Open Door Festival is a joint project between Doohickie Productions and Exeter Phoenix and has been created with the aim of platforming artists who may have previously been excluded from programming opportunities. We’re keen to support stories we haven’t heard, perspectives we haven’t seen and artists who haven’t had their opportunity – yet. This year, we are especially interested in seeing applications from the student community and emerging mature artists, by which we mean older artists who may be new to creating work or may have experienced a career break.

Doohickie Productions was founded in 2023, by local theatre producers Matt Farley, Grace Plant and Sarah McCourt. Between them, they have worked for schools, theatres, libraries and charities and supported touring productions, roaming the fields of Devon and Cornwall. We’re looking for full length pieces (45 minutes minimum) that are ready to be performed in front of a live audience. We are also looking for workshops that share exercises or approaches that you use in your theatre making process.

Find out more and apply via our Creative Opportunities page. Applications close Sun 01 Feb.

Who should apply?
Everyone is welcome to apply! The Open Door Festival is all about amplifying voices, so please apply. We are especially looking to hear from people who feel that they may have been excluded from previous platforming opportunities and, for this year’s festival, we’re really excited to see applications from students and emerging mature artists.

How will we decide who will perform?
In order to programme as fairly as possible, we will be taking inspiration from our friends at Barnstaple Fringe Theatrefest, and randomly selecting from all appropriate applications. This means that all applications submitted will have an equal opportunity to be programmed.

Why are you specifically looking for applications from students and returning artists?
Great question! In a perfect world, we’d love to work closely with multiple groups and this is something we intend to do in the future. For this year’s version of the festival, we’re starting small and making it as accessible as possible for artists and audiences alike.

I have an idea about how to make the festival!
Brilliant – we want to hear everyone’s ideas! We’ll be holding community consultation sessions on Mon 19 Jan and Sat 24 Jan to hear from artists and audiences about how they would like the festival to run. If you are interested in joining us either in-person or online via Teams, please book here.

Venue: Exeter Phoenix

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>