Applications for 2024 Fall Wirtz Student Performance Projects (SPPs) are now open! The deadline to apply is Friday, May 10 at 11:59pm CST.
SPPs are sponsored by the Wirtz Center. SPPs give students the opportunity to produce their own productions utilizing Wirtz spaces and resources. These can be entirely student written, an existing work, a song cycle, a dance piece, or so much more. SPPs allow students to explore the production process from conception to realization, under the supervision and guidance of the Production Coordinator. Students are encouraged to submit a proposal for their projects, where they will undergo a selection process by various SOC faculty and staff. We make selections based on how well thought out the proposals are, variety of representation, as well as message/theme. We provide administrative support and a small amount of grant money, and you provide the vision and final product!
*While the Wirtz Center is open for in-person work, please note that any projects are subject to changes regarding COVID guidelines and audiences.*
Application Guidelines and Requirements
Please review the Student Performance Project Guidelines before applying.
- You must be a currently enrolled student (undergraduate or graduate) at Northwestern University to produce a SPP.
- You must have a faculty mentor and a signed statement from that mentor.
- Please check that your rights are available BEFORE submitting your application. If you need information from the Wirtz to apply for rights, please reach out to gianna.carter@northwestern.edu.
- If selected, Wirtz will pay for rights to your production (if applicable). Do NOT submit payment before getting selected. This step is only to ensure it will be possible to produce your project if/when it is selected!
Useful Information for Rights Applications:
Rough list of potentially available spaces and dates:
Fall Week 4 (10/14 – 10/20) in 101
Fall Week 5 (10/21 – 10/27) in 101
Fall Week 7 (11/04 – 11/10) in Struble and 201
Fall Week 8 (11/11 – 11/17) in Struble
Fall Week 9 (11/18 – 11/24) in 101 and Struble
Fall Week 11 (12/02 – 12/08) in 101 and 201
Typical performance schedule is Friday @7pm, Saturday @2pm, and Saturday @7pm. Performance days/times and numbers can vary with approval.
Seating numbers: The Struble seats 100, WTZ 101 seats 100 (in-the-round), and WTZ 201 seats 75. Tickets must be free.
We ask that SPPs apply for rights so that when/if they are chosen, the process doesn’t get bogged down in the rights approval process. Wirtz pays for the rights. You do NOT need to purchase the rights to apply—you only need to make sure that the rights are actually available. Most rightsholders will let you change date and venue information (if the dates do not vastly differ) after applying for rights, so don’t worry about getting that information 100% accurate. Please don’t spend any of your own money to acquire rights!
Please contact Gianna Carter at gianna.carter@northwestern.edu with any questions.
Faculty Mentor Responsibilities:
(Please note that the responsibilities and involvement of each faculty mentor may vary depending on the project.)
• Read and provide critiques on the application.
• Check in with team at time of application submission, start of rehearsals, and start of tech
week.
• Attend production meetings as necessary.
• Advise on project when necessary.
• Respond to emails regarding project when necessary.
If selected, Faculty Mentor must agree to and sign this document Faculty Mentor Guidelines
Application Link:
Click HERE to apply.
Past Shows:
FALL QUARTER 2023
Driver, Lender
Written by Leo Kurland
Produced by Ryan Lien
November 17-November 18 in Wirtz 201
SPRING QUARTER 2023
The White in His Eye
Written by by Andrés Buenahora
Produced by Katherine Tuohy & Anne-Sophie Lacombe Garcia
April 3-April 9 in Wirtz 201
The Commutative Property of Body Positivity
by Sydney Tennill
Produced by Clay Lawhead
April 10-16 in Wirtz 201
PLAYground Festival
Produced by Natalie Rarick
April 17-23 in Wirtz 201
B. Burlesque Dance Showcase
Produced by Kahsaia de Brito
April 17-23 in the Struble
Creating Small Thunder
Produced by Leo Kurland
April 24-30 in the Struble
Fairview
Produced by Lola Bode
Directed by Arwen-Vira Marsh
Produced by Graybill Partington
May 1-7 in Wirtz 101
Songs of Achilles
by Matthew Millin
Directed by Yasmeen Mohammed Rafee
Produced by Graybill Partington
May 29- June 4 in the Struble
FALL QUARTER 2022
JTE Song Cycle: If I Had Not Fallen
Directed by Alexa Goldstein
Produced by Talia Hartman-Sigall
September 30-October 1 in Wirtz 101
Red
by John Logan
Performed by Andy Johnston and Ben Weiss
October 15-16 in Wirtz 101
The Thin Place
by Lucas Hnath
Directed by Ethan Karas
Produced by Graybill Partington
October 22-23, 2022 in Wirtz 101
Between Snow and Nun
Devised and Directed by Da Eun Yoon
November 5-6, 2022 in the Struble
Devised Cabaret
Directed by Morgan Frost
November 19-20, 2022 in the Struble
SPRING QUARTER 2022
The Haunting of Hill House
by F. Andrew Leslie
from the novel by Shirley Jackson
Directed by Samara Malik
April 8-9, 2022 in Wirtz 201
The Empress in the Palace
Devised and Directed by Jonyca Jiao
May 7-8, 2022 in Wirtz 101