Call for Submissions - Designing for the Bard

For the last 14 years, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre (AST) has gathered in Conway, Arkansas, to create intimate one of a kind productions bringing the work of William Shakespeare to life on stage. It has always been part of our artistic mission to bring together working professionals, emerging artists, and students to share in an environment that encourages artistic excellence, exploration, and growth. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic we find ourselves unable to execute this process in person. In an effort to maintain our academic goals of connecting students with working professionals AST is pleased to announce the Designing for the Bard project.

Designing for the Bard is focused on providing an opportunity for college students to connect with the design world of Shakespeare and engage with industry professionals. Through the program, participants will be able to apply their creativity to a Shakespeare play, be able to share that work with AST’s network of artists and Shakespeare fans on social media, and have that work discussed by professional designers from around the country in an online roundtable.

To participate, students should complete the following steps:

Select to Design Scenery, Lighting, Costumes, Sound, or Projections Design for any Shakespeare play title. These can be new designs created between now and the June 30th submission deadline, or a previously designed unrealized classroom project.
Sign up online with AST by June 15th. Sign Up Link: https://forms.gle/CjCTJhAjig4zZC5s8
Students will then have until June 30th to submit their design materials through the online portal that will be shared with the registered participants. Students design materials will consist of a 250-word design description, and 8 uploads of their choosing. (These can be a collage of images, model photos, sound clips, Renderings drafting etc.)
Once student submissions are received AST will share the students’ work on our social media platforms to highlight and bring a spotlight to all of their creative artistry.
Students will be invited to participate in virtual roundtable discussions with professional designers discussing the experience and techniques of designing for Shakespeare. Roundtables will begin on July 6th. Specifics of dates, times, etc. will be shared with registered participants on June 20th.

We hope that this project will help fill the void that this pandemic has caused in the education and opportunities for expression of so many students and young emerging artists. In the words of Shakespeare himself “The object of art is to give life a shape.”

If you have questions, please feel free to email the project Organizers:

Joe C. Klug: AST Artistic Collective Member: jckdesigns@gmail.com Jamie Bray: AST Production Manager: jbray4@uca.edu

Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre is a professional Shakespeare Festival that is a proud part of the Film, Theatre, and Creative Writing Department at the University of Central Arkansas.