Programs + Initiatives
Hello: Designers Intake

GVPTA's Hello program offers theatre performers, designers, stage managers, and production professionals who are actively seeking work the opportunity to create an introductory video that will be seen by directors, producers, and other theatre hiring personnel.
While our focus is Metro Vancouver and surrounding regions, we will accept applications from individuals based in other communities within B.C.
The Hello program is held and managed on the principles of equity and diversity. We invite participants from all backgrounds including, but not limited to: race, ethnicity, indigeneity, gender, sexual orientation, class, mental and physical ability.
Application intake is now open.
If you work in a sector of the theatre industry other than Performing, Design, Production Management, Technical Direction, or Stage Management, and are interested in the Hello Program, please email Mishelle at mishelle@gvpta.ca and we are happy to discuss your options.
Deadline to Apply: September 26, 4:00pm
Here are the important dates to remember:
- September 26, 2023, 4:00pm - Deadline to apply
- September 28 - Applicants receive notification of results
- October 20 - Deadline for invited participants to submit materials
Expand the accordion below to learn about whether you're eligible to apply, and what to expect if your application is approved and you are invited to participate.
- You must be based in British Columbia and seeking to work in theatre between now and December, 2024;
- You must have experience or training as a designer within one or more of the following disciplines:
- Set
- Props
- Costume
- Sound
- Lighting
- Video / Projection
- Designers who participated in the 2022 Designers Spotlight are eligible to apply.
- If invited to participate, you must be a current GVPTA Individual Member (sliding scale starting from $10) to confirm your spot in the program.
Priority will be given to those designers who are:
An emerging designer; and/or
Identify as being from an underrepresented community (This may include, but is not limited to: First Nations, Inuit, or Métis peoples; racialized artists; person who has/is blind, low vision, limited mobility, neurodiverse, deaf, hearing loss; living with a disability; minority language communities; LGBTQ2+); and/or
New to British Columbia (moved to BC between 2020 and 2023); and/or
A mid-career or established artist looking to expand their work into a new facet of the industry.
Those whose applications have been approved and are invited to participate will be notified by September 28.
Designers invited to the Hello program will submit a recorded video or audio self-introduction (three to five minutes), and resumé. See "I've been invited to participate! What's next?" below for further details and guidelines.
All Hello program profiles will be available to watch by invited directors, hiring personnel, and other company representatives over a three-month period.
Follow-up interviews are at the sole discretion of each attending production company or director, all of whom will contact you using the information on your resumé. See FAQfor more details.
Please note: Submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance to the program.
- Your full name, email, and phone number;
- Your pronouns;
- Your location in B.C.;
- Which of the following you identify as:
- Emerging theatre artist or worker; and/or
- Mid-career or established theatre artist or worker (and why the program would benefit you now); and/or
- New to British Columbia (moved to BC between 2020 and 2023).
- Your general area of design discipline:
- Set, Props, Costume, Sound, Video / Projection, Lighting, Other
- Professional associations or union affiliations, if applicable
- One document, a maximum of two pages in PDF format (maximum 10MB);
- File name must include your Full Name, Content of file, and PDF format. (e.g. FirstName_LastName-Resume.pdf);
- Ensure your name and contact information are included;
- If your work experience covers multiple design disciplines, focus the majority of the resumé on the credits that you want the directors to know about more (See Designers' FAQ below for more details);
- If you’d like, feel free to provide a maximum of two (2) references, which could include: producers/directors to shows worked, a supervising instructor or professor, or design mentor recognized in the theatre industry, etc.
- You will also have the option to provide a link to your portfolio website.
Those invited to participate must be a current GVPTA Individual Member (sliding scale starting from $10) to confirm their spot in the program.
Your single video or audio clip should include, in the following order:
- A short greeting, including your full name, pronouns, and the primary designer role you're introducing yourself as;
- Introduction to you as a designer, including, but not limited to:
- Artistic Mandate and/or Design Philosophies - What is your definition of a designer? What are your influences and/or inspiration for your work? What are artistic and/or working values for you?
- Practice - How do you describe the design aesthetic or genre you default to? Briefly, what are one or two examples of work in the past that are most representative of your body of work?
- Interests and other info - Any interests or relevant personal information you might feel compelled to share.
