We have an exciting new project on the horizon, with the biggest pot of funding we’ve ever had as a company, and as a result we have a lot of paid opportunities for writers and performers coming up in Autumn/Winter 2024. We're so excited to be able to offer this to you all! Getting money from the tech industry and pumping it into the arts was always a dream of ours and this is the first of, hopefully, many steps towards a innovative new future for storytelling.
The details of the project are being kept under wraps at the moment. But we are keen to get expressions of interest (EOIs) from people who might want to get involved in something that is, hopefully, truly revolutionary when it comes to accessibility and representation within narrative media.
At this stage, all you need to know is that it’ll be 6 productions of a new form of media that we’re pioneering, but consider this digital theatre for now if you need to frame it as something in your mind. Please see below for more details for both writers and performers who might want to express an interest in taking part.
FYI, we will reply to everyone who reaches out and, if we want to have a further conversation with you, you will have to sign an NDA.
Notes for all artists:
We are exploring a new performing format and, as a result, you should expect this process to be unusual, literally not what you might be used to. However, we are trying to make it as easy and comfortable for our writers/performers within the limitations we have. We are open to ideas on how better to do this at any point in the process, including this EOI, and we have a good track record of being flexible and making changes to accommodate artists wishes where possible. This is planned to be the first of many projects like this so, if this version feels too restrictive, please know you can express an interest in future versions of this project too where we’ll hopefully have more flexibility in the way that we’re working, which we can’t promise to be able to do in this current R&D version. This version is an exploration, the next will be a confirmation, then we’ll have room for lots of flexibility after that, fingers crossed!
Writers:
We are looking for 4-6 playwrights to commission (£3250-£1750 per commission), to collaborate with us to write a particular new form of digital theatre that we’re pioneering. If you’re up for telling stories about the modern world, using some of the most innovative forms of entertainment technology, and collaborating with artists to push what is possible then please get in touch.
Guidelines:
Time - You’ll be writing between September - October 2024. Stories must be ready by the end of October, which is an unmovable deadline unfortunately. This is so we can give your scripts to our performers in November to rehearse before they perform in December. If this time is too little for you, not a problem, we will also consider scripts you already have written so long as they fit the guidelines below, or you have a plan on how to adapt them to do so
Collaborative - You’ll be writing your scripts with frequent feedback from the Chronic Insanity team to ensure that your story can make the most of the features of new medium we’re developing
Short run times - Stories should take roughly 20-30 minutes to perform, none should take more than 45 minutes and few out of the 6 should be more than 30 mins
Cast size - Your stories should only have a cast size of 1-2 performers. There is some potential for additional voice acting/voice over if necessary, but this can’t be offered to every writer.
Characters - Most importantly, your characters should be able to be performed by anybody, regardless of any characteristics they may possess (e.g. age, race, gender, disability, etc). Examples of these sorts of stories might be Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons by Sam Steiner, Constellations by Nick Payne, and Angry by Philip Ridley.
Performers:
We are looking for up to 8 performers in total, functioning as a digital rep company, to perform in all 4-6 productions. You’ll have at least a month (November 2024) to learn your parts and then a few days in early December to record with us in person in Nottingham. Productions will aim to be roughly 20-30 minutes long each. We have a fee for each performer of £1500, to cover the equivalent of roughly 2 weeks/10 days of work.
Guidelines:
Location - We’re filming in Nottingham, and you’ll probably be needed for three consecutive days between December 2nd and December 15th 2024, Monday-Wednesday or Thursday-Saturday
Travel - We don’t currently have travel/accommodation budgets, but let us know if this will significantly impact your ability to get involved and we’ll see what we can do
Time - At the very least, you’ll have all of November to learn your lines, but we’ll also aim to have prompting systems to help you during filming if you require it, like auto-cues or follow along audio tracks. We’ve used these before with performers and some people have found them helpful for this sort of work
Access - Let us know if you have any access requirements you want us to consider, including access riders
Representation - Most importantly, this project is all about representation in media, so if you don’t often see yourself in the stories you watch, especially as the protagonists, please let us know and you’ll go to top of our pile of considerations
If you are a writer or performer and want to get involved then please email chronicinsanityscripts@gmail.com with the subject line I WANT TO JOIN THE STORYTELLING REVOLUTION and tell us what you can offer. Send short sample scripts, script ideas, performance footage, and anything else we might want to consider our way
Soft deadline: The sooner you send it to us the more time we have to chat to you if we need to and the less chance you'll have of the positions being filled up before you express an interest
Hard deadline: August 11th, 2024; 23:59
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