BCHub Training Program
"For me, bcHUB is a space where my creativity and my racialized identity can live in harmony... Where I can express my personal experiences as exactly that, not as broad strokes which paint the entire picture of ‘The Black Experience’. For me, bcHUB is not about whether there is a place for me; it's about where lies that place."
-Jess Goldson, 2018/2019 bcHUB member
“The program has allowed me to look at how I approach work differently. I appreciated the fact that I was in a safe room and could voice my own thoughts without backlash or bias. It was a beautiful time knowing I was building connections with artists who I feel will help continue to support me.”
-Shakeil Rollock, 2017/2018 bcHUB member
Our bcHUB training programs are back. The Emerging Artists Ensemble focuses on giving developing artists from the Black and Brown diaspora professional theatre training.
Emerging Creators Unit in partnership with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
What is the emerging creators unit?
The Emerging Creators Unit offers an intensive opportunity to develop your artistic voice through the creation and performance of your own 25-minute show at Buddies. Artists who receive training are paired with either a professional director or actors in preparation for a presentation of their work at the Buddies' annual Queer Pride Festival.
The Emerging Creators Unit is an artist-driven, mentor-supported creative model; we look for strongly motivated emerging queer or trans artists who have an ability to work independently, are interested in creating original, text-driven, theatrical work and are ready to take their practice to the next level. The Emerging Creators Unit supports a wide definition of “performance”, and is open to a wide variety of themes, form or content. Proposed projects could be autobiographically or community inspired or entirely fictional, use conventional or unconventional theatrical forms, and could include a strong physicality although should also have a text base.
What's involved?
Application to the program is open to queer and/or trans identified emerging artists, age 30 and under, with less than three years of professional theatre practice. Selected participants meet bi-weekly as a group at Buddies, Monday mornings, January through May. They are guided through a unique creative process that takes their project from idea to a performance-ready draft.
We welcome applications from either individual creator/performers, OR collective creations (of up to 4 people), OR projects driven by a writer/director who wishes to work with actors to achieve their vision.
Individual creators who will perform their own work will be paired with a professional director to stage the work for presentation; individual creators who will direct their work will be supported to engage professional or suitable actors; collaborative creations may include a director in their creative team, or be matched with a professional director.
The Emerging Creators Unit is offered in partnership with b current performing arts; it will be led by b current performing arts artistic director Catherine Hernandez.
How to apply
Applications are due annually in the fall and are reviewed by a jury. Short-listed applicants are invited to an audition/interview where they perform a short selection of their own work and discuss their project proposal in greater depth.
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Applications open: September 13, 2019
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Deadline for Submission: October 25, 2019
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Auditions for Shortlisted Artists: November, 2019
Our Call for Submissions is now closed.
"The Emerging Creators Unit was one of the most rewarding experiences of my artistic career to date. Through this program, I learned the basic tools for bringing an idea to life – from writing to workshopping to presenting. The dramaturgical guidance and theatrical skills I gained during this program are invaluable and will continue to shape my artistic practice for years to come...One of the most impactful things I learned during this process is that creation is an ongoing practice, and as artists we must challenge ourselves to create bigger and better things by boldly embracing failure as part of the process.”
-Shohana Sharmin, 2019 ECU member
"The ECU helped me see what I’m capable of as an artist and find my own personal standard of excellence for my performance practice.”
-Brock Hessel, 2019 ECU member