September 1, 2023 deadline
General Expert Panel comments
Comments made by the panel during the assessment of applications are outlined below. Please note that these comments provide a summary of the panel's assessment and do not necessarily relate to every application submitted to this deadline. The panel does not provide individual comments.
Project description
- The panel appreciated the variety of solid applications and were excited by, and gave priority to, proposals that they felt would have a strong impact on the audience, the artist, or the theatre ecology in Alberta.
- The panel appreciated when applicants detailed what community care would look like through the creation process. For projects with sensitive subject matter, what practices, strategies, and resources would be made available to the creative team and audiences to ensure safe engagement with the project content?
- The panel read through many proposals and appreciated those where the applicants took the time to lay out their project description in sections and in a concise and precise manner. The panel especially appreciated when the description was succinct (3-5 pages max.), with a clear main objective.
- When projects involved script redevelopment, panelists appreciated when applicants identified which elements of the project artists wanted to focus on enhancing. What questions did the applicants want to explore in this new phase and how would they frame that exploration?
- The panelists appreciated when project descriptions clearly identified the concrete steps that will make up a project’s creation process, as opposed to only summarizing the narrative’s plot. What does this project look like from a production management standpoint? A dramaturgical standpoint?
- For applicants in the research phase of their project, panelists gave priority to those who were able to articulate the methods through which that research would take place, as opposed to solely communicating the topic of their research. (e.g., Why are you exploring this research? What questions will you be asking? How will you conduct your research? What will your sources be, and how will you find them?)
Professional development
- The panel gave priority to professional development applicants where there was a clear indication of ties to Alberta and that the knowledge would be brought back to be shared with the Alberta community. This was especially important with respect to students who travel out of province and out of country to study. How would those acquired skills help the theatre ecology in Alberta?
- The panel gave priority to applicants who were able to articulate the knowledge and skills gaps they currently had and how they anticipate them being filled by the training opportunity they proposed to pursue.
- For those who stated they would study abroad and return to Alberta to teach, the panel appreciated when applicants provided evidence of having teaching experience as part of their past achievements, or an identified plan for how the information would be shared.
Budget
- For projects with multiple revenue sources, it was helpful when applicants identified which expense items would be covered by the AFA, and which would be supported by other revenue sources.
- The panel was supportive of projects that compensated artists with industry union standard rates or a living wage (or higher), citing the fee structure resources they referenced in the comments section.
- The panel highly recommends future applicants separate their subsistence costs into individual expense lines (i.e.: housing, local transport, food, childcare, dependent care).
- The panel appreciated when applicants used the comments section of the budget sheet to explain how they defined their own units for each expense line item (e.g., “Actors Fee (4 actors at $1,500 each)” — 4 Units — $1,500 = $6,000 Total).
- For projects that relied on future ticket sales as a primary source of revenue, the panel appreciated when applicants described how they calculated that revenue (e.g., percentage representing box office cuts, a percentage of total possible sales, or a number of tickets that would need to be sold to yield that amount).
Support material
- Letters of support or identified mentors/team members were helpful as they gave the panel confidence in the artists’ abilities to complete their projects.
- The panel appreciated when applicants submitted an excerpt as a writing sample, as opposed to a full script.
