FROST BITES 2023 applications are now closed. Thank you for applying!
Festival Dates: February 15-20, 2023
FROST BITES 2023 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN
Deadline to apply: November 7, 2022
FROST BITES will take place from February 15-20 2023.
FROST BITES 2023 invites applications from artists, companies, or collectives with a community-engaged arts practice or whose current work explores themes of social justice (ex: Black Lives Matter, climate activism, disability rights, etc). Frost Bites will enhance the audience experience and promote a sense of connectivity and community in Hamilton and beyond.
Performances will occur multiple times over the 6-day run at our two key locations: the Bernie Morelli Community Centre and Theatre Aquarius. There will be a single audio experience programmed to take place between the two spaces.
Following the 2021 festival, FROST BITES shifted into a biannual format. The first year of this new format (2021-22) was spent in development with community storytellers working in social activism. The 2023 festival will feature the work of these storytellers alongside other artists working in community-engaged arts practices and/or wrestling with issues of social justice in their artistic work.
Public applications are being accepted until November 7, 2022 at 11:59PM ET to fill two slots. One performance slot will be awarded in each category (1) Live Performance at Theatre Aquarius; (2) Digital Sound Experience.
- Live Performance at Theatre Aquarius:
A performance or a work-in-progress that will take place in a selected site at Theatre Aquarius.
- The piece must demonstrate its involvement in a community-engaged practice and/or contain themes of social justice and activism;
- The successful artist(s) will be required to commit to a minimum of 4 shows over the 6 days of the festival, with the length of the show and the number of audience members the show can serve affecting the number of additional shows required. (ex: a 5-minute show with 10 audience members will be required to perform more often over the course of the event than a 2-hour show with a 50-person audience. A 60-minute show performed to a 50-person audience 4x times over the 6 days of the festival would be considered a good base to work from.);
- Tech support will be minimal and the successful applicant should plan for low technical requirements or be prepared to provide equipment and staffing to support their proposed activities;
- The group will be asked to select from a series of locations within Theatre Aquarius as a part of the application questionnaire;
- The proposal can be site-specific but this is not a requirement;
- There will be a $2000 honorarium offered to the selected applicant.
2. Digital Sound Experience:
Two digital sound experiences entered as a single proposal.
- The piece must demonstrate its involvement in a community-engaged practice and/or contain themes of social justice and activism;
- A proposal for 2 original audio experiences to be created and produced by the successful applicant;
- The sound files will be shared with audience members on a private Soundcloud link to be streamed on demand during the festival dates;
- The sound files will be designed to take place on (1) the bus from the Bernie Morelli Community Centre to Theatre Aquarius and (2) on the bus from Theatre Aquarius to the Bernie Morelli Community Centre;
- There will be a $1500 honorarium offered to the selected applicant.
FROST BITES will consider applications from companies and individuals working in a variety of performance disciplines or inter-arts projects (involving the collaboration of artists from different disciplines).
We are looking for applications from artists, companies, or collectives who are playful artistic risk-takers. Successful applications will express an innovative vision when approaching their work in both content and form. The selected artist/collective will join a dynamic ensemble of companies and artists that will provide a unique and hopeful performance event in February.
Key Dates
October 2022
Applications Open
November 7, 2022 (11:59pm EST)
Application Deadline
Mid-November 2022 (TBC)
Application status confirmation by email.
Announcement of Frost Bites festival line-up.
Early December 2022 (TBC)
Publicity Materials Due
Mid-January 2023 (TBC)
Audience Booking Open to the Public
February 15-20, 2023
2023 Frost Bites Performance Dates
Festival Location
FROST BITES 2023 will take place at two distinct venues – the Bernie Morelli Community Centre and Theatre Aquarius, with one digital sound experience programmed to take place on the bus routes to each location.
The Theatre Aquarius programmed selection will be presented in a non-traditional space within the facility or the Education Centre, located across the street. Tech support will be minimal and the successful applicant should plan for low technical requirements or be prepared to provide equipment and staffing to support their proposed activities.
Traditionally a site-specific festival, the 2023 FROST BITES shifts form to focus on connecting with specific neighbourhoods, activist communities, and themes. Focused on topics of social justice, activism, and community-engaged storytelling, we will be interested in how your work reflects these themes. Based within municipal Wards 2 and 3 in downtown Hamilton, highlighting any links to these areas of the city and/or any organizational or personal connections you have here will strengthen your application.
Criteria
The selected participants will be chosen based on the content and style of the proposal, the demonstration of a community-engaged arts practice and/or the evidence of a social activism lens applied to the proposed project, the feasibility of the idea, their demonstrated experience in theatre or related discipline, and the company mandate (vision statements will be accepted for ad hoc groups).
One performance slot will be awarded in each category (1) Live performance at Theatre Aquarius, (2) Digital Sound Experience.
We will judge the suitability of the applications based on the following criteria:
- the originality and clarity of ideas in the creative responses;
- the demonstration of a community-engaged arts practice and/or the evidence of a social activism lens applied to the proposed project;
- the potential for the project to creatively promote a sense of connectivity between audience members and the participating artists, other audience members, or the wider community;
- the demonstration of imagination and innovation in approach to the use of space and/or digital technology;
- the collective experience of the artistic team;
- a serious sense of play; and
- the ability to think outside the box and propose an adventurous, creative idea.
The artist(s)/collectives will be selected to complement the curated line-up of participating companies. Weight is given to a lineup that demonstrates a diversity of disciplines, a variety of proposed running times, a diversity in levels of experience in the arts sector, and experience in producing site-specific and/or digital work. Submissions from BIPOC and disability communities are prioritized.
Example Work
- small-scale, live, site-specific work (ex: a one-to-one performance that takes place with the “barista” inside a coffee shop while coffee is brewed);
- roving performances that can be enjoyed while the audience members and/or the performers are moving (a show inside a series of storefront windows that changes as you walk by, a drive-through experience, etc.);
- digital experiences that engage audience members in innovative ways (ex: a mystery that takes place over the phone, with the listeners engaging with audio clues they use to help to solve a crime See: The Ministry of Mundane Mysteries); and
- digital experiences that promote connectivity between audience members and members of their community locally or beyond (ex: a show where audience members in two different cities listen to an audio file that leads them on a tour of their respective cities and prompts them to text about their experiences with each other. See: Landline).
- We are looking for applications from artists, companies, or collectives who are playful risk-takers. Successful applications will express an innovative vision when approaching site-specific or digital work. We want to bring together a dynamic ensemble of companies and artists that can provide a unique and hopeful performance event in February.
How to Apply
Complete the online application form at the bottom of this page along with the $25 Application Fee to be considered. Please note:
- We will accept only one proposal per company/collective/individual.
- The Primary Contact and team members may be involved in only ONE production.
- Festival correspondence will only be sent to the Primary Contact.
- Only the Primary Contact is authorized to submit or make changes to company information.
As Primary Contact, it is your responsibility to:
- share information with the rest of your company;
- stay up to date on all Festival information; and
- ensure timely submission of all requested materials.
Please add frostbites@hftco.ca and info@hftco.ca to your email contacts to ensure that they are not caught in any spam filters.
Fees & Revenue
Your $25.00 non-refundable Application Fee must be submitted along with your completed application or received within 5 business days of submission. Applications will not be considered complete until the Application Fee is processed.
The Live Performance at Theatre Aquarius participant will receive a Performance Fee of $2000 upon successful completion of the Festival. The Digital Sound Experience participant will receive a Performance Fee of $1500 upon successful completion of the Festival. HFTco will retain Box Office revenue.
Sponsors and Partners