the upspace lottery
tl;dr: Do things in the Upspace.
PLEASE NOTE: The Upspace Lottery is closed for the rest of the Spring '24 semester. It will open again in the fall!
The Upstairs Space - aka "upspace" - is one of two black box theaters at TF Green managed by Production Workshop. The Upspace is an intimate, flexible space; it can become a concert venue, creative workshop, exhibit space, or stage at a moment’s notice.
The Upspace is a valuable resource for all Brown and RISD students to use - and we want you to do so! During parts of the semester, it can be booked for interested creative projects. Our goal (ambitious as it is) is that no Upspace day goes unused, and no potential project goes unseen.
at a glance...
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The Upspace is equipped with a light grid, speakers, seating, and a grand piano; you can read more about its technical aspects here.
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Access to the Upspace comes with some access to Production Workshop’s furniture stock, props stock, basic lighting, and costume closet.
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Upspace users are also eligible to apply for select financial grants managed by PW, depending on which grants are currently available.
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The PW board provides artists access to the Upspace through a first come, first serve application review.
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Here’s how it works:
1. PW maintains a calendar of all free Upspace days for the semester. Check the calendar for availability before making any requests.
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2. Decide how many days in the Upspace you need. You can request at most five days. ​​​​​​
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3. Decide when you want to do the project. Some dates will be more popular than others (like weekends), so keep that in mind. If you have a couple preferred sets of dates, that’s fine too. Also decide if there are dates you absolutely can’t do (Tuesdays; the first week; etc.)
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4. To enter the Upspace Lottery, fill out this Google form. Your request will be reviewed by a member of the PW board, and they'll be in touch to confirm whether or not you've received your desired dates. If the answer is yes, we will also follow up with more logistical info.
We’ll take submissions throughout the semester – and if there are free days in the calendar, we’ll advertise those so they can be filled up with concerts, workshops, readings, and whatever you can imagine!
*IMPORTANT: We cannot accept submissions for projects staging copyrighted works (i.e. complete theatrical productions and/or musical productions) for which you do not plan to acquire rights. PW does not cover the cost of rights for Upspace Lottery projects. (However, you may be eligible for a PW-hosted grant opportunity - check here!)​
*ALSO IMPORTANT: Because there are so few designated performance spaces on Brown’s campus, submissions with an audience will take precedence over those without (like rehearsals).