.

The festival presents adventurous and high-energy works, bringing audiences the full range of contemporary performance, from script-based theatre to devised and site-specific works, dance, and installation. rEvolver features primarily new Canadian work, although we will also consider submissions wishing to premiere reinterpretations of existing works. We program work with a strong artistic vision that takes risks and is reflective of diverse voices and experiences.

We invite artists of all ages, abilities, cultural practices, races, ethnicities, socio-economic statuses, genders, religions, and sexual orientations to apply and to participate in the festival.

How Do We Define Emerging and Early/Mid Career?
UpInTheAir has a broad and inclusive definition of emerging. We encourage you to address how you self-define in your application. Possible examples could include:
– Recent graduates from professional training programs.
– Mid-career artists attempting to grow or transform their practice significantly, such as taking on a new role or embarking on a transformative artistic journey.
– “Re-emerging” or mature artists who have been away from artistic practice or are looking to launch new practices at later phases of their lives.
– Artists who don’t necessarily work in the arts regularly or who have never participated in a festival before.

** There will be one Zoom “Town Hall” meeting for artists to ask questions of our curatorial and technical team. Townhall: Monday, July 13th, 2026, at 4 PM PDT.

For 2027, we are seeking submissions in the following formats and categories. Shows may qualify for multiple formats:

Proposal Formats
1. Live Format Performance: Theatre, dance, interactive art installation, performance art, and/or interdisciplinary works for live, in-person performance.
2. Digital Format Performance: Presentation-ready live or pre-recorded performances/experiences for virtual space, such as websites, VR, mixed reality tech, or interactive online shows that require minimal technical support.

Proposal Categories
Multiple Categories may apply. Please note all that apply.
1. Mainstage Performance Run: 3-5 performances of a prepared performance that is show-ready.
2. Interactive works: Games, micro-performances, roving/site-specific performances or other processes engaging audiences in a participatory fashion.
3. Off-Site “Bring Your Own Venue” Presentation: Live presentations staged at other venues provided at artists' expense.
4. Works in Progress Presentations*: Short run, live presentations of new works in early stages of development.
5. Work in Progress Readings: By donation, live, Zoom-based, or hybrid readings of new scripts.
6. One Day Conversations & Workshops: live or online artist talks and/or workshops.

*NEW this year: Works in progress presentations will now have the option to be considered for a mainstage performance run at the following rEvolver Festival in 2028.

UpInTheAir Theatre will Provide Festival Participants with:
– A performance guarantee, festival tickets, and box-office split and/or donation collection options.
rEvolver guarantees are based on the number of artists involved in the production and show runs. Each production will be presented with an offer based on these calculations prior to joining the cohort of festival artists. For more info on the calculations, please see page 5 below.
– Financial assistance with access and cultural safety needs.
– A venue and/or workshop space.
– Festival advertising and marketing, including website, social media, brochure, and press releases.
– Front of House and Box Office services.
– Professional Archival Video *This is dependent on the festival film schedule.
– Access to professional development and training opportunities.
– If required, a venue technician, support from the Festival Technical Staff, and/or technical equipment.
– Festival Partnership with a local community organization to assist with marketing and promotion.
NOTE: Partnerships are not guaranteed for all presentations and are subject to availability.
– Local Companies/Artists Only: Shared use of rehearsal space leading up to the festival.
– National Companies/Artists Only: Assistance with Travel Costs OR Technical Expenses to support rehearsal and/or streaming activities in your home city.
NOTE: National Submissions must be a minimum of 400km away from Vancouver to receive Travel Costs.
NOTE: Works in Progress Presentations and Readings do not qualify for Assistance with Travel Costs.

IMPORTANT NOTE - Festival Venue Stage Manager Requirement:
rEvolver Festival requires that all presentations held at The Cultch (including Works in Pro) have a Stage Manager or Technical Lead to call the show and connect with venue and festival staff during tech rehearsal and the performance run. rEvolver does not provide presentations with show-specific production staff. If this is a barrier for your application, please contact us for support.

HOW TO APPLY:
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

1. Application Form: Fill out all fields of the form (online form or PDF) and submit. https://upintheairtheatre.com/opportunities/.