- We will accept ONE headshot in PDF or JPEG format. File format must include your Full Name, Content of file, and PDF/JPEG format. (eg. FirstName_LastName-Headshot.pdf);
- Digital dimension equivalent to a 8 x 10” printed shot.
- All submission videos must be in .MOV or .MP4 format (no video links)
- Resolution: 720 p - 1080 p (HD)
- Compressed files preferred (maximum 200 MB)
- Filmed horizontally
- Highly encouraged to have 3/4 (torso up) of yourself visible when filming and be in centre frame;
- File format must include your full name and content of file and video format (eg. “FirstName_LastName-Designer.mp4” OR “FirstName_LastName-Designer.mov”);
- All audio files must be in .MP3 or .WAV format (no audio links)
- Maximum 200 MB;
- File format must include your full name and content of file and audio format (eg. “FirstName_LastName-Designer.mp3” OR “FirstName_LastName-Designer.wav”);
- Optional: For audio-only introductions we recommend also submitting an image (.jpg or .png) to accompany your recording during playback (e.g. logo, name, headshot, preferred production still, etc.).
Click the questions below to expand the accordion and read more.
Yes, you can submit separate applications as a Designer and as a Performer.
All GVPTA Member Companies are invited to register to view the artist and arts worker profiles and to download resumés. Independent directors and non-member companies are also invited to participate if they intend to hire or create work in the next year. Given the shift to digital profiles which can be viewed over the course of three months, we cannot guarantee the number of directors or which individuals from the companies participating will view your profile.
For our current list of GVPTA member companies, check our member directory.
- Video:
- All submission videos must be in .MOV or .MP4 format (no video links);
- Resolution: 720p - 1080p (HD);
- Compressed files preferred (maximum 200 MB);
- Filmed horizontally
- Audio:
- For designers submitting audio only, file format must be in .MP3 or .WAV format (no audio links).
- Maximum 200MB
- A one shot continuous or short edits for their introduction and other things they want to share; OR
- An audio submission of their introduction and other things they want to share; OR
- Your introduction has you on video, then there’s a cut to visuals or video clips or other recordings that highlight some of the work in your portfolio which helps illustrate your practice.
For example:
Lee is a costume designer; they introduce themselves briefly on camera and then cut to slides of their costumes with a voice over talking about their process; OR
Scout is a sound designer; they introduce themselves briefly on camera and then cut to a screen recording of them showing their SoundCloud page and then playing samples of their soundscapes over a voice over that helps them talk about their practice.
- You’re welcome to film yourself with your phone, video recorder, or video camera;
- Make sure you have front lighting so we can see your face;
- Try your best to record in a quiet room or at a time with the least amount of background noise. Audio quality is key!
- Do not use overlay filters or effects while filming your video;
- Make sure you are framed in the shot and about 3/4s of you is visible (torso up), and camera is at eye level (not from above or below shots);
- Do some research beforehand on your video settings. If you are new to self-taping check out the articles below:
- Backstage has extensive articles on tips when filming (note that this is for a self-tape context for film and TV, please read articles as a reference; these are not requirements for our submission process): https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/guide-perfect-self-tape-1758/
- Circle.hd breaks down video terminology when it comes to our requirements of video resolution and size: https://www.circlehd.com/blog/how-to-calculate-video-file-size
- If you are not comfortable doing your introduction on video, you have the option to submit an audio recording;
- You’re welcome to use your phone or any audio recording device to record your audio;
- If you are able to adjust your recording settings, we suggest recording between 16,000 - 48,000 Hz;
- Try your best to record in a quiet room or at a time with the least amount of background noise.
- WeTransfer is a free to use platform (although you can sign up to get more features) where folks can transfer files and prevent further compression (ie prevents file quality to be compromised). If you need a quick tutorial on how to use it, check out this video (made by JayCLife). Troubleshooting for WeTransfer can be found here on their Help page.
- Google Drive Sharing is a way to use your Google Drive to share files (make sure to upload those files in your Drive first). If you need a quick tutorial on how to set up a shareable file via Google Drive, check out this video (made by LAT IT Trainer).
Deadline to Apply: September 26, 4:00pm
If you have further questions about the Hello program, contact Mishelle Cuttler, Programs Manager, at mishelle@gvpta.ca.