Spark & Grow (Development) & First Steps (Touring) Bursaries
Who are these bursaries for?
Doorstep Arts and Villages in Action are offering two bursary opportunities in 2024 to support the development of original theatre for young audiences in Devon. ‘Young audiences’ are defined as: children ages 0-5, 5-11, or young people ages 11-16 or 16-25. These targeted bursaries aim to deepen the quality of work that is available for families and young audiences in Devon, and to provide progression support to exciting artists regionally who are keen to grow their practice and make work. We will provide support for exciting ideas for performances which honour children’s creative and critical potential, and for artists who are making work which respects children & young people’s intelligence, capacity and active agency.
You can apply for both bursaries, or for just one.
How does it work?
Funded by Arts Council England, Doorstep Arts will offer selected artists/companies the support to further develop a piece of theatre for young audiences. Through Village in Action’s From Devon with Love programme of support, further performance opportunities can be provided for successful applicants to share/tour work in development across (primarily rural) Devon. This support comes in three forms:
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Time, advice, mentorship and producing support from the Doorstep Arts and Villages in Action teams.
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Spark & Grow development bursaries, up to £800 each, to support the extended development of a piece or idea. Deadline for this is February 2024, and development can take place from February 2024 to July 2024.
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First Steps bursaries for touring, up to £800 each, which will be granted to exceptional proposals where work requires resource for travel costs, production design or touring. These bursaries are granted to work which show potential to move beyond scratch stage and into an extended life. It is vital that the performances are suitable for flexible spaces, being light/agile easy to tour into spaces without theatre infrastructure, i.e. village halls or school halls. Deadline is April 2024 and touring will take place in late May & early June 2024.
How to Apply
Spark & Grow Development Bursary (Feb 2024-July 2024)
- The deadline for a Spark & Grow development bursary is Thursday 8 February.
- The online application form is HERE.
- An example practice sheet with guiding answers (in an editable Word Doc) is available here, for guidance on the Spark & Grow Development bursary.
First Steps Touring Bursary (April 2024-July 2024)
- The deadline for the First Steps touring bursary is Thursday 4 April.
- The online application form is HERE.
- An example practice sheet with guiding answers (in an editable Word Doc) is available here, for guidance on the First Steps touring bursary.
Alternate submission: if you would prefer to submit a 2 minute video answering the questions in the online form, you can elect to submit this as your application format instead. If you prefer a video format submission, please make sure it does not exceed 2 minutes in length, and email your submission to erin@doorsteparts.co.uk by the deadline.
Questions about any of the above can be emailed to erin@doorsteparts.co.uk.