Submissions for the 2027 Cannonball! Festival are NOW OPEN!!!! This year’s deadline is Monday, August 31st at 11:59 pm. We can’t wait to see what you send!

Want to be a part of the 2027 Cannonball Festival?

Welcome to our Cannonball Information Page. This page contains exactly 71% what you need to know about putting your play in CYPT’s Annual Cannonball Festival! The other 29% can be explained to you at our upcoming Cannonball Information Meeting. This meeting will take place at West Village Theatre (2007 10th Ave SW, alley entrance) on July 14th at 7pm. Even if you’ve done Cannonball before, the festival is always evolving, so we recommend coming if you’re able!

What is Cannonball?

The Cannonball Festival is CYPT’s annual festival of youth-led theatre.  That means every role – playwrights, directors, stage managers, designers, actors – is taken on by youth, with guidance from our team of mentors. If your submission is selected, here’s what the process will look like. From September to February, playwrights will develop their scripts, and we will host a variety of workshops designed to give participants a crash course on all the elements of creating a show.  We then host auditions in February to cast the shows, and begin rehearsals in late March, culminating in performances of the one-act shows in May!

How to Get Involved

Want to submit to be involved with the festival? Here’s how:

First of all, you’ll need to decide what you’re interested in applying to do as part of the festival.  The submission process looks slightly different for the various roles in the festival, which we have laid out below! For ALL submissions, we kindly ask that documents be sent in as PDFs in a single email.

For Playwrights

If you’re submitting as a playwright, we’ll require two elements: a pitch, and a script sample.

The Pitch

So what’s a pitch? A pitch is a document to tell us about your show idea, and why we should be excited to have it in Cannonball.  Don’t worry too much about needing to ‘sell’ us your show – tell us why YOU’RE excited by it, and why you want to bring it to life as part of the festival.

Make sure to include the following information:

• Who are you, and what is your script?
• Who’s on your team? Do you have a director/stage manager/designers attached to this project? Please also include email addresses for all team members, including yourself, so we can get in touch if need be!
• Stage of development. Do you have a completed draft of your script? Or just a few scenes written? The more information we have, the better!
• Feel free to include any inspirations you have – music, Pinterest boards, anything you have that you feel helps to exemplify your vision.
• Anything else you want to share to communicate your concept or excite us!

If you aren’t sure how to craft a pitch, fear not! The Cannonball Information Meeting (July 14, 7pm, West Village Theatre) is a great opportunity to hear first hand from our festival team and ask any questions you might have.  We want to help you make your pitch the best it can be! And if you can’t make it, or want any additional support, you can always reach us at the Cannonball email – cannonball@cypt.ca!

The Script

The second part of applying as a playwright is to send us your script! You don’t have to have a full draft of your script, but we do ask that you have at least one scene written.  If you don’t have a full draft, we’d love to see any storyboarding or bullet points you have about what you haven’t written yet, so that we can get a good sense of what your show is about – the more information we have, the better! You also don’t necessarily need to know everything about your story.  Part of the Cannonball process is script writing mentorship and dramaturgical feedback.  Tell us what you’re curious about! We’d love to know what questions you have and what you want to explore as your show develops!
Please note that we only accept one-act shows for this festival. 30 minutes is an ideal length, with a maximum length of 45 minutes.  

For Directors

If you’re interested in directing for Cannonball, we need two things: 1) what script you’re attached to, and 2) a letter of interest.

The Script

If you’re submitting to direct your own script, your script will already be part of the submission package you send in.  If you’re attached to a script written by someone else that is being submitted to the festival, please include your letter of interest with the playwright’s submission package.  For example – if Tyler is going to direct Brenda’s show, his letter of interest should be sent in a single email alongside Brenda’s pitch and script. 

Alternatively, maybe you want to try your hand at directing a published script! Whether you are keen to direct but aren’t attached to a script, or if you are a director looking to challenge yourself, there are plenty of resources for finding published scripts.  We recommend the Calgary Public Library system, or the Theatre Alberta Library.  Published scripts submitted to Cannonball must fit the same criteria as new works (one act, approximately 45 minutes maximum). If you find a script that both fits the bill and excites you creatively, please reach out to Jamie Dunsdon (jamie@cypt.ca) to discuss acquiring the rights to the show by Monday, August 17th at 11:59 (two weeks in advance of the submission deadline). Please use the subject line CANNONBALL SCRIPT RIGHTS.

The Letter of Interest

A letter of interest is a brief letter that allows us to get to know you and why you want to be involved.  (If you are submitting as a playwright as well, this information can be included in your pitch – it doesn’t have to be a separate document, but please include the below points!) This by no means needs to be an essay – in terms of length, a page or so is great!

Here’s what we’ll want to know:

• Who are you, and what role would you like to apply for? (i.e. Director, Stage Manager, Designer)
• Is there a script submission that you’re attached to?
• Why do you want to take part in Cannonball, and specifically, in this role?
• What is your previous theatre experience?
• What is your availability during the festival’s duration (March-May)?
• Any other information you’d like us to know!

As with the pitch, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at cannonball@cypt.ca!

For Stage Managers and Designers

To apply as a stage manager or designer, please submit a letter of interest (detailed under the director section).  If you’re attached to a show already, please include that information, and include your letter of interest in that submission package.  

If you aren’t attached to a show, please indicate so in your letter of interest, and if we’re able to, we’ll find a show for you to work on! 

For designers, please indicate what aspect(s) of design you want to work on.  Most often, the design departments are set, props, costumes, lights, and sound, but some shows might need specialty designers like a projection designer or puppet designer. Additionally, if you’re attached to a show and have any preliminary design thoughts/inspiration, feel free to include them in your submission! 

The Submission

Once you’re ready to submit, we ask that you please convert all your documents to PDF form, and email them to cannonball@cypt.ca. For submission packages involving multiple people (playwright, director, stage manager, designers), please include all relevant documents in a single email. If you would like any assistance, or have any questions, you are always more than welcome to reach out and we’ll do our best to help – remember, as with auditions, we want you to succeed! The submission deadline is Monday, August 31st at 11:59pm.   We can’t wait to see what you submit!