Selma Lagerlöf’s “The Löwensköld Ring” – Call for Established and Emerging Female Artists

Little Mountain Lion Productions is excited to now be accepting applications from both established and emerging female-identifying theatre artists interested in collaborating as part of a creative team working to adapt Selma Lagerlöf’s novel The Löwensköld Ring over the course of a week-long workshop from October 23rd to 28th.

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UPDATE SEPT 5th – APPLICATIONS CLOSED, INTAKE FULL

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CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Project Brief

Emerging and established Female-identifying artists will form a collaborative creative team with the purpose of exploring Selma Lagerlöf’s 1923 Swedish ghost story The Löwensköld Ring as a piece of live theatre.

Project Outline

The team of artists will collaborate over the week of October 23^rd – 27^th at ANNEX Theatre (823 Seymour St., Vancouver) during creative sessions held daily from 10am-2pm. This theatrical exploration will include dialogue with the Swedish Cultural Society and the Swedish Women’s Educational Association, and incorporate work prepared by UBC’s Scandinavian Studies 411 students. On the evening of Saturday October 28^th, a presentation of the team’s work will be shared with the public at ANNEX.

Following this project, the team’s script will be taken into further development and a theatrical run of The Löwensköld Ring will be arranged for 2024/25.

For their time and participation, each member of the creative team will receive a small honorarium, and be included in further development stages if desired.

LML believes that our projects should represent the diversity found in our community and would like to strongly encourage any emerging and established BIPOC female-identifying theatre artists to apply. We would also like to state that this project is of course open to and inclusive of Transgender women, and we highly encourage applications from the Trans community.

Project Timeline

September – Creative team interview process

October – Artistic team meeting, date and time TBD, via Zoom

23^rd – Workshop day 1, 10am-2pm, ANNEX

24^th – Workshop day 2, 10am-2pm, ANNEX

25^th – Workshop day 3, 10am-2pm, ANNEX

26^th – Workshop day 4, 10am-2pm, ANNEX

27^th – Workshop day 5, dress run, 10am-2pm, ANNEX

28^th – Public presentation, tech/dress 5pm, doors 7:30, show 8, ANNEX

November 2023 – Reflection, date and time TBD, location TBD

Project Goals

Create an original script to be given a full professional run in 2024/25
Create opportunities for knowledge-sharing and mentorship between established and emerging female theatre artists
Create awareness and appreciation for the exceptional work of Selma Lagerlöf

Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was both the first woman and the first Swede to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Born on a farm in rural Sweden and trained as a teacher, she became the most widely popular author of her time. Several of her novels inspired innovative and acclaimed films, such as “Sir Arne’s Treasure” (Stiller, 1919) and “The Phantom Carriage” (Sjöström, 1921). Her writing eventually earned her enough money to buy back her family farm, lost in bankruptcy when she was a child. Scholars have noted her continuous expression of pacifism through themes of power, loss, and war, as well as the resilience of strong female characters amidst chaotic or traumatic environments. Though Lagerlöf’s adventure tales, folk tales, and ghost stories stand the test of time as both relevant and riveting, her work is largely uncelebrated or even unknown by modern literary audiences. As a unique voice in literary history, and as an expert craftsperson of socially conscious adventurism, Selma Lagerlöf’s work deserves a spotlight today.

The Löwensköld Ring is the first volume of a trilogy published between 1925 and 1928. The story’s titular ring originates as a gift given from the King of Sweden to his greatest wartime general, and consequently brings suffering and violence to all those who inherit it as its spell continues from one generation to the next. A disturbing saga of revenge from beyond the grave and the insatiable masculine lust for wealth and power, it is also a tale of courageous, persistent women.

More information on Selma Lagerlöf HERE

More information on The Löwensköld Ring HERE

This project is made possible through the Vancouver Civic Theatres Activating Spaces Program.