Want to be a part of the 2024 Cannonball Festival?

Welcome to our Cannonball Information Page. This page contains exactly 61% what you need to know about putting your play in CYPT’s Annual Cannonball Festival! The other 39% can be explained to you at our upcoming information meeting scheduled for Monday August 21st, 2023 at 7pm at Birds and Stone – 1703 1 Street NW. Email cannonball@cypt.ca if you’d like to attend.

FAQs

What is Cannonball?

Cannonball is a festival of youth-driven theatre now entering its eighth year at Calgary Young People’s Theatre. It is a completely free opportunity for youth artists to create the theatre they want to make! Each year, several one act plays are chosen to be part of this festival which takes place Mid May 2024. Rehearsals will begin in March.

Each show selected is allowed to audition for actors, and is provided a small budget to be used on design elements. Our team will coach you through the process of writing, directing, designing, and stage managing, so no experience is necessary!

Who can submit to Cannonball?

Any youth can submit to direct, write, design, stage manage, act, or work backstage. Directors are welcome to submit new plays by youth playwrights, or existing works if the performance rights are available. If you have more questions about obtaining rights, scripts, or applying, come to our meeting in August!

The definition of youth is a bit flexible, but our focus is on youth. We’ll consider applications from artists under the age of 19, and will sometimes consider applications from recent graduates. We have had youth directors and playwrights as young as 11 and as old as 19 present their work in the festival. Applicants over the age of 19 are encouraged to submit to Sage Theatre’s Ignite Festival!

When is the submission deadline?

Submissions for the 2024 Festival are due by email no later than Monday, September 4th 2023 at 11:59pm to Ben Gaudet at cannonball@cypt.ca.

What should I include in my submission?

Well that’s a fabulous question. In your submission, include (all in one document):

• A PITCH: Tell us what makes your show such a great show! Why does it excite you and why should it excite us? What will it offer an audience? Laughs? Deep philosophical insight? Approx 1/2 page or more.
• STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT: Tell us about where the script is at. Are you writing it or did you pick an existing script? If you are writing it, have you finished a draft or is still just an idea? Either is fine, but we like to know where things are at. Approx 1 paragraph.
• SCRIPT: If your script is written, please submit a draft or copy. If it’s just an idea, try to write us a scene so that we know where it’s going and what your writing style is. We recommend submitting at least 5 pages.
• TEAM: Do you have any collaborators involved? We ask that you don’t pre-cast your show, but if you have production collaborators like a director, designer, stage manager, or playwright working with you, let us know who they are! It’s also okay if you don’t have a team yet.
• REQUIREMENTS: Please include what you expect to need in terms of:
  • Size of cast you expect to need, and any special casting considerations your show requires
  • Gaps in your team (it’s okay if you don’t even have a team!)
  • Special rehearsal considerations (eg. you need a professional fight choreographer, which CYPT can provide, or perhaps your show could use additional mentorship in a specialized area of performance like improv)
  • Submissions must NOT be sent as google docs. Only Word or PDF files will be accepted.
• OPTIONAL: Feel free to include anything else that will help us get excited about your show. Maybe you have some fun theatrical ideas for what the show could look or sound like, in which case feel free to send along drawings or reference images.

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS WITH YOUR SUBMISSIONS!!!

Email submissions or questions to cannonball@cypt.ca!