Mark your calendars — Guerilla Opera's virtual speakeasy experience and performance series, the Guerilla Underground, comes back this March!

New for 2026: Mini-Festival of Student Works— a celebration of student composition film. Inspired by our world premiere of Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible, the dissertation project of composer Elisabet Curbelo (PhD, UCSD; Asst Prof at the University of UT), we invite Video submissions of composition dissertation, thesis or capstone project films written for voice, to be included in our festival-within-the-festival of outstanding student works.

For more information about the Guerilla Underground - visit our website -https://guerillaopera.org/underground2026

Awards & Prizes

An honorarium will be awarded to 5 finalists, and honorable mentions will be included for those were runners up, and featured placement in our Guerilla Underground 2026.

Rules & Terms

Guerilla Opera is seeking submissions of previously unpublished composition dissertation/thesis films and videos. Submissions can be in many forms, as long as there is a cinematic and vocal element. If the work was done for a Composition Masters Thesis, Capstone or PhD dissertation we want to see it!

Here are some examples of works we will accept:
-Fully staged selections or full length works
- operas (short pieces, scene[s], excerpts from longer works), songs, song cycles, or any other works featuring voice(s)
- Animated to composition
- Semi staged concert
- Concert recording

Each submission should be a maximum of 20 minutes long. If submitting a full length piece, please highlight which section you would like our adjudicators to review.

While submission fees can feel like a burden, these fees will help us cover the costs of our streaming service, adjudicators and staff and help Guerilla Opera continue to support and provide opportunities for artists like you.

Selected video submissions must not be available to watch online, in-person or any other method of viewing through the duration of the Guerilla Underground season (until April 30th, 2026).

The artists or artist representative submitting videos must have the consent of all the musical, theatrical, technical and design artists whose work is represented in the video submission.

The artists or artist representatives submitting videos must have the appropriate rights to the materials incorporated in the video submission, including, but not limited to, music, quotes of individuals, poetry, text, speeches, transcripts, periodicals, newscasts, or other written or recorded material not in the public domain.

Thank you and we look forward to your submissions!