Although Fresh Meat Fest isn’t until October, the local theatre festival is ready to open its submissions portal for talented artists to join their lineup this fall.
Open for folks of any level of experience, Fresh Meat Fest is a place for risk-taking that gives the Ottawa arts community big rewards. Founded in 2012, this festival is where local creatives can share their passions and experiment in exciting and innovative ways.
Apt613 sat down with the festival’s producer and media and marketing director, Cullen Elijah McGrail, for more information about Fresh Meat Fest, the submission process and the kinds of opportunities this festival presents for the Ottawa theatre scene.
Celebrating its 13th year, McGrail describes Fresh Meat Fest as a “low-stakes-high-reward playground for theatre and performing artists.”
Past Fresh Meat Fest show Mom Jokes. Photo by Melody Maloney.
It’s a place he says is all about pushing the boundaries of what performance and theatre are all about—especially by offering a space with a healthy and supportive audience that embraces these risks.
“You don’t apply with a script, you don’t apply with a performance piece or anything,” says McGrail. “You just apply with an idea of something that you’d like to explore. Once you’re accepted into the festival, you just have to create 20 minutes of that idea.”
While McGrail says Fresh Meat Fest started as a theatre festival, it’s evolved into showcasing all types of performances—from dance to stand-up and improv, as well as poetry and puppetry.
Their submissions portal will be online and open from May 8 to June 9, and will also be hosting two info sessions, the dates of which are yet to be determined.
“We just have a couple of very basic questions—we ask folks to describe what the idea is that they’d like to explore through the festival, and we ask why Fresh Meat Fest would be a good fit for them to do so,” says McGrail.
Past Fresh Meat Fest show Meat Baby. Photo by Melody Maloney.
McGrail also points out that Fresh Meat Fest is designed to be a place where artists can take risks, so the more unique the better.
“We’re not looking for things that have already been written or been done,” he says. “We’re looking for things that are about to be done, and would be really valuable to the process of creating whatever the idea is.”
McGrail explains that the pieces that get selected to perform at the festival go through a blind jury process, which allows performances to be chosen based on what the idea is, and how it fits into the larger Ottawa arts ecosystem.
“The application process is super, super simple—you just have to have an idea, and then we leave it to you, once you’re accepted, to take that idea and do what you want as long as it fits within that 20 minutes,” says McGrail.
Past Fresh Meat Fest show All Things Bright and Beautiful. Photo by Melody Maloney.
Fresh Meat Fest also pays their artists for the work that they create. This year, they will cut back a bit of their programming to pay artists a little more than has been done in previous years.
“A lot of arts funding is getting cut all across the board,” says McGrail. “So we wanted to make sure that the artists that we’re getting are paid in order to be able to make the art that they deserve to be making.”
Finally, McGrail says that not only is Fresh Meat Fest a platform for artists to try something new in their craft, but it also has been a springboard for many successful shows in and around Ottawa.
“The things that have come from Fresh Meat [Fest] do have long lives,” says McGrail. “It’s a really great opportunity to have your work seen, and find collaborators and other artists in the city that are excited by the ideas you’re presenting.”
The Fresh Meat Fest runs from Oct. 23-26 but the submission portal for performance entries will be open from May 8 to June 9. For more information about Fresh Meat Fest, visit their website.
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