We are now booking for the 2025/2026 season.
We will be supporting schools applying to the AFA May 1 deadline for in-school theatre based residencies for the 2025/2026 school season. Grants of up to $15,000 per school are possible.
We discover the show through a very simple group improv process. Our Trickster Artists begin by creating movement patterns with your students, the actors. Then we build the context around these patterns, developing the story and the dialogue.
Fundamental to the Trickster Process is our use of everyday items as props. Our actors improvise with plungers, bins, bamboo poles, pool noodles, scarves, and other everyday objects. On top of this, we bring the spectacle of our signature blacklight and shadow screen styles for theatre performances.
The Alberta Foundation for the Arts has a program that schools can apply to for 50% funding in the Calgary and Edmonton areas and 75% funding everywhere else in the province.
The application deadline is May 1 for residencies in the 2025-26 school year. Up to $15,000. per school is possible.
Contact our office for more details on how to apply.
Focusing your residency on a specific theme makes it cohesive. Each class will create pieces of the performance that focus on topics within your greater theme. The theme can be anything you want, but here are some of the common themes for your consideration.
Small acts, big impact: Embracing kindness for a brighter world. One kind gesture can create a positive ripple effect that strengthens a whole community. Explore the many ways you can change the world with kindness.
Examine the role of media in informing the public and uncovering stories that shape our understanding of the world. This theme includes an added video component, live, during performance to outline the many mediums of journalism.
Explore the importance of inclusivity and community, the value of identities, appreciating one and others experiences, empathy and mutual respect. Answer why a sense of belonging matters and how we can belong where ever we are.
“Going green” focuses on adopting environmentally sustainable practices to reduce our ecological impact, preserve natural resources, and address environmental challenges like climate change and pollution. It promotes awareness, advocacy, and collaborative efforts to create a healthier and more sustainable future for all.
Explore what it means to be Canadian. Students can present stories about the history of Canada, the landscape, the people, and the future of our country.
Looking at at what it means to welcome others to be part of their local, national and international family.
What do we learn from the Land? This is perhaps the most fundamental question we face today as we try to listen to and learn from the natural world.
Problem solving, stress management, setting goals, the effects of sugar on your body, or healthy sleep habits. Helping students connect with topics that will help them be happier and healthier.
Act out global issues and learn more about the world. Water issues, conservation, equality, resource use and climate change are all things that concern students today.
Explore the leadership values that inspire our youth. Some of those values are: resiliency, empathy, patience, mastery, courage, generosity and the ability to think outside the box.
Each class will create a theatre piece based on a literary genre, including Science Fiction, Fables, Documentary, Detective Novels, Poetry, Historical Fiction, and more.
Create a performance about how Math is used in real world situations. Included in the performances is a live-time projection outlining the Math that the students are using in their play!
Explore the history of your community, unearth stories about the past, celebrate your local heroes, and imagine what the future looks like in your community.
Explore the science curriculum by acting it out. We can create a physical understanding of any topic such as plant growth, flight, magnetism, and more.
Starting from a special object – like a wedding dress, or a gumball dispenser, each class will create the story – the flight of wonder – that comes from that prop.
We can create a show based on whatever you can imagine! Dare to dream – what ideas
do you want to
explore together?
Set up a meeting to discuss options.
Choose a theme for your residency.
We’ll help put together your grant application.
| Sept 15-19 | OPEN |
| Sept 22-26 | OPEN (12 classes or less) |
| Sept 29-Oct 3 | OPEN (13+ classes) |
| Oct 6-10 | BOOKED |
| Oct 13-17 | OPEN (13+ classes) |
| Oct 20-24 | OPEN (13+ classes) |
| Oct 27-31 | OPEN (13+ classes) |
| Nov 3-7 | BOOKED |
| Nov 10-14 | OPEN |
| Nov 17-21 | OPEN (12 classes or less) |
| Nov 24-28 | OPEN |
| Dec 1-5 | BOOKED |
| Dec 8-12 | BOOKED |
| Dec 15-19 | OPEN |
| Dec 22-Jan 4 | HAPPY HOLIDAYS |
| Jan 5-9 | BOOKED |
| Jan 12-16 | OPEN (12 classes or less) |
| Jan 19-23 | BOOKED |
| Jan 26-30 | BOOKED |
| Feb 2-6 | BOOKED |
| Feb 9-13 | OPEN |
| Feb 16-20 | OPEN |
| Feb 23-27 | OPEN (13+classes) |
| March 2-6 | BOOKED |
| March 9-13 | OPEN (13+ classes) |
| March 16-20 | OPEN (12 classes or less) |
| March 23-27 | BOOKED |
| March 30 – Apr 3 | OPEN |
| April 6-10 | BOOKED |
| April 13-17 | BOOKED |
| April 20-24 | OPEN (13+ classes) |
| April 27 – May 1 | OPEN (13+ classes) |
| May 4-8 | BOOKED |
| May 11-15 | BOOKED |
| May 18-22 | OPEN |
| May 25-29 | OPEN |
| June 1-5 | OPEN (12 classes or less) |
| June 8-12 | OPEN (12 classes or less) |
| June 15-19 | OPEN (12 classes or less) |
| June 22-26 | OPEN |
If you want us to come to your school to do an in-person residency. Talk to us to discuss available dates, costs, AFA grants, possible themes and any other questions you might have. If you decide to book, we can start that process too.
GRANT DEADLINE: MAY 1, 2025
The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) provides residency program funding assistance directly to Alberta schools. The annual application deadline is May 1, which may provide funding for projects in the following school year.