Opportunities for Artists: Next Stage

Applications for the 2025 festival are closed. Stay tuned for more details!

ABOUT THE NEXT STAGE theatre FESTIVAL 

The Next Stage Theatre Festival presents a curated program of independent theatre and performing artists chosen by the Next Stage Selection Committee. The 17th annual festival took place October 16-27, 2024, and be presented at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, in the heart of downtown Toronto.

The Next Stage Theatre Festival accepts submissions from indie artists/companies based in Canada.

The selection committee commits to reserving at least 50% of production spots for artists who are Indigenous, Black, or Persons of Colour. In late 2020 The Toronto Fringe underwent an EDI Audit conducted by Where You Are Consulting. Implementing this 50% minimum guarantee is a step to directly address some of the imbalances and gaps that exist in the demographics reflected on Fringe and Canada’s stages.

• The Festival will present both in-person and live virtual productions offered to audiences online globally. 
• Up to 6 indie artists/companies will be selected to produce a fully staged production in rep, presented in either The Chamber (approx. capacity 140) or Cabaret (capacity up to 90)
• Up to 6 indie artists/companies will be selected to produce a real time virtual performance experience.
• Each company will be offered a performance run of at least 6 performances: seating capacity approx. 90-140, depending on public health guidelines. Ticket prices will be set between $18-$25.
• There is no fee to participate in the festival; the box office will be split 70:30 in favour of the participating company (70% revenue to you, 30% retained by Toronto Fringe).
• Applications will be considered of either fully realized productions with significant production value that are ‘ready to be picked up’ and seen by presenters and programming theatre companies OR full productions of work that is distinctly in development, or being workshopped.
• Applications will be considered for in-person or virtual performance concepts. 

WHO ARE NEXT STAGE ARTISTS 

• Next Stage offers experienced indie producers a platform to showcase theatre and performing arts creators, writers, directors, performers in order to elevate a production or artist to a next level of recognition and/or development.
• Applicants can submit new works, reworked projects and original adaptations and remounts of productions in order to significantly advance a project’s development. Productions of licensed work by notable playwrights or of the ‘classics’ are not eligible.
• Applicants can submit live in-person works, or virtual programming.
• The selection jury commits to reserving at least 50% of production spots for artists who are Indigenous, Black, or Persons of Colour. Eligibility requirements must be met by the INDIVIDUAL APPLYING, unless otherwise specified. This person is referred to as the MAIN ADMIN CONTACT, and is considered by the Festival to be the primary producer of the show. They enter a binding agreement with the Festival upon acceptance of a slot. 

FUNDING FOR YOUR PRODUCTION

All selected companies will have the opportunity to apply for two rounds of grant cycles for OAC and TAC.  We highly recommend that selected companies use this extended timeline to their advantage. The selection committee timeline is planned to be able to send offers to applicants by the end of June at the latest. We advise you to not wait until then to begin to prepare a grant application, and collect required materials in the meantime.

Find out more about grants offered by OAC here: https://www.arts.on.ca/grants/activity/creating-and-presenting 

Find out about more grants offered by TAC here: https://torontoartscouncil.org/grant-programs/discover-tac-grants/tac-grants  

How is the festival Curated? 

Selection Committee

Each year Toronto Fringe staff invite members of Toronto’s professional performing arts community to create a selection committee to guide the curation of the Next Stage Festival, which is carried out by the Executive Director and Managing Director of the Fringe. These industry consultants are active in the sector, recognized as leaders and changemakers by our peers, and bring diverse artistic practices, lived experiences, and aesthetic influences to the process.

The selection committee for the 2025 Festival included:

Toronto Fringe staff

• Lucy Eveleigh, former Executive Director
• Laura Paduch, Managing Director, Co-Lead

Industry consultants

• Derrick Chua, independent producer 
• Virgilia Griffith, playwright and theatre artist
• Indrit Kasapi, Artistic Producer, Theatre Passe Muraille

Selection Criteria

The Selection Committee help Toronto Fringe select:

• creators who are ready for the opportunities provided by this indie theatre platform; 
• works that are diverse, relevant, strong, produce-able;
• a series that is dynamic, and accessible.

Decision Making

While the industry consultants contribute their support and professional knowledge to endorse artists and stories which represent the breadth of Toronto’s performing arts offerings, the Toronto Fringe staff are ultimately the decision makers of which companies are presented in the festival each year. The experience, knowledge, personal and professional values of the industry consultants are deeply valued by Toronto Fringe in guiding this process and highlighting the creators for whom Next Stage is the right platform for.   

Curation Process

All submissions are assessed for:

• The readiness of the project and its participants to take advantage of the professional opportunities offered by the festival 
• The artistic content of the project with a view towards clarity of vision 
• The level of potential production value
• Viability of the project after a presentation in the festival, or perceived contribution this presentation will have to the development of the project and/or creators
• The diversity of the creators and project members’ lived experiences 

Round 1: All submissions in each series will be divided into 5 groups randomly, with each submission read by at least two committee members in round 1. Each committee member will be assigned a group of submissions to review and score in the assessment categories before meeting to discuss all applications. This discussion session allows each member to propose the submissions they have scored highest that will advance to the second round. Discussing the applications as a group gives a more rounded understanding of the work and provides the opportunity for the committee to reconsider their initial scores.

Round 2: All submissions in this round will be read by all five committee members and independently evaluated before meeting to discuss them together. The committee will select productions that strongly align with the festival’s criteria, and which form a series that is diverse in creators, genres and artistic vision. In this stage, we are considering the work as it will be situated within the entire festival, and striving to showcase the depth and breadth of work in the sector, representing as many genres, disciplines, subject matters, and creative voices as possible. Historically the festival has programmed at least one musical, one dance piece, as well as theatre, solo storytelling, improv, comedy, and everything in between.  

2025 Next Stage Theatre Festival Selection Committee