Welcome to the Voices of Truth Theatre Festival. We are so thrilled that you submitted your production and were selected to be a part of our Festival. People everywhere will be inspired by you!
The information below will give you many of the details that you will need. However, we know that there will be questions that are not answered here, so we encourage you to contact us, and we will get answers to you.
Fran Powers, Founder and Artistic Director Fran@Powerstories.com
Devan Kelty Technical Director Devan@Powerstories.com
Deb Kelley – Marketing Director Deb@Powerstories.com
In addition to you receiving this information now, in the near future we will also have it posted on a special artist page on our website https://powerstories.com/voices-of-truth-festival/. Additionally, all of your questions with our answers will be on this page for all to review.
Festival and artists goals
The Voices of Truth Theatre Festival’s goals are to increase courage and confidence, deepen appreciation for diversity, and strengthen the bonds between people by providing high-quality, thought-provoking productions for our audiences worldwide. The Festival produced by Powerstories in collaboration with Outcast Theatre Collective will be from March 10 to 28, 2021. This will be a combination of in-house theatre and digital productions, all live-streamed.
Your main goal is to produce a quality production! We understand some of you will be producing a staged reading; some a fuller production. Each artist will be responsible for all costs related to casting, directing, and mounting the show to achieve the festival goals. Artists will be asked to communicate with Powerstories to ensure that a quality production is moving forward and will be presented at the agreed-upon time slot.
Powerstories Theatre will provide our stage for final performances, rehearsal time as per the preapproved schedule, technical assistance, marketing assistance, box office assistance, high-quality live-streaming, and a copy of the live stream video. All ticket sales and proceeds will go to Powerstories Theatre and Outcast Theatre Collective
COVID 19 Safety
Powerstories is dedicated to keeping their space clean and safe for all festival participants. During your rehearsal, there will be a temperature check before entry, and masks must be worn at all times. On the day or night of your show, temperatures will be checked again, and you may choose to do the show with or without masks. We have a high expectation that you will be working with others who are very diligent in safety concerns. At this point, we are unsure if we will be allowing a socially distanced audience.
After each production, Powerstories staff will do the following:
-Sweep and mop the stage
-Disinfect all furniture pieces used
-Disinfect all house seats
-Clean and disinfect bathrooms
Production type
Production type – Please let us know now if you prefer to produce your work in the theatre or digitally. If you choose to produce in the theatre, we are unsure if we will have an audience due to COVID-19. We were hoping it would be better by now to enable a socially distanced audience. Please let us know your preference.
- In Theatre Performance without an audience
- Using a digital platform provided by Powerstories
Digital Productions
All digital productions will be live-streamed. You will rehearse and produce your show on Zoom, and we will live stream using Vimeo Premium. On the night or afternoon of your performance, ticket buyers will receive a link and a password to access the live production. The production stream will start 15 minutes before the start of the live-stream performance so that the audience can view information about you, your actors, and information about Powerstories. You will receive a copy of the recorded production.
Live Productions
All shows produced at Powerstories will be live-streamed using Vimeo Premium. You will rehearse as you need to in your own space and have one rehearsal at Powerstories before the final performance. There is detailed information about technical aspects of the theatre below. On the night or afternoon of your performance, ticket buyers will receive a link and a password to access the live production. The show will start 15 minutes before the start of the live-stream performance so that the audience can view information about you, your actors, and information about Powerstories. You will receive a copy of the recorded production.
Promotions
While we highly encourage you to share your participation in our Festival on your social media, you can be assured that Powerstories will be promoting your play in all forms of media. This includes Q&A interviews with each director, press releases, and press pieces to appear online in local magazines, blogs, event websites, Arts Tampa Bay, and regular biweekly promotion on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter. We will also share with networking sites and submit to television and radio stations. Be sure to like Powerstories Theatre’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages so we can tag you in our posts. To be most successful in our promotion, we need a vector (resizable .eps or Illustrator .ai) graphic of your play’s logo that can be sized for poster and website use.
We look forward to introducing our global community to your incredible work.
Box Office
All ticket sales will go through the Powerstories Theatre’s website. The per show ticket price will be $10.00. The box office will be set up six weeks prior to the festival start date (or sooner). Each producer will receive two complimentary tickets to their show.
