Photo by Kathy Lam, from Tunnel Vision, by and performed by Elizabeth Ferns

2021 IGNITE Festival of Emerging Artists -

Festival Producer Job Posting

Every year in June, Sage Theatre presents the IGNITE! Festival of Emerging Artists - a multi-disciplinary, 4-day festival of emerging art and artists. It’s big, it’s bold, it’s beautiful! With about 100 artists programmed each year, IGNITE! is a fantastic development, networking, and presentation opportunity for Calgary’s artists. The 2021 festival runs June 16 - 19, 2021.

IGNITE! is a festival dedicated to supporting, mentoring and presenting early career artists of all disciplines. IGNITE! allows artists to embrace risks in a supportive environment while providing resources, a bridge to the professional arts community, and meaningful opportunities for collaboration and community building with their peers.

As we are still anticipating COVID-19 to be impacting public gathering and arts presentations this spring, we are planning an adaptive festival format that allows us to weather a changing pandemic landscape.

Specifically, the festival will be presented digitally, and each project will be shown in a 10 minute segment scheduled across the four days of the festival.

We are also open to presenting a physically distanced project, but we recognize that a changing pandemic landscape may affect our ability to support and present this work.

Festival Producer Role

Sage Theatre is hiring a Festival Producer to facilitate the production and management of the IGNITE! Festival! This is a project-based contract position, running from the hiring confirmation to June 30, 2021.

The role would manage both the digital and distanced sections of the festival. (We are also open to splitting the role between for separate digital and distanced producer roles.)

We are looking for an energetic, highly organized and motivated problem-solver. Because the festival supports and manages emerging artists from a wide range of arts practices, experience levels, and personal backgrounds, this role also requires interpersonal skills and patience in managing flow of communication between artists, staff, and production contacts.

The Distanced section of the festival should include some in-person but distanced events during the festival week, at the ContainR outdoor venue. They have experience in managing distanced events. It would also be a smaller percentage of our overall festival output of artists.

Experience in our digital tools is an asset. We use the Google Suite of collaborative office tools, Slack for group communication, and Zoom.

This role reports to the Festival Director. Contracting is managed by the board of Directors.

The role is supported by:

• The Festival Director, who has extra administrative capacities to support production requirements, as well as historical knowledge of the festival and previous contacts.

• The Board of Directors, who have individual skills to apply based on necessary tasks

• Sage Theatre Volunteers / linked work capacity interns, either on individual tasks or assisting in administrative efforts

• The Sage Theatre Artistic Associates, applying individual skills and extra support

Compensation

The range for this role is between $2500 and $3500, based on the experience and skills of the producer, and if the role is being split between digital and distanced production management.

Suggested Experience

The successful candidate will have previous experience and training in general festival production, performing arts production, or both!

Post Secondary education is welcome but not required. Experience will be evaluated in relation to the festival project itself.

To Apply

Please send a cover letter and resume/CV to admin@sagetheatre.com

We are looking for the position ASAP. This posting will remain open until we hire a candidate. Upon hiring, we will delete or edit this posting to indicate the position has been filled.

Only those applicants that we are interested in will be contacted for an interview, though we will endeavour to let all applicants know that their application has been received. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we will not be able to offer extended feedback to those candidates we were unable to interview.

Sage Theatre is an equal opportunity employer who hires without regard to race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, language, citizenship, creed, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, physical, and/or mental abilities.

Festival Producer Overall Duties

• Manage festival production schedule

• Schedule includes pre-production, rehearsal, load-in, recording of performances, changeovers & COVID-cleaning, strike, load out, wrap-up / returns

  • Detailed schedule tasks for each section will be sent to each applicant.

• oversight of the festival logistics

• oversee festival budget spending with Festival Director

• liaise with and supervise

  • festival artists

  • staff

  • curators

  • festival partners

• Arrange festival meetings

• Manage flow of production information to Sage Board

• Liaise with:

  • Sage board members for contracts, payables, receipts, and other authorizations

  • Digital Streaming Producer: deliver all recorded content, managing flow of information for relevant updates affecting the streaming event.