Applications Now Open For Apples And Oranges Arts Theatre Accelerator: The Heroine's Journey In XR

Apples and Oranges Arts is currently accepting submissions for the Spring 2023 cohort of THEatre ACCELERATOR: The Heroine's Journey in XR - an immersive virtual musical theatre development program geared towards developing and distributing musicals on stage, and in mixed realities.

In The Heroine's Journey in XR, creative teams will explore female-driven stories using the not often explored Heroine's Journey as a primary tool, with assistance from the latest in technology, including AI.

With a generous grant from the Melinda Gates Pivotal Foundation, in partnership with the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), THEatre ACCELERATOR: The Heroine's Journey in XR offers creative teams on opportunity to explore how AR and VR can be used to help develop, iterate, rehearse and distribute their female-supportive stories. Teams receive technology to assist in their experimentation and investigation along with access to some of the top professionals in the emerging field today.

Applying the model that accelerates technology start-ups, THEatre ACCELERATOR treats artists as founders, creating an opportunity to interact with experts in the storytelling, production, financing, distribution and business of show business.

The three-week long program is conducted virtually, allowing artists from across the globe to participate, and culminates with "Sing Tank" where participants present their projects live and virtually to theatre and tech industry veterans. THEatre ACCELERATOR: The Heroine's Journey in XR runs from April 24th - May 15th, 2023.

Beginning with book, music, and lyrics, participants utilize lean development methods to grow their shows in a collaborative environment. Daily mentors have included  Randi Zuckerberg (Zuckerberg Media), Alice Brooks (cinematography), Dr. Amma Khartay Tagoe-Kootin (producer and alum), Brisa Trinchero (Princess Grace Foundation), Deirdre Lyons (award winning XR artist/producer), Shakina Nayfack (Musical Theatre Factory), Deborah Barrera (Fire Mused Productions) and  Donna Lynn Hilton (Goodspeed Musicals) among many others.

Apples and Oranges Arts underwrites all costs for the competitive THEatre ACCELERATOR program, making it free for all participants. Musical theatre writers, composers and lyricists with female identifying team members and/or stories that highlight and honor women who have an interest in exploring their shows in new realities should have at least a completed first draft of script, score and music demos to be considered. Applications, as well as additional information about the program, can be found at  https://nycoc.org/ta-vr-heroines-journey/. Applications for both classes are due on March 20th, 2023.