The Ottawa Fringe Festival is once again serving as a recommender for the Ontario Arts Council’s Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators program!

To be eligible for the program you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Ontario. Specifically for Ottawa Fringe grants, you must be a professional artist (as defined by the OAC) living and creating in Ottawa.

Ottawa Fringe is looking to fund under-represented, emerging, and new generation artists, living and creating in Ottawa. We will only fund artists who live in Ottawa.

Submission Instructions:

You will be asked to submit the following items:

• C.V. (mandatory)
• Script Sample

Application deadline is November 20, 2026 at 1pm EST. For more information on the program and how to apply, please click here.

Call for Proposals: undercurrents 2028

Submissions for undercurrents 2027 are now closed. Our submission form will remain open for productions interested in being considered for undercurrents 2028. We are seeking local French- or English-language works, as well as national tour-ready productions in either language.

The undercurrents festival model enables us to dedicate more resources, attention, and support to each participating show, which makes the festival both highly competitive and selective.

We encourage you to submit your most compelling project and will meet with all shortlisted artists and teams before final selections are made. 

Our priorities are:

• We are committed to centering the voices of BIPOC artists, QTBIPOC artists, Deaf and Disabled+ artists, and 2SLGBTQ+ artists.
• Developing high-quality, local work. We’re passionate about growing Ottawa’s theatre community and showcasing its extraordinary talent.
• This year, we are extending a direct invitation to Indigenous artists to submit proposals or reach out to us with ideas. We recognize undercurrents has historically operated within Euro-centric frameworks, and we know that creating space for Indigenous works, as imagined by their creators, requires time, trust, and relationship-building. We are committed to engaging in meaningful conversations toward that goal.

We’re excited to receive your submissions and look forward to learning more about the projects you’re creating.

In addition to the online form, we ask all artists to submit:

1. A proposal describing the project, its history, and the confirmed participating artists
2. Biographies/CVs of lead artists or creators
3. A completed script or script sample
4. Additional support material (optional): tech specs*, reviews, photos, or letters of support

*If you have them, we ask for tech specs so we can make sure our theatre can accommodate your show. The more detail you can give us, the better, but ideally they would include: particulars of your set, information about lights and sound, video or projection components, etc… But don’t stress out about tech specs! We never rule out a show based on this information, and will reach out if we have questions. 

If the form is not accessible for you, we will also accept alternative formats. Alternative applications could be a video (English, French or ASL) or an audio file. Please limit videos or audio files to no more than 10 minutes long, and include all the information requested in the application form. You may then submit your application by email to director@ottawafringe.com.

Have questions before submitting? Want to learn more about undercurrents? Schedule a call / book a meeting with Ottawa Fringe Executive and Artistic Director, Alain Richer (director@ottawafringe.com).

Apply Here