fu-GEN IS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS!

Submission Deadline: February 26, 2010 

fu-GEN is pleased to be a theatre recommender for the Theatre Creators’ Reserve (TCR).  We are a company that exists for Asian-Canadian artists and the work that is born out of them.  We exist to make our artists and our stories visible in the theatre community, in the Toronto community, and in the Canadian community. This is the mandate that we carved out seven years ago and this is the mandate that we stand by.

The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) Theatre Creators’ Reserve is a program that assists Ontario-based professional theatre creators - and informal collectives of individual creators - by funding them in the creation of new work. This program is assessed by theatre companies that act as third-party recommenders for the OAC. Recommenders receive applications directly from creators and forward grant recommendations to the OAC for authorization and payment.

Submission Criteria

Preference will be given to applications that fulfill our mandate.  This includes but is not limited to:

• Asian-Canadian playwrights “Asian” is inclusive of the Pan-Asian Pacific Rim

• Playwrights of Colour This is inclusive of all playwrights who are visible minorities

This is a wonderful opportunity for the creator to work on a first draft or a project in its early phases of development.  If the applicant is a collective, the grant allows for initial collaboration and exploration.

There is no prescribed theme, and playwrights are encouraged to submit all styles of work, 

including innovative pieces that involve multidisciplinary collaborations or test out new theatrical boundaries. We are open to a variety of approaches that each individual creator or collective may have.

Each application will be reviewed individually on its own merits and needs.  The maximum grant request is $5,000, although recommended recipients may not receive the full amount.

Submission Details

We require the following support material from all applicants:

• An up-to-date CV or resumé (theatre and/or playwriting)
• A letter of proposal and/or an outline of the project that includes: artistic goals and objectives relating to your piece, any other information about the project such as previous workshops, readings or dramaturgy and a brief statement describing how the project contributes to your development as an artist (max 3 pages)
• A writing sample (max 15 pages)
• 3 copies of the form available from the OAC website (www.ontarioartsfoundation.on.ca)
• OPTIONAL:  SASE with enough postage to cover the material you wish returned. All other materials will be recycled
• A budget listing your expenses that clearly shows how you plan to allocate the funds you may receive for the duration of the time you propose to write.

Example: 

Subsistence: 3  months rent @ 600/month = 1800.00

Supplies:  Paper, Ink, Writing Pad = 300.00

Inspiration: Diet Coke/Red Bull = 100.00

Total Expenses = $2200.00

If you have a script or a project you would like to submit to fu-GEN for consideration, please download the applicant package from the OAC website. For further information about eligibility and requirements of Theatre Creators’ Reserve please visit the OAC website.Some useful tips about creating an appropriate application:For Individual Artists:To be eligible for OAC project funding, a person must:1. Be a resident of Ontario2. Be a Canadian citizen or a Permanent Resident of Canada or have an application pending for Permanent Resident status and, if requested, be able to provide documentation to verify this.3. Have been resident in Ontario for at least a year before the application is made4. Continue to live in Ontario for at least eight months a year (with the following exceptions): Artists who live in Ontario may leave the province for up to one year and continue to be eligible for OAC support if the absences are temporary (e.g. for an educational or artistic opportunity) and they do not also apply for support from the jurisdiction of their temporary residence.5. Be a professional artist. The OAC defines a professional artist as someone who has developed skills through training and/or practice, and is recognized as such by artists working in the same artistic tradition, and has a history of public presentation or publication, and seeks payment for her or his work and actively practises his or her art.*Short breaks in artistic work history are allowed.FOR COLLECTIVES:The program also accepts applications from creation collectives, but not organizations. The same rules apply for collectives as individuals with the following addition:1. Must operate on a not-for-profit basis and be composed mainly of professional artists or arts professionals with at least 50% of the members located in Ontario.(Individual recommenders may have additional eligibility requirements relating to geography, gender, culture, etc.)Ineligible ActivityThe following are not eligible for funding:1. Applications from individuals or collectives whose reports for previously awarded OAC grants are overdue or incomplete.2. Work that has been completed before you have received notification by the recommender.3. The cost of buying equipment such as computers or printers.4. Professional expenses such as the costs of translation, dramaturgy, etc.5. Creation of non-theatre work – e.g. fiction, poetry, film, radio or TV, etc.6. Production or workshop costs.Click the link for a list of other theatre companies taking part in the Theatre Creators’ Reserve Program Last year, fu-GEN was able to make recommendations on behalf of three artists:Jane Luk, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Romeo Candido