Sing Out Strong is a multi-year community-based project in which we reach out to people in our community and commission them to write texts on activist themes that resonate with them personally. This season, we explore themes of revolution and independence, in anticipation of White Snake Projects’ upcoming production Requiem for America, which explores America’s founding in relation to her Indigenous citizens.

This year’s prompt is: What do “revolutionary” and “freedom” mean to you?

Our judging panel will include Cerise Lim Jacobs (Founding Artistic Director + Librettist, White Snake Projects) and Siobhan Brown (Citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and storyteller)

The selected texts will be set to music by professional composers, and the resulting songs will tour Greater Boston’s neighborhoods in spring 2026; we anticipate 2-4 public performances.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION:
Keep submissions to max 40 lines in length.

You may submit up to three separate sets of lyrics.

We will prioritize texts in English, but submissions in other languages are acceptable.

Indigenous and Native American applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

While themes and lyrics may be serious, please keep language appropriate for young audiences.

PRIZES:
Winning writers will receive a $100 honorarium and have their lyrics turned into songs by professional composers, selected by White Snake Projects, for performance in Spring 2026. (Note that we may ask writers to make adjustments to their lyrics during the composition process.)