Workshop Instructor 2024
Celebration Barn seeks an instructor to lead a week-long, in-person workshop during the summer of 2024. This workshop will be billed as part of our new One Time Only series, an annual initiative to produce one new workshop a season with the expectation that it will only be offered once.
This is a unique opportunity for innovative artists or seasoned teachers looking to design and lead a five-day course for a cohort of six to sixteen artists committed to being courageous collaborators while expanding their artistic practice. At this time, we are especially interested in workshops in physical theater, devising, and performer-generated work.
About Celebration Barn and the Workshops
For fifty-one years, Celebration Barn has created opportunities for physical theater artists to hone their craft and collaborate with their peers through training. Artistically, the Barn focuses on physical theater, mime, clown, circus, devising, performer-generated work, and related art forms. At their core, workshops at the Barn are committed to serving artists whose work foregrounds the expressive capabilities of the body and embraces theatricality.
In addition, the Barn welcomes instructors who are interested in exploring topics related to professionalization and who themselves have participated in movements committed to advancing antiracism, decolonization, and fair working conditions.
All in-person workshops are held on Celebration Barn’s beautiful wooded campus, located in the foothills of South Paris, Maine. The campus has several facilities in which work can take place, including:
- A fifty-five-seat proscenium theater with a stage, as well as a long, wide corridor that runs the length of the barn
- The third floor of the barn, which includes a large studio with mirrors and a large room that stores an assortment of costumes and props
- An outdoor stage
- Smaller studios for individual practice and breakout sessions
Instructors and seasonal staff live in a two-story house, complete with a residential kitchen on each floor, on campus. Most artists enrolled in the workshop reside on campus in solar-powered sleeping cabins and have access to shared kitchens, bathrooms, and showers.
Regarding schedule, all workshop participants, including the instructor, arrive on Sunday in time for a dinner on Sunday night. Workshops run from Monday through Friday. The daily schedule is set by the instructor and can be adjusted as needed. All participants must leave on Saturday.
This year’s One Time Only workshop will take place during the month of June, although the exact week is still to be determined.
What You Will Do
Celebration Barn offers instructors the freedom to design and lead their own unique workshops. We encourage instructors to create workshops that take advantage of how their artistry and pedagogy intersect with the Barn’s resources and the interests of their students. With that in mind, here is a list of some of the core responsibilities that all instructors share:
- Design a compelling workshop for a cohort of six to sixteen artists.
- Draft a course description that will be featured on the Barn’s website and marketing materials.
- Help recruit students for the workshop.
- Lead the workshop Monday through Friday.
What We Are Looking For
First and foremost, we are looking for instructors with a compelling vision for what a week-long intensive workshop can offer a cohort of artists arriving with different backgrounds, skill sets, and ambitions. In terms of experience, we are interested in applicants who have a track record of leading workshops, classes, and seminars for theater and performance artists and/or artists who have built a body of work in theater, performance, or a related discipline.
Two or more people may apply to lead a single workshop, and we encourage groups and collectives to apply. If this is the case, please submit a single application for the workshop (see “How to Apply” below for more details).
Compensation
The instructor will receive a fee of $2,000 and a per diem of $45 a day, including arrival and departure days.
The fee for workshops led by more than one person can be negotiated with the executive artistic director. The per diem, however, will remain the same for each instructor.
In addition to the fee and per diems, each instructor receives:
- Housing on the first floor of the Barn’s farmhouse, with a private bedroom, living room, bathroom, and residential kitchen.
- Airfare to and from the Portland Jetport, one checked bag, and ground transportation from the Portland Jetport to the Barn and back.
How to Apply
To apply, submit the following materials:
- A written resume or a CV. The purpose of this material is to give us a clear sense of your experience as an artist, teacher, and leader in the field, so feel free to format in the way that most clearly expresses your work. Please submit this as a PDF.
- A personal statement, in any format. This is an opportunity for you to tell us your vision for the workshop and what students will learn during their time together. This statement can be as formal or as conversational as you would like. In addition, feel free to submit this material in a format other than writing, such as an audio file, video recording, or any other form that enables you to communicate your ideas best. Please submit written material as a PDF.
Please submit all materials via email to staff@celebrationbarn.com with the subject line Workshop Instructor Application.
If you are submitting large files, such as a video, please include a link to a Google Drive, Dropbox, or some other file sharing platform where we may download the file. If for any reason this does not work for you, please let us know and we will work with you to make sure we receive all your materials.
Hiring Process
Executive Artistic Director David Bruin and Assistant Producer Meaghan Robichaud will give priority to applications submitted on or before Friday, October 27, 2023. Applications will continue to be reviewed on a rolling basis. Our goal is to conduct interviews, which will be held with the executive artistic director and the assistant producer, during early November and to make an offer by Thanksgiving.
If you have any questions about the opportunity or the application, please do not hesitate to contact us at staff@celebrationbarn.com.
International Applicants
Unfortunately, at this time, the Barn does not have the ability to sponsor a US work visa for international applicants.
Statement of Values
Celebration Barn is an equal opportunity employer that strives to put the values of courage, justice, sustainability, and joy into practice, as well as to advance the imperatives of antiracism, decolonization, and fair working conditions. We strongly encourage people from underrepresented groups in the fields of theater and performance to apply, and we ensure that every applicant is treated equally and fairly without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, and any other factor prohibited by law.