Pandemonium 2021: The Break of Dawn
Request for Proposals
Application Deadline: Monday, July 12
Cleveland Public Theatre is planning a festive evening in keeping with its tradition of presenting innovative, original artistic work, featuring artists of all experience levels and disciplines (dance, spoken word, performance, song, theatre, music, etc.). On Saturday, September 18, 2021, CPT will present its annual fundraising extravaganza and party of the year – Pandemonium 2021: The Break of Dawn. Featuring dozens of area theatre, dance, visual, and performance artists, and with fabulous food and drink, Pandemonium is a benefit like no other, and an opportunity for you to be a featured performer.
Your participation in Pandemonium 2021 will support Cleveland Public Theatre’s challenging and inspiring performance work, ensuring that emerging artists and small performance companies have opportunities to participate in the arts, and sustaining CPT’s unique education programs that celebrate the artist within all of us. In its 30+ years on Cleveland’s near west side, CPT has been a catalyst for economic activity, job creation, private-sector investment in the community, and led to the area’s designation as an arts district.
How Pandemonium Works
Each year, Pandemonium is a success due to the generosity of over 200 artists performing throughout the CPT campus, and we are committed to tapping into Northeast Ohio’s amazing arts community to make this the best Pandemonium to date.
While no one can predict what the world will be like in September, CPT is planning that The Break of Dawn will be an in-person, outdoor event (with some indoor venues). Most performances will take place outdoors or under a tent for this first of its kind Pandemonium. Due to the nature of this event, we are seeking a large number of performances that will wander throughout the event or “pop-up” in a variety of outdoor locations. However, we are still open to performances requiring an indoor location.
Over 800 guests will be invited to explore the CPT campus and create their own artistic adventure. With more than 30 performances to choose from, a guest may encounter a band behind the scene shop, short plays on top of a shipping container, wandering performers, and an art installation in the middle of a big tent – all in the span of 20 minutes.
Pandemonium is a wonderful opportunity for you to have an artistic platform and showcase your work. It will also give you the chance to meet and be inspired by the best performing and visual artists in our region.
Pandemonium is a huge production with 15+ stages, so there is very little technical support available for individual artists. Stationary performance venues will have basic lighting and sound systems – it’s more about the performance and the art than technical spectacle. However, don’t confuse minimalism and resourcefulness with lack of style and quality. Artists are welcome to make elaborate plans for their piece, but they must be ready to implement the plans on their own with little time in the space.
There will be a Stage Manager (if necessary) available for one rehearsal and the event, but it is up to each artist to provide their own artistic collaborators and produce their individual performance or installation.
Pandemonium performances should be no more than 10-15 minutes in length (or an on-going duration piece spanning the entire 2 hour performance time), and involve no more than 5 artists. Repeatable performances are presented multiple times throughout the evening. Art installations can range from large to small, depending on the individual needs and space available.
While CPT is not able to pay artists for their participation in Pandemonium, all artists are invited to enjoy the party of the year after their performances! CPT also provides free food and beverages in the artist greenroom.
Pandemonium is just that – PANDEMONIUM! Flexibility is a must.
Who Gets Selected
Proposals should be bold, inventive, entertaining, and thought-provoking. At Pandemonium, anything goes, so be creative and let this year’s theme, The Break of Dawn, inspire you!
We look for diversity in our artistic offerings at Pandemonium. Proposals can range from bands, dance companies of all varieties, short plays, art installations, poetry, performance art, wandering characters, comedians, etc. The sky is the limit, so we encourage you to think outside the box.
In selecting works for this event, we will be looking at a number of factors:
Has the artist/group demonstrated the ability to produce the proposed work? We want to feel confident the artist/group has a clear understanding of what it takes to pull off a show, and they understand how to assess their own capacity.
Has the artist demonstrated artistic excellence? While all artistic enterprises require risk and there are no guarantees, it’s important the artist has shown an understanding of artistry. This could be demonstrated in a work sample, resume of artist, script of past or current work, or in a project summary.
Is the work adventurous and new? CPT has a history of producing work no one else in town will produce because it is somehow “outside the box.” The work doesn’t need to be experimental or weird (though that is fine, too), but it does need to be entertaining and compelling.
If you would like to be considered for Pandemonium 2021, please complete the included application form.
Application Deadline: Monday, July 12
Thank you for your interest in participating in Pandemonium. Please complete the application and submit it electronically with your supplemental materials and a work sample (if available) to: Associate Artistic Director & Director of Production Beth Wood at bwood@cptonline.org.
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