They have dedicated themselves to their crafts and have graduated from renowned arts programs, such as for instance, the Ali Akbar College of Music, California Institute of the Arts, Mills College, SUNY Purchase, and New York Tisch School of the Arts. Some are fresh out of a B.F.A. or M.F.A. program, some are teachers, some have already given a large body of work to the community. Artists are chosen from a call for entries that is sent throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and publicized, by a minimum jury of five. Producers are not eligible to apply. Artists are responsible for creating their works and pre-selling approximately 30 tickets per team, if possible.
All artists receive an honorarium based on profits from ticket sales.
The producers have never received payment for any of these duties and each year receive recognition in the program for contributing money to the event in the highest donor category. Costs Artists depend on performance showcases to show their work, to receive feedback, and in order to apply for grants and other funding. If an artist is not teaching at a studio, he or she is paying top dollar for all of these costs. This doesn t even begin to enumerate the costs of producing that piece or an entire evening of work, even at a small studio venue. If there is not enough money to pay production costs, the only negotiable item on the budget is unfortunately the artists honorariums and therefore, the honorariums are reduced or deleted from the budget.