Administered by the Council of Heads of College, the Creative and Performing Arts (CPA) Awards support on-campus dramatic, musical, dance, video or film productions, literary publications, and exhibitions in each residential college. These projects are supported by the Sudler Fund, the Welch Art Fund, and the Bates Fund. Projects must take place on campus. (Projects may be staged at CoOp High School or at the Educational Center for the Arts by special arrangement with Undergraduate Production.)
Any student may apply for Arts Awards in their residential college, using the application linked above. All applicants should review the full information provided in the CPA Guidelines and consult with their Head of College prior to submission. Not consulting with the Head of College may affect award candidacy.
Application may be made two times each year; A student cannot be a primary proposer for more than one project per term. Students may apply in September for projects produced in the Fall semester, or that will be produced in the Spring semester prior to Spring Break. Students may apply in January for projects produced anytime during the Spring semester. A student may only serve as primary proposer for one project produced each term. A student may apply in the fall for both a fall project and an early spring project. If a student receives a fall award for an early spring project, that student may not apply in January for the late spring.
The fall 2023 application will go live on Monday, August 21 (linked thorugh “Application” in the menu above) and the deadline is 11:59pm EST on Sunday, September 10.
Colleges will notify students of funding and venue decisions (if applicable) no later than Friday, September 29.
In addition to consulting their Head of College, students may also consult with other relevant faculty and administrators on campus. By submitting an application, the Proposer attests that the proposed project consists of original work and that duplicate proposals are not being submitted to other residential colleges. Additional questions about eligibility may be directed to Heads of College.
Students applying for CPA Awards should remember the following:
A. The Applicant/Treasurer must coordinate all finances for a CPA Award. Treasurers should refer to the Treasurer’s Guidelines.
B. Only the Applicant/Treasurer is allowed to submit reimbursement requests.
C. If a vendor who does not have an established contractual agreement with the University is used, University purchasing guidelines must be observed. For information about the guidelines please contact the Senior Administrative Assistant in your college.
D. Reimbursement requests must be submitted to the Head of College’s Office within three weeks of the project’s completion. No reimbursements will be accepted after the last day of the Reading Period in which the project occurred. Reimbursement forms can be downloaded here.
E. Creative and Performing Arts Awards may not be used to cover the following items. Additionally, the Committee reserves the right to disallow spending on other items not explicitly listed below:
- Purchase of equipment
- Computer software
- Support of visits by outside artists
- Food other than as stage props
- Rental of off-campus sites (Exception for “Video and Film” filming locations)
- Travel or transportation costs (Costs for transportation of rented props or instruments may be approved.)
- Production of commercial recordings
- Payments for project expenses proposed after they have taken place
- Payments for professional/appearance fees, wages, honoraria or awards
- Rental of digital production equipment that is available on campus free of charge
- Gifts
- Course fees (students should apply to SafetyNet for financial assistance with curricular expenses)
F. Any project that will use subjects for photo or video purposes will require sign-off from any/all individuals on the provided Photo and Video Release Form.
The Council of Heads of College’s Committee on the Creative and Performing Arts meets at the beginning of each term to review student proposals and determine awards. The Committee conveys its decisions in writing to each Head of College who in turn informs her or his students.
G: Directors and teams for all productions should think creatively, act environmentally friendly, and work with fiscal responsibility when purchasing props. Take a moment to read some suggestions regarding props here and speak with your sponsoring college regarding post-production recycling, usage, or storage of props before you make purchases.