Technical Guidelines for the Theater
Technical Assistance
Powerstories will have one or two technical assistants on-site to guide you on set arrangements, program and operate all boards and consoles for the tech rehearsal and performance. Powerstories will be assisting you with your rehearsal and running the light, sound and live streaming for your production.
The Stage
Powerstories’ stage is 26 feet wide by 13 feet long. The floor is painted black, and you have the option of using either a white or black backdrop. You may use spike tape on the stage. All pieces of tape will be removed at the end of your production.
The Lights
Lighting fixtures will be arranged in 4 lighting areas: Stage Left, Center Stage, Stage Right, and Backdrop. Each of these areas can be changed to one of the following colors: Cold White, Warm White, Red, Orange, Green, Blue, Deep Blue, and Magenta. At any time, you may have all areas lit in the same color, or each area lit in a different color. All lighting decisions are final after your tech rehearsal.
The Sound
Your production may use as many sound effects as you want. These may include but are not limited to; ambient sounds, specific sounds, music, and voiceovers. Be sure to check copyright information for any sounds that you did not record yourself. All sound effects must be finalized and sent to (Powerstories’ email) 24 hours before your production’s tech rehearsal. Sound effects cannot be changed after the tech rehearsal. You may also send a playlist of preshow music that will be played in the time before your production begins (check copyright information on this too)
The Projector
Each production may utilize Powerstories’ projector to show videos, pictures, slides, etc. Please check copyright info for any media that you did not create yourself. Things to consider:
-This is a front projection, meaning if an actor/performer walks in front of it, there will be a shadow.
-The projection will show up better on a white backdrop
The Set
Each production is responsible for transporting and loading in their set pieces. Please ensure all set pieces fit in a small van to keep the load in and load out as quickly as possible. Powerstories has general furniture pieces that are available for use by any production. These pieces include:
-6 black folding chairs
-4 orange folding chairs
-3 dark wood chairs
-4 light wood stools (24 inches tall with 12-inch diameter circle seat)
-2 black benches (18 inches tall and 22 inches long)
-1 small black table (26 inches tall with 30 inch square top)
-1 medium white folding table (30 inches tall with 48 by 24 inch top)
-1 large white folding table (29 inches tall with 72 by 29 inch top)
-18” square rehearsal blocks at various heights and colors
-2 yellow blocks at 9 inches tall
-2 green blocks at 18 inches tall
-1 orange block at 27 inches tall
-1 blue block at 35 inches tall
Costumes and Props
Each production is responsible for providing their own costumes and props. If a prop is used that makes a mess (e.g., confetti, spilled water, etc.), you will be responsible for sweeping and mopping the stage after your rehearsal and performance. Live flames are not allowed in the space.
The Tech Rehearsal
Each production that chooses to present their work on the stage will be given a three-hour tech rehearsal. You may choose to make this rehearsal shorter, but it cannot run longer. This is our opportunity to make sure the set, props, lights, and sound all operate smoothly and effectively to make your production look the best it can. What we need from you (all can be combined into one file and sent to ( 24 hours before the rehearsal):
-a final copy of the script or a printed copy brought to the tech rehearsal. This script should include all sound cues, and general lighting looks*.
-a file containing all sound effects. Sound effects cannot be added during the tech rehearsal, but existing sounds may be removed;
-a file containing any projections. Projections, like sound effects, cannot be added during tech rehearsal, but existing projections may be removed:
*Lights can be changed during the tech rehearsal but become final once the rehearsal ends.
Your Acceptance needed by January 1 or sooner
You are one of twenty artists that our committee carefully selected to represent the goals of the Festival. We are ready to roll up our sleeves with you and make this festival extraordinary. So that we can move foreward, please click on the link below to answer a few questions.
https://forms.gle/CtEhWU3AcGwrY2ZL8
Questions on the form are:
- Your commitment to do the Festival.
- The way you choose to produce – digitally or on stage
- Any dates within the Festival time frame that you absolutely CANNOT produce your show.
- A bio, photo of you, and photo of your plays’s logo (if you have one).
- A one or two sentence description of your play.
We look forward to working with you over the next few months. Have a great day and be safe!
