Permafrost Theatre Collective Puts Out Open Call to Artists and Performers of Color

During the pandemic, Permafrost Theatre Collective has been doing their part to keep live arts alive. Their 'Icebreaker Series', a free play reading and music showcase program, quickly transitioned to a live-streaming format as theatre shut down across the country. They have been bringing quality indie-theatre to the internet for the last three months and are currently looking to expand their roster of new talent of color to feature.

Their online theatrical programming has thus-far seen work from writers such as Mackenzie Lansing (HBO's 'The Deuce'), Thomas Burns Scully (WB Yeats Playwriting Award Winner) and SMJ (Resident Artist at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center), while their live music sessions have showcased artists like Heroine, My First Day, Freya Wilcox, Riiza, and more. These events served to workshop new art whilst raising funds for both the Collective and charities such as the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition.

PTC's past work includes their critically praised Edinburgh Fringe show 'Are You Alice: A New Wonderland Tale'. Called "a haunting oneiric journey," by award-winning author Neil Gaiman and described as "an entrancing theatrical collage of words and songs" by punk musician and activist Amanda Palmer, 'Are You Alice' was a re-imagining and repurposing of the world and text of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice' books. The piece was conceived and directed by PTC founding artistic director Christina Rose Ashby.

As they gear up for their next 'Icebreaker Series', PTC is opening up their digital doors for submissions. They are looking for early-career writers and musicians willing to push the boundaries of live online theatre performance. Their outreach is focused on achieving inclusivity within the Collective, specifically calling for submissions from those who identify as artists of color.

For their reading series, they are looking for full-length scripts that are works-in-progress to be read on Zoom with a full cast and director provided by the Collective.

For their 'Plugged In' at-home concerts, they are looking for musicians and singers who can perform original songs, self-accompanied via webcam as part of a lineup of 6-10 artists.

They are also soliciting for short 1-2 minute pieces for their new 'Script to Screen' initiative. Begun in the pandemic as a promotional tool for their long-form readings, this format has expanded into its own medium. 'Script to Screen' sees brief excerpts of full-length plays or specifically written short scripts fully-voiced by actors, animated, and released for easy consumption on social-media.

Notable recent examples from the 'Script to Screen' series include a Juneteenth manifesto titled 'Personal Reparations' by Javana Mundy and a surreal comic monologue by Keegan Tucker called 'Ball Pit' released for Pride month.

See the below link for full details and submission address. The deadline is July 22nd.

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