Call for Submissions

Thespo (India) and the Paprika Festival (Canada), in association with the Social Distancing Festival, are looking for artists aged 16-25 to participate in the COSMOCABARET: a live-streamed international extravaganza! This collaborative creation process will take place over 5 weeks and culminate in 2 virtual performances on March 20 & 21, 2021. 

COSMOCABARET will bring together 12 emerging artists to share in a creative process and cross-cultural exchange. Participants will have the opportunity to explore performance styles including drag, dance, spoken word, stand-up comedy, singing, and more. 

The program will be facilitated by Tsholo Visions Khalema, acclaimed actor, director, and self-taught filmmaker. Tsholo is South African Transgender man born in the midst of apartheid who witnessed the fall of an era while assimilating to life in Canada. He is currently directing the digital production 11:11 for Theatre Passe Muraille.

We are looking for self-motivated performers with an interest in cabaret or alternative performance styles and the desire to collaborate across cultures and time zones. You do not have to be a current Thespo or Paprika participant to apply.

Performances will take place:

Show 1: March 20 @ 10:30am EST (March 20 @ 8:00pm IST)

Show 2: March 20 @ 10:00pm EST (March 21 @ 7:30am IST)

[Show 1: March 20 @ 8:00pm IST (March 20 @ 10:30am EST)

Show 2: March 21 @ 7:30am IST (March 20 @ 10:00pm EST)]

Each participant will receive a small honorarium upon completion of the training sessions and live-streamed performances.

Want to be a part of the COSMOCABARET? Follow these 3 steps to submit:

*shoot or edit a 1-3 min video of you performing (can be anything, ie. drag/spoken work/stand-up, etc…)

*upload as an unlisted video to YouTube or Vimeo and save the link

*fill out this short online application (15-30 min) and include the link to your video

https://forms.gle/mMq4y2XUhKFXmzDj8

Applications are now open and close February 12th @ 12:00am EST. / February 13th @ 10:30am IST.

***get in touch with Nathan Carroll (nathan@paprikafestival.com) or Anushka Ghose (theatre@thespo.org) with any questions or for help with your application.

For more information, visit us at:

Thespo www.thespo.org

Paprika www.paprikafestival.com

Social Distancing Festival www.socialdistancingfestival.com