Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s Backstage Roadshow will take a series of FREE backstage skills workshops directly into UK state schools, introducing children and young people to the variety of creative pathways and career opportunities that exist within theatre, live events, television and film.
Led by industry professionals and designed by the School’s Production Arts staff, the Backstage Roadshow will take professional equipment into schools to provide a crucial insight into one of the UK’s fastest growing sectors and inspire young people to train and work in the creative industries.
Our team will also be offering full technical support to two primary school productions each year, bringing our lighting, sound, and stage management equipment, along with staff to help run your show.
How it works
The Backstage Roadshow will run for the Academic Years of 2024/25 and 2025/26, with support offered for one Primary School production in December and one in June or July.
What do we bring to your school?
For workshops, please complete your expression of interest via this form.
Shortlisted schools will be contacted for an online meeting to discuss the options, prior to a site-visit being arranged ahead of any firm offer for the Backstage Roadshow to visit.
Primary schools, please register here.
Join one of RADA’s upcoming Open Days for an inside look at our Foundation Degree in Technical Theatre and Stage Management.
You’ll have the opportunity to meet our students and staff, explore our training spaces, visit technical departments, and find out more about life at RADA including funding, student support, and career pathways.
Open Days 2025-2026:
At RADA, we enable exceptional technicians, managers, designers and makers to thrive through world-leading, industry-focused training that blends hands-on experience with professional practice.
Whether you’re exploring lighting, sound, props, scenic art, or stage management, our open days are the perfect chance to discover how RADA can help you become a highly skilled and creative theatre-maker.
12 weeks of workshops covering basic acting techniques, scene study, auditioning/ self-taping, career development and more, taught by working industry professionals!
This is an online acting course for beginner/intermediate level actors.
The actors in the course will have the opportunity to learn from working and professional actors, agents, directors and casting directors from London and Hollywood. The curriculum is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the industry, including acting techniques/casting sessions, scene study, auditioning and self-taping, voice work (covering accents and voice techniques) and career development. The course is suitable for international students as it will be conducted online via Zoom.
At the end of the course, students will have gained a solid foundation in acting techniques, an understanding of the industry, and the skills and confidence needed to pursue a career in acting. Additionally, students will finish the course with an online showcase to industry guests – directors/agents/casting Directors and producers including agency RS talent and film producer Alex Fidelski.
Students will receive access to our online Actors Gym Membership, where they can practice their craft in between classes online (at home) develop their self-tape technique and complete the self-tape course and then upload practice self-tapes, and network with other actors and industry professionals.
Quick-fire scratch nights for adventurous new writing in theatre and performance! The Scrap is an open-access night for writers, actors and directors to try out new ideas, meet one another, and showcase their work in front of an audience. Live music, good drinks, and cool new theatre.
Here we're looking for companies or ensembles to present a short work or excerpt from a piece they've been developing independently - usually about 25 minutes, max 30. These would be pieces that already have a team attached, and which have undergone development, rehearsal, and more thorough preparation. We usually programme one or two scratches per Scrap.
We're looking for work (or an excerpt) that is 20 - 30 minutes in length, that has a team already attached, and has undergone some previous workshopping (but which hasn't received a full-scale production).
We try to place no strictures on form, content, genre, team or style for our scratches: absolute minimal gatekeeping. All we ask is that you be adventurous and try something new!
The Black Artists Grant (BAG) offered by Creative Debuts as a no-strings attached financial support to help Black artists. They can spend the grant on whatever they want – be that make new work, buy equipment or materials, travel, research, visit exhibitions or conferences, or to even just cover some life expenses.
This grant has been set up because Black artists are systematically under-supported by the art world; by institutions, curators, the artist-led scene, major and minor funding bodies, the market, art schools, and by audiences too.
Creative Debuts recognises that a full institutional overhaul and dismantling of racist structures is required to transform the industry permanently, but they hope in a small way that this grant will help enable recipients to continue their artistic practice when the odds are so stacked against them
There is no deadline as this is a monthly rolling grant, no age limit, and the grant does not expect any outcomes or reporting. Please only apply once, if you apply in February for example, you are still eligible for selection in a different month, all applications are kept and reviewed.
Submissions are now OPEN for the second year of the Bill Cashmore Award: One Act Play Prize
The Bill Cashmore Award, presented by Young Lyric, offers a paid opportunity for two new one-act plays by writers aged 18-30, to be professionally produced at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. The two winning plays will run as a double bill and will be performed by the Lyric’s Springboard trainee actors in Autumn 2026.
The two successful writers will:
We particularly welcome submissions from those who are underrepresented in theatre and/or situated in areas culturally underserved. Please see our FAQs for more details.
Experience a behind-the scenes tour and interactive sessions throughout the building, with expert advice on career pathways into theatre and live entertainment at one of Bristol's most iconic venues!
Book for either the 4th or 6th November.
This opportunity is part of the West of England Discover! Creative Careers takeover, in collaboration with: Get Into Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Bristol Beacon, St George’s, The Redgrave, Prime Theatre, The Egg Theatre and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Please note, this is for school groups only. Sign up and book via the Discover! Opportunity Finder.
Financing your studies may seem daunting at first, but help is at hand. Bristol Old Vic Theatre School will provide all the support you need to take control of your finances.
For fees purposes, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School classifies students as UK or International. Your residency classification determines the amount you pay in tuition fees as well as the financial support available to help towards tuition fee costs and living expenses.
This programme aims to provide the vital support necessary for students to overcome the financial barriers they face to access and complete our training, allowing students to focus fully on their course without the burden of financial strain.
We currently provide scholarship support to 28% of students across our student cohorts. Applicants will be contacted about scholarships when they receive an offer to train at LAMDA, however some scholarships can be applied for externally.
All scholarship applicants must possess the means to fund their training costs at LAMDA before applying for scholarship support. This includes applying for applicable undergraduate or postgraduate loans in the UK, US or home countries.
There is always a greater need for scholarships than what we can currently provide, and we are working to increase the number of scholarships available to ensure that finance is not a barrier to students from under-represented groups who wish to access LAMDA’s training.
LAMDA’s scholarships usually range between £3,000 - £15,000 and are funded through grants from trusts and foundations, companies and individual donors and are reviewed on an annual basis.
