Produce at NC Stage!

NC Stage's Catalyst Series is now accepting proposals for the 2012-2013 Season! Bring us your original scripts, your choreography, your genre-bending performances...

NC Stage provides a basic infrastructure, help with ticket sales and marketing, and NO UPFRONT costs, so that you can produce your dream project. Then we take a cut of the back end to cover our expenses. So read the guidelines below, and let's talk!

For a printable version of these guidelines as well as the application, email Managing Director Amanda Leslie, or call (828) 239-0263 ext. 112

Catalyst Series Guidelines

2012-2013 Season

The Catalyst Series offers a chance for performing arts groups to produce in our space with limited up-front expense.

NC Stage’s philosophy is collaborative, and in the Catalyst Series, NC Stage agrees to shoulder some of the responsibilities of presenting, so that Catalyst companies can focus their resources on making their production the best it can be. In addition to free use of its theatre, NC Stage provides some technical, marketing, and front of house support. In exchange, NC Stage and the participating company split the box office proceeds, with the majority going to the producing company. (NC Stage will take 40% of the gross receipts, before expenses).

 
Catalyst Series shows run for one or two weekends, scheduled around the NC Stage Mainstage productions. We cannot guarantee specific dates, but we do ask for information about preferences and potential conflicts.

Producing in the Catalyst Series is a financial commitment, and the participating company is responsible for all costs of the production not covered by the Catalyst contract. Please see the requirements below for more details.

NCSC Will Provide:

• Free use of the theatre for load-in, tech, & dress
• Free use of the theatre for up to 6 performances

• Tickets

• Use of the NCSC Catalyst Series logo and brand
• Space in NCSC’s window on Haywood Street for marketing materials
• Coverage on NCSC’s website, email newsletters and social media
• Use of NCSC’s mailing list
• Box office staffing, including advance sales over the phone, in person, and on the web
• Use of basic lighting and sound systems (you will need to rent any additional items)
• Box office manager for up to six performances
• House manager for up to six performances
• Master electrician (up to 12 hours)

You Will Provide

• Stage manager
• Board operators (if needed)

• Production costs
• Designers
• Rehearsal space
• Playbills
• Posters/Postcards/Advertising/Press releases and any other publicity efforts
• Mention in curtain speech and other public promotional events of being part of NCSC’s Catalyst Series, as well as a plug for whatever show is coming up next
• Graphic Design
• 24 total volunteer hours for other Catalyst companies or NC Stage’s mainstage series
• All other costs

In addition to the services provided, NCSC is sometimes able to offer a discounted rate for things like advertising, rehearsal space and rental of theatrical equipment. This will depend on what resources are already being used by our Mainstage Productions.

PLEASE NOTE:

• NC Stage has limited backstage and dressing room space, and is not appropriate for casts of more than 12.
• NC Stage has a modified three-quarter thrust stage, NOT a proscenium.
• NC Stage encourages a collegial atmosphere in the Catalyst series. Companies are required to volunteer for each other, and encouraged to attend each other’s productions.
• Companies selected must sign a contract and liability release form with NC Stage

• You agree to consult with NCSC on designers, ticket prices and marketing plan, as well as technical needs and scheduling
• You will need to provide contact information for the artistic leader of the company, to field questions from the public

The 2012-2013 Catalyst Series Application Guidelines:

DEADLINE: April 30 , 2012

The application process is competitive. NC Stage evaluates each proposal on its artistic merit, the thoroughness of the application, the potential audience, and how it differs from (and complements) NCSC’s Mainstage offerings.

Before you apply, please contact Managing Director Amanda Leslie to discuss your project at (828) 239-0263 ext. 112 or amanda@ncstage.org.

After you discuss the application with Amanda, please submit four copies of the application (you can download it at www.ncstage.org), and one copy of the script (if applicable).

Delivery by hand:

We are located on Stage Lane, off of Walnut St. in downtown Asheville, across the street from Zambra. See www.ncstage.org for directions

By mail:

Attn: Catalyst Submissions

North Carolina Stage Company

15 Stage Lane

Asheville, NC 28801

We cannot accept applications by fax or email.

A day in the life of a professional theatre

Hi y'all,

Amanda Leslie, Managing Director, here! I have a blog post full of miscellaneous tidbits, but I thought it would be more fun to couch it in terms of what goes on at NC Stage on a typical day.

This morning we held our weekly staff meeting. Charlie Flynn-McIver couldn't be there because he's in Raleigh for the 2012 Arts Summit, hosted by Arts NC. This organization is a vital advocate for the arts in our state, so check them out, and then buy an awesome license plate!

