A New Opportunity for Jewish Performing Artists
Calling all Jewish artists!
Coastal Roots Farm’s new yearlong incubator is designed to nurture artistic voices at the intersection of Judaism and the climate crisis. The Jewish Climate Artists for California Incubator will bring together six performing artists from across the state to explore, create, and premier new works that inspire climate action and resilience.
Over ten months, participating artists will deepen their connection to Jewish and ecological wisdom and wise action through performance. The program begins with a five-day retreat at Coastal Roots Farm in September 2025, continues with bi-weekly virtual gatherings, and culminates in workshops and live performances at our Regenerate! Eco-Performance Fest in May 2026.
Selected artists will receive a $2,000 honorarium, travel support, and connections with leading Jewish and environmental thinkers, ritual leaders, and artistic directors.
For funders and partners: This program is made possible by The Covenant Foundation and other visionary supporters. If you’re passionate about the power of the arts to drive social and environmental change, join us in making this work possible. Email Philanthropy Manager Sara Blodgett at sara@coastalrootsfarm.org for details.
Apply by May 30th, 2025, to be part of this experimental and transformative program!
Who Should Apply?
We welcome artists of all ages, backgrounds, identities, and disciplines who self-define as Jewish and are seasoned professionals in their craft. Eligible performance art forms are:
- Playwriting
- Composing
- Singing/Songwriting
- Spoken Word
- Storytelling
- Stand-up comedy, sketch, and improv
- Dance & Choreography
- Performance Art & Hybrid Art Forms
Ideal applicants are passionate about helping audiences traverse the ecological crisis with more hope and wiser action. You’re inspired to tell stories of spiritual resilience, loss and recovery, farming and feeding, environmental justice, and our sacred connection to the earth, and you’re seeking a creative community alongside whom to create bold new work.
You do not need to have created Jewish, climate, or Jewish & climate art before in order to apply, as long as you feel passionate about doing so now!
Climate change is deeply impacting communities across California. Fires, drought, and environmental degradation leave many of us hopeless and overwhelmed. We need new narratives—stories to help us move us from despair to hope and from overwhelm to action.
Jewish tradition holds a rich legacy of active hope, justice, awe, and environmental stewardship. Live performance can uniquely foster real-time connections and dialogue. This incubator will empower artists to weave these powerful threads together, creating work that can transform hearts and minds.
Creating climate-focused art can be isolating. Integrating Jewish wisdom into creative practice in new ways is deceptively hard. This program provides artists with guidance, peer inspiration and support, access to Jewish and environmental arts leaders, and a robust curriculum which includes sacred texts, sustainable farming practices, embodiment work, ritual making, and new ways to foster audience connections—all within a structured and nurturing environment.
Audiences across California will benefit from the bold stories these Artists create, as they will be by the opportunities to connect with each other around the Art. The goal: to foster audiences’ eco-spiritual resiliency and help them move from despair to wise action.
California’s artists and communities have been directly impacted by climate disasters. By prioritizing California-based artists and engaging local performing arts organizations, we aim to create a statewide ripple effect, bringing these performances and ideas to diverse Jewish communities and allies seeking spiritual and ecological resilience.
No! This is the first artist incubator dedicated to fostering new performances at the intersection of Judaism and the ecological crisis.
Yes. We are currently seeking applications from artists who self-identify as Jewish. How you express and integrate Judaism into your art and life is up to you—what matters is that your identity is meaningful to you and you want it to inform your creative practice.
A selection committee of Farm staff and arts leaders from across California will choose finalists. Finalists will be interviewed on zoom during the first two weeks of June.
March 20, 2025: Artist applications open
May 30, 2025: Artist applications close
June 30, 2025: Selection of six artists announced
September 7-11, 2025: Opening retreat at Coastal Roots Farm
September-December 2025: Bi-weekly online gatherings for Artists (Monday or Wednesday evenings from 6pm-8pm)
January-February 2026: Artists independent work period towards final projects
March-April 2026: Bi-weekly online gatherings for Artists resume
May 13-17, 2026: Workshops and final performance at Regenerate! Eco-Performance Fest at Coastal Roots Farm
- September 7–11, 2025: Opening retreat at the Farm
- May 13-17, 2026: Final performances at Regenerate! Eco-Performance Fest
If you cannot commit to these dates, we encourage you to apply in future cohorts.
Yes. Each selected artist will receive:
- A $2,000 honorarium
- Round-trip travel to the Farm
- Housing and meals during in-person gatherings
- Support for casting and rehearsal personnel
Not necessarily. But if you’re new to both, tell us why you’re drawn to exploring these themes now.
Cantor Rebecca Joy Fletcher, Coastal Roots Farm’s Director of Jewish Life, will lead the curriculum, supported by:
- Sharone Oren, Education Manager
- Adam McCurdy, Director of Farm Production
- Jewish and environmental scholars, ritual leaders, artists and activists from across California
- National guest teachers will include:
- Chantal Bilodeau (Arts and Climate Initiative)
- Jon Adam Ross (Inheritance Theater Project)
- Nate Smith (The Sixth Fest)
- Carson Becker
- Rabbi Zelig Gordon (Wilderness Torah)
We welcome funders, community partners, and arts supporters to help sustain this innovative incubator. Your support can provide artist stipends, mentorship opportunities, and expanded programming. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities or ways to get involved, please contact Philanthropy Manager Sara Blodgett at sara@coastalrootsfarm.org.
This program is made possible in part by the generosity of The Covenant Foundation and other partners committed to fostering Jewish creativity and climate action.