2. Project Information:
– Project Summary: Maximum 150 words.
– Letter of Intent: Give an overview of your proposed project. Include what excites you about this project and why you think it is appropriate for rEvolver. Maximum 2 pages.
– The Show: Submit a script, a maximum 10-page excerpt that gives us a sense of your piece, or a one to two-page outline. For non-text-based work, include a detailed description of the work.
– Artistic Team - List of Key Artists, short 150-word max bios and, if applicable, Company History. No resumes.
– Tech Rider: A document outlining the show’s venue, tech/digital needs, and specifications.
Note: rEvolver has a limited technical budget, equipment, and venue options. Proposals with multiple technical needs may be less successful due to festival technical capacity.

Please include the following in your Letter of Intent:
1. Where it stands in its development, what you plan to do, and how you plan to do it.
2. Detail the nature of your production and the elements that make it up. Examples:
– Production elements including set, audio, projection, and production team size/composition.
– Needs for technical and/or digital support.
– Touch on what communities or audiences your project speaks to or engages.
– Are there outreach or additional activities (i.e. workshops, conversations, etc.) that might be associated with the show?
– Artist or team accessibility and/or cultural safety requirements.
– Does the work integrate accessibility in any of its production elements? (i.e., ASL
interpretation, low-vision friendly, subtitles, relaxed performances, etc.).
– Any other information you believe will be relevant to our understanding of your work.
– For OFF-SITE only: Please provide a clear plan of how you will engage your off-site venue.

3. Support Materials (optional but recommended): May include reviews of your work or letters of support.

4. Promotional Materials (optional but recommended): Any available promotional material, including but not limited to promotional or production photos, press kit, press release, posters, or fliers.

5. Production Video (optional but recommended): A link to an online video of the work, work-in-progress, or previous works. If the link requires a password, please include this.

6. $35 Reading Fee: If the submission fee represents a barrier to application, please select the No-Fee Option. Indigenous applications are encouraged to select the No-Fee option.
Reading Fees are Payable by
a. Cheque made out to Up In The Air Theatre Society.
b. PayPal via link on the submission web page. (A processing fee will be charged by PayPal).
c. E-transfer to info@upintheairtheatre.com (with note including project title).

** NOTE: Submissions using AI-generated content will not be considered.

FEES/COMPENSATION:
rEvolver Guaranteed Fee Information
Artists receive a performance guarantee and box-office split and/or donation collection options based on the category of submission, the number of artists involved, and the number of performances allotted by the curatorial team.

Guarantee Fee Calculations

National Presentation Fees:
$250 minimum/performance for each Performing Artist/Stage Manager.
$100 royalty honorarium/performance for writer and design team.
Maximum 4 performances.
National Fees are based on the presentation of a remount of a pre-existing, fully rehearsed, designed and directed performance.
National artists do not receive box office splits.
Travel fees are based on a per diem of $150/day, return flight costs from the place of origin to Vancouver, and approved freight for set, props, costumes and equipment.

Local Presentation Fees:
$150 minimum/performance for each Performing Artist/Stage Manager.
$50 royalty honorarium/performance for writer and design team.
Maximum 5 performances.
Local Fees are based on the presentation of a remount of a pre-existing, fully rehearsed, designed and directed performance.
Local artists receive 50% of the net box office receipts.

Work in Progress Presentations Fees:
$100 minimum/public sharing of work for each Performing Artist/Stage Manager/Director.
$50 royalty honorarium/public sharing of work for writer and design team.
Maximum 2 public sharings.
Work in Progress Fees are based on the presentation of creation projects that are not “set” and are still in development, but may include design and technical elements.
Work in Progress artists receive 50% of net donations/box office receipts.

Work in Progress - Reading Fees:
$75 minimum/reading for each Performing Artist/Stage Manager/Director/Writer.
Maximum 1 Reading Presentation.
Work in Progress Reading Fees are based on the reading of new scripts that are in development. Readings do not include design and technical elements.
Work in Progress artists receive 100% of net donations/box office receipts.

Workshop/Conversation Facilitator Fees:
Scaled $100 - $300 based on event details and number of facilitators/scope of the workshop and/or conversation.
Maximum 1 Workshop Presentation.