Our Education Coordinator Alexa Hardy is working on an amazing project with Teaching Artist and actor Michael MacCauley. In June, Michael's Young Actor Training students will perform Shakespeare's The Tempest, in a fully mounted production at NC Stage! In order to pull this off, we're holding a fundraiser at Blue Mountain Pizza in Weaverville, as part of their Third Thursday charitable program. Thursday April 19th, a portion of all of their proceeds will go to NC Stage's education programs. So come on out and have some pizza with us!

I spent part of my day putting up posters for Circle Mirror Transformation, which runs through April 22nd. Glamorous! My challenge half-way through the run is to remind folks it's not too late to see it. Plus, $17 Wednesdays!

Lauren Kriel is busy producing, publicizing, and appearing in the show 8: The Play. NC Stage is participating in a one-night-only reading of this amazing play at the Diana Wortham Theatre, tonight, April 10th.

By the way, if you're reading this on April 10th, it's not too late to get tickets to "8"! They are $15, and benefit the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

Angie Flynn-McIver is at Diana Wortham Theatre directing "8", and getting ready for In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl. The designers will meet with Angie tomorrow to discuss the set, lights, costumes and props (including the need for authentic 19th Century vibrators!) and then she begins rehearsals Monday.

Connie Silver, our Production Coordinator, is making sure there are volunteers available to strike the set, keeping the production costs under budget, and getting ready for her summer of working at Flat Rock Playhouse (we reluctantly share her when we're not producing).

All in all, it's a pretty average Tuesday for us.

What the heck does "Circle Mirror Transformation" mean?

Circle Mirror Transformation is the delightful and poignant play on stage through April 22nd. The title of this blog post is the most common question we're getting in the box office right now (well, most common after "Where do I find parking?"). We thought we'd talk a little bit about the play title and the kind of theatre games that the characters play in their "Adult Creative Drama" class. For more about why we chose this play, read this recent post from director Willie Repoley.

Our Education Coordinator Alexa Hardy researched the topic and wrote the following:

Circle Mirror Transformation gets its title from a theatre game, one of the many games played on stage during the show. You may recognize some of the games, as they are played everywhere from theatre classes to corporate retreats to classrooms on the first day of school. They were created for actors, but they reach far beyond the stage in their purpose and goals: focus, creativity, confidence, trust, teamwork, communication, and connection.

When asked about writing Circle Mirror Transformation, playwright Annie Baker said, “I knew I wanted the audience to learn about the characters through formal theater exercises … I knew I wanted information about these people to come out in the strangest places, and I wanted us to know them all intimately by the end of the play, but without having heard any lines of dialogue like: ‘Hey, Marty. Remember when we fell in love 20 years ago in Eureka, California?’ I also wanted to show how beautiful (and noble!) it is when people throw themselves earnestly and unselfconsciously into something, even if it's a therapeutic reenactment.” These games and their outcomes are the foundation the play. Here are examples of just a few of the games you’ll see on stage in Circle Mirror Transformation:

Counting to 10 (aka No Doubles; Digits): Participants count from 1 to 10. One person begins by saying “1,” a second player says “2,” and so on. There are a few rules: only one person can speak at a time, and if two or more people call out a number at once, the group goes back to one and starts again. The group may not go in a pre-established order, nor may gesturing or signaling be used. This is surprisingly hard. This game helps with focus and concentration, and helps participants work together without speaking.

Gibberish Switch: Two participants have a conversation in nonsense syllables. Participants should convey what they are talking about through their actions. After a minute or two of conversation, the other people in the class guess what the relationship is and/or what the conflict might be. This game helps actors “play an objective,” or communicate what they want or need through actions rather than words.

(I want it/You can’t have it): This game is a follow-up to Gibberish Switch. Two participants have a conversation, but this time they each have a predetermined phrase that is the only thing they can say in their conversation. The participants then hold a conversation based on those two phrases, determining their relationship and the situation. This activity promotes characterization and playing an objective.

Circle Mirror Transformation (aka Pass the Sound and Movement; Pass Catch; Sound Circle): Everyone stands in a circle. One person starts the game by making a sound and a motion, and everyone in the circle mirrors that sound and movement. The person next to whomever started then transforms the gesture into a new sound and movement. This game is often used as a warm up to help students get used to fully using their bodies and voices without feeling self-conscious. This is the only game in the play that is actually improvised by the actors during each performance.

One Word Story: In this game, participants each contribute one word at a time to create a story. Everyone sits in a circle, and one person begins by saying one word. The next person continues with one word, and so on. The key is to keep the story going and have it make sense without missing a beat. This game helps with listening, focus, and following your first impulse.

Explosion Tag: From the playwright: “Explosion tag is basically regular tag, except you’re supposed to ‘explode’ when tagged. When you’re tagged you also become It, and as It you’re supposed to be exploding constantly.”