This Call for Submissions is now closed.
Deadline to Apply: May 15, 2020 at 5:00pm ET
Generator recognizes that producing is a creative practice. We reject the binary that separates “boring, efficient office worker” from “passionate, clueless creative” and embrace the exciting, fertile and collaborative space where arts management and live performance meet. We enthusiastically invite submissions from individuals from a diversity of performing arts practices who want to participate in Generator’s collaborative work culture. We especially welcome applications from folks from equity-seeking groups, including those who identify as: Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, Trans, Nonbinary, Queer, Disabled and intersections of those identities.
About the program
If you are an independent producer, self-producing artist, production manager, designer, or an artist who wants to learn how to make art happen more efficiently, Generator’s one-year paid Artist Producer Training (APT) program is for you. Over the course of the past five years of APT cohorts, the program has transformed the careers of twenty-seven Artist Producers.
APT is an intimate program with only six participants. Participants will learn effective producing strategies over the course of two semesters of coursework led by experienced independent artists and companies, followed by one practicum project with a mentor company. Graduates will gain skills to sustain a career in the arts, create and implement projects and budgets that have the goal of paying a better wage to artists, and improve the overall health of the performing arts ecology. We are particularly interested in applicants whose practices work from a social justice/equity framework and who are currently working on self-produced projects.
A bit about who we generally work with
APT participants tend to have been practicing as producers for a little while before beginning the program. This may mean, for example, a Fringe show or two. They have tried their hand at bringing a show from concept to audience. If they went to a performance training program or completed other post-secondary education (although there is no requirement to have done so), generally they have been out of that program for 5+ years. They have already done a lot of work on understanding the complexity of performance in Toronto/Canada and have done or led work in social justice.
2020/21 dates
Classes run for two three-month semesters between October 2020-May 2021, once per week on Mondays, with some Saturday sessions. Work on assignments happens outside of class time. Practicum schedules will vary but run between May-August 2021. Class attendance is mandatory. 2020/21 session dates are as follows:
Welcome Potluck: Thursday, September 24, 2020 6:30-9:30pm
2020 Stage 1: October 3 – December 14, 2020
Mondays 6:30-9:30pm (excluding October 12)
Saturdays 11:00am-5:00pm: October 3, November 7, December 5
(additionally, as public assembly guidelines allow, the cohort will attend a live performance)
2021 Stage 2: March 1 – May 18, 2021
Mondays 6:30-9:30pm (excluding April 5)
Saturdays 11:00am-5:00pm: March 6, April 10, May 1
Final Evaluation: Monday, May 17 and Tuesday, May 18, 6:30-9:30pm
(additionally, as public assembly guidelines allow, the cohort will attend a live performance)
The total fee paid to each participant for completing the Artist Producer Training Program is $1,750, disbursed in installments regularly throughout Stage 1 and Stage 2, and upon completion of the practicum.
Generator access information
We will be hosting APT at a space that will be wheelchair accessible and in the general vicinity of downtown Toronto. Details to follow once we have confirmed the access needs of the cohort.
We encourage applicants to contact us about access needs. Please note we have limited financial capacity to support specific access needs (e.g. we are not able to provide funds for Sign Language Interpretation, attendant or child care), but we are committed to working with successful applicants to apply for external funding and generate creative solutions to meet individual needs.
Generator's philosophy is one-size-fits-one - please reach out and we can discuss what access to this program could look like for you.Please also contact us if you require assistance with your application.
Learn more before you apply
Read our Frequently Asked Questions blog post
PAST - Open “House” - April 27, 2020, 2:00-3:00pm on Facebook Live
Watch the recording on Facebook here. Sedina Fiati and Kristina Lemieux give a short presentation about APT, start answering questions at 26:00, and move into a full question-and-answer period form 36:00-1:04:00. Check the comments on the video to see the questions (answered in order that they were asked).
PAST - Chat with the Generator Team - May 6, 2020, 6:30-8:00pm on Zoom
Chat with Generator staff (Lead Producer Kristina Lemieux or Artist Producer Training Facilitator Sedina Fiati) to get your questions answered one on one.
Watch our video playlist
This YouTube playlist will guide you through the application process (but please note it was created for 2019/20, so please refer to this Call for Submissions for the most accurate and current information), and introduce you to several Artist Producer Training graduates who discuss their experiences in the program.
Sedina and Kristina discuss the APT application process (please note some details have changed for 2020/21; this video was made for the 2019/20 application)
How to apply
Submissions will be accepted via a form on AirTable until May 15, 2020 at 5:00pm ET (please note the link has been removed as submissions are now closed). There is a written component, as well as a video component. Here’s what the form will ask you:
Tell us about your philosophy and values as a producer or artist producer and incorporate answers to the following questions (max 1500 characters or 750 words):
Who is your audience?
How do you define your artistic practice, considering both form and discipline?
What motivates your practice?
What is your social justice/equity framework and how does it apply to the work you do?
Please provide a link to a maximum 3-minute video in which you discuss your producing practice. Please include the following in your video (there are no correct answers to these questions - we just want to get to know you better):
How do you define yourself as an artist and where are you at in your career?
Why do you want to take on a producing role?
Do you currently self-identify as a producer or artist producer?
Attach a resume or CV, including contact information for two references, as a single PDF.
Attach one letter of reference as a PDF (may be the same as reference listed on resume).
We’ll ask you to acknowledge that you have read through the dates, and that there is a maximum total of three absences permitted in order to participate in the program. If you have conflicts, you’ll be asked to list them and we will also discuss them in further detail if you are called in for an interview.
You will have an option to complete some voluntary self-identification questions.
Anything else you'd like to share?
Notice & Interviews
We aim to be in touch with all applicants by May 25, 2020. Interviews will likely be via online video conference. Applicants selected for interviews will be interviewed at a time on Thursday, May 28, 5:00-9:30pm or Saturday, May 30, 11:30am-4:00pm.
Please contact sedina@generatorto.com if you have any questions.