We are seeking proposals for projects, excerpts, and works-in-progress of approximately 25 – 35 minutes in length.

Programmed works will be performed as part of a shared festival bill at a one-ticket event that takes the form of an ‘art party meets night market.’

Audiences will be able to see half of the entire festival programming each night. Artists are expected to perform only once per night. 

While presentations are not expected to be “complete” they should be in “performance mode.” Even if that performance mode is a bit rough.

Another way of describing the stage of development that projects being showcased at Tremors should be at is:  ‘able to – and seeking to engage an audience’.

Submissions are welcomed from individuals, collectives, and organizations.

Key Dates

Shared Residency period (optional): June 7 – 20, 2027
Tech period: June 21st – 24th, 2027
*Industry Dress: June 24th, 2027
Performance Dates: June 25th – June 27th, 2027
Residency Location: Progress Lab 1422, Vancouver, BC, CAN (Unceded MST)
Performance Location: (Secret Location), Vancouver, BC, CAN (Unceded MST)

 * The “Industry Dress” is the only night where we perform all of the shows in one night. It’s often attended by programmers who might not be able to attend the festival multiple nights so that they can see everything. This is a very casual, fun and supportive evening – and programmers are aware that they’re watching a rehearsal. It’s also often a chance for all of the acts at the festival to be able to see each other’s work since shows run simultaneously on the public nights. 

Venue Information

Since 2020 TREMORS has taken place at our home base of Progress Lab 1422. The way it usually works is that we make the space available to programmed artists 24/7 for an optional shared residency period (1-2 weeks) to further work on their projects, and then we showcase in the following week at Progress Lab.

We will still be offering the residency period at Progress Lab 1422, and there is a chance we may showcase there as well as per usual, however for the 2027 fFestival we will showcase the work at a (for now) Secret off-site location that can accommodate a larger audience.

While we are not able to say much about the Secret off-site location quite yet – we can say that the 2027 festival will be best suited to projects that could play in a non-traditional – “pop-up” venue. 

What We Provide

• Presentation fee (generally between $3,000 – $6,000 CAN depending on scale and scope) 
  • Please Note for Out of Town artists: We are unable to provide Travel funding above the presentation fees. However, we will be happy to support you in travel applications to National, Provincial, and Local granting bodies in any way we can. 
• Letters of Support/Confirmation as required. 
• Presentation space including technical services and equipment
• Calling Stage Management
  • (Meaning we can call cues based on a cue list once we begin the tech process, however we do not provide stage management during rehearsals.)
• Marketing and Publicity services
• Box Office and Front of House services
• An archival of your performance at the festival (single camera) for future use.
• (Optional) Residency space leading up to the festival for rehearsals and other uses.
• (Optional) Mentorship on grant writing/revenue development, producing, and long term project management.

How To Apply

Please fill out the application form and include a single PDF or video file with all of the relevant information. If you can’t upload your application, please email Jiv Parasram at jiv[at]rumble.org

Please submit no later than 11:59 PM PST. September 15th 2026.

Applications should include the following information in PDF/Video form:

Essential application requirements: 

• An artist statement introducing yourself or your collective and the project you are proposing (ideally maximum length of 2 pages single spaced.)**
  

Additionally, we require: 

• A list of collaborators on your project
  • Either names and bios (if confirmed) or number of collaborators and roles (if unconfirmed). 
• Relevant production or development history of the project you are proposing.
  • For example, if it was developed through a residency with another organization, or if you held a reading or showing yourself. 
• Whether you have any conflicts, or limitations in your availability between June 7th  – June 27th 2027
  
  

Support Material: 

It is recommended that you submit at least one item of support material.

This can include: 

• Additional material about the project you are proposing
• Archivals, Script excerpts, and other materials of the project and its development to date.
• Past examples of work from you, and your collaborators. 
  • In the case of submitting past work, it’s helpful if you let us know how you think it relates to your application and the project you are proposing for Tremors. 

Support material length guidelines:

You may submit as much support material as you like, however the committee will only be required to read up to 10 pages, and watch/listen to up to 12 minutes of recorded material.

So it is advisable to provide time codes, and page ranges that you would like us to prioritise. 

Optional application requirements (that are very helpful for us, and appreciated.)

• A short description of your objectives in presenting at Tremors (if known).
  • Essentially – what questions are you looking to have answered, or what questions are you asking yourself in the development of your project.
• Any known technical information you can provide us
  • For example, if your project requires projection, or installing a significant set item. 
• Any community connections you have, or are seeking to make
  • For example – if you are making a piece about harm reduction, are their organizations you are already connected to? Are there organizations you would like to be connected to that we might be able to help with?

PLEASE NOTE: If you have not received a confirmation of receipt on your application within two weeks of submission, please follow up to confirm that it has been received.

**Regarding the 2-page maximum length Artist Statement and Project Description: We recognize that some projects may require a longer description, particularly if they are working in a form that requires additional cultural or historic context. In these cases, it is ok to go over the page limit. That said, brevity is still appreciated where possible. 

QUESTIONS? Please see our Frequently Asked Questions on the sidebar of this page. For any other questions please email jiv[at]rumble.org

About Tremors

Occurring once every two years, the TREMORS Festival has been a major component of Rumble’s programming for some time. The exact structure of the festival has shifted over the years, adapting to what we see as the current needs in the Independent theatre and performance sector in the city of Vancouver, BC (unceded MST).

Originally, Tremors was a presentation series evolving out of ‘The Young and the Restless’ which showcased full-length projects by Emerging collectives.

Next, Tremors focused on training –  producing three full-length productions of existing scripts executed by groups of emerging artists receiving mentorship from established artists.

Most recently, Tremors has shifted its model to utilize its platform to provide an intermediary showcase opportunity of short works or works-in-development for artists – where work is ready to engage an audience – but it is also still early enough that it may continue  to change based on what is discovered. In this way, artists don’t have to go ‘all the way to premiere’ to start to understand how a project functions with a live audience. Some Tremors projects continue on to full development – others may end at the festival. Both are great – our intention is to allow the space for experimentation in a supportive and relatively low-stakes situation.

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