Call for Submissions (Edmonton): Season Collaborators – Walterdale Theatre Associates, Theater News

At Walterdale Theatre Associates (WTA), we are planning our 2026–27 season.

As part of this effort, we are open to receiving expressions of interest for collaboration. We are an established theatre group caring for our historic playhouse in Old Strathcona, and we have a proud tradition of partnering with many like-minded parties to facilitate a broad range of work on our stage.

Importantly, Walterdale Playhouse is not a roadhouse venue—we collaborate to:
– Provide value and opportunity to our members and the local community.
– Build meaningful and lasting connections in our city’s network of theatre creators.
– Ensure our playhouse is enjoyed and used to its fullest potential.

This call-out contains details on our priorities and timeline for those interested. We welcome previous and new collaborators without an existing agreement in place for the coming year to submit proposals.

Who can submit
We prioritize connections with local performance arts organizations grounded in our community, but any party is welcome to offer proposals.

Key Considerations
Collaborations take many forms including festivals, workshops, competitions, public events, and more. Your proposal only needs to be as in-depth as the complexity of your event; a two-for-one ticket night is simpler than a multi-week festival.

What we are looking for
– Passionate and engaged collaborators with strong connections to the local theatre community.
– One-time or recurring partnerships beginning September 2026–July 2028.
– Events/programming that can be scheduled around our regular season and existing agreements.

Notable availabilities for longer events:
– – Feb 23–Mar 6, 2027
– – May 4th–9th, 2027

Shorter (one night/single day) events could be scheduled concurrent to other programming providing flexibility from the collaborator.
Examples:
– – Educational and developmental opportunities such as workshops or inclusion of WTA members in artistic work
– – Value and benefits for our organization, our members, and local volunteers.
– – Discounts for WTA members
– – Promotion and for WTA season programming
– – Support for our operations
– Opportunities for individuals to create theatre who may face obstacles, have limited experience, or fewer opportunities.
– Opportunities to bring diverse representation to our stage.

Your needs
What do you need us to know? Consider what are firm requirements and where you are flexible.

• Scheduling: Dates and times, event length.
• Logistics: Theatre access, equipment, load-in/loud-out, storage, capacity, concession, insurance & licensing, secure lock-up.
• Personnel: Technicians, front of house, ushers, cast & crew WTA is run almost exclusively by volunteer workers.
• Accessibility: The Walterdale playhouse is a heritage building with accessibility limitations in some areas and higher accessibility in other areas.
• Other

Process
Proposals must be received by 11:59 PM June 1st in order to be considered as part of our 2026-2027 season scheduling.

Contact
To submit, fill out the form linked on our website:
https://www.walterdaletheatre.com/open-call-for-collaborators-2026/

If you have questions, need additional information, or require assistance, please contact: [email protected]

Thank You
We will reach out to all submitters mid-July. All proposals are appreciated even if we can’t accommodate you this season. Please continue to suggest partnerships as opportunities arise in the future. We love to hear from you.