Creative Steps funds the professional, business and organisational development of artists who have experienced barriers to careers within the arts.
Creative Steps for Individuals is for supporting career development, and NOT for creating new work or project delivery. For example, creating artwork to sell online would not be applicable but working with a mentor to develop your painting skills would be.
We want artists to identify exactly what they need to progress and professionalise their artistic career, and to remain open to exploring different ways of doing this with our support.
We recognise that everybody’s needs are different and that professional development varies from individual to individual. However, these are some of the things that your application could include:
When completing the budget, you should include the following:
We expect all applicants to pay freelancers the standard industry rates as a minimum. If people are providing their time in-kind, we would need to know why and have this confirmed in a letter of support from them.
The Open Fund for Individuals is one of Creative Scotland’s key funding programmes, supporting the wide range of activity initiated by artists, writers, producers and other creative practitioners in Scotland. The overall annual budget for this fund is £5 million.
The fund is intended to support periods of research, development and/or delivery of creative activity, such as specific projects and productions for up to 24 months. It can support an individual’s time where this is related to specific creative outcomes.
We will ask you to tell us the start and end date for this activity and to describe the outcomes, benefits and impacts that you wish to achieve.
Freelance and self-employed artists and creative practitioners living in Scotland who are at least 18 years old are eligible to apply. You must have a UK bank account in your name - learn more about legal names of applicants.
If you are not a self-employed individual or a sole trader, you may be eligible for the National Lottery Open Fund for Organisations.
Please read the guidance for full information on eligibility.
You can apply for between £500 and £50,000.
As standard, if your application request is between £500 and £20,000 you will hear the outcome in 10 weeks. If your application request is between £20,001 and £50,000 you will hear the outcome in 14 weeks.
Please see above for details of our 25/26 Christmas closure and the effects it will have on our processing timelines.
The Support for Individual Artists Programme (SIAP) is a range of schemes which aim to support artists across all disciplines to create work and develop their practice
The Project Funding for Individuals scheme aims to support the wide range of activity that can be undertaken by artists of all disciplines in relation to their practice, and to enable innovation and experimentation. A “project” and its associated costs can be any activity that develops and supports your creative practice.
Project proposals could, for example, be any of the activities below - or a combination of them:
If you are looking for information on other Support for the Individual Artist Schemes, guidance notes for all schemes are available from artscouncil-ni.org/funding/funding-for-individuals You should read the guidance notes for each scheme to find the most suitable for you and your project idea.
Join us this August for a free, five-day theatre course delivered by the Donmar and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Gain hands-on experience with industry experts and take the next step towards a career in Set and Costume Design, Lighting, Sound, and Stage Management & Stage Technology.
Discover how artists apply artistic and technical skills in real productions, explore pathways into work including apprenticeships, Higher Education and early career employment opportunities.
You’ll build a portfolio of work, meet top industry professionals, and watch a performance at the Donmar.
The programme is open to applications from all young people aged 16–19 in London, and anyone is welcome to apply.
A proportion of places on this project are reserved for young people who have historically had less access to training and creative opportunities, and those who are local to the Donmar & Royal Central.
We particularly welcome applications from young people who meet any one of the following widening participation criteria:
Fancy trying improv comedy and seeing what it’s all about? Want to play and explore with a friendly group of beginners? Our one-day Intro to Improv Lab is for you.
Our Intro to Improv one-day intensive is a supportive environment introducing you to the basics of improv comedy through games and exercises. Whether you’re a stand-up comedian or an actor looking to branch out, or if you’re completely new to all of it – you’ll be welcomed with open arms.
You will be working with exciting industry professional Charlie Vero-Martin to playfully discover the art of improv, as well as developing skills to build your comedy practice. Charlie is an improviser, comedian, actor and writer with over 18 years of experience. You might recognise her from one of many sell-out and award-winning Edinburgh Fringe shows, or you might know her as a finalist in the Funny Women Stage Award and Leicester Square Theatre Sketch-Off. She writes comedy for BBC and Hat Trick Productions, and has taught improv and character comedy at Hoopla Impro, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and independently. Experienced with clowning, movement and character work, Charlie will lead you through the process of discovering your inner improviser and playing with the group.
Don’t be shy – join us for a day of improv comedy joy.
Course structure
We ask that participants commit to attending the full day.
Applications & Fees
There are 16 places available for this one-day intensive (we keep the numbers low because we want to make sure everyone gets plenty of time in the workshop). The application process is quick and easy – it should take 20 minutes tops. Just go to this form and let us know a bit about yourself and why you want to do the Lab. That’s it!
The fee is £25, with partial and full bursaries available to those on Universal Credit and other welfare benefits. If you are not eligible for a bursary but cost is a barrier to participating, contact us at engagement@sohotheatre.com and we can discuss payment options
Deaf Theatre Makers is delighted to offer 8 paid placement opportunities for deaf creatives across the UK. Working with our partner organisations, these placements are designed to provide hands on experience within professional theatre settings and help deaf people develop skills, confidence and industry connections.
Whether you are interested in producing, technical theatre, programming, creative development or exploring a career behind the scenes, this is an opportunity to learn directly from experienced theatre professionals.
Successful applicants will receive:
Placements do not need to take place over five consecutive days. Depending on the host organisation and your learning goals, activity may be spread across a project, production or period of time.
(shared placement across both organisations)
This placement offers an introduction to producing, programming and arts management across two very different cultural organisations. You will gain insight into how work is programmed, developed and delivered, while meeting staff from a range of departments.
areas of focus include:
timing: Flexible from August 2026 onwards.
This placement can be tailored to your interests and career goals. Working with staff across the organisation, you will have the opportunity to explore the areas of theatre that interest you most.
potential areas of focus include:
timing: Flexible.
This placement will be hands on and can be shaped around your interests and offers the opportunity to gain experience across a range of departments within a producing theatre, or to focus on one or two areas of interest if that is preferred.
potential areas of focus include:
timing: Flexible.
This placement is ideal for anyone interested in producing, technical theatre and the development of new work.
The placement will be linked to a festival taking place at Sheffield Theatres, offering the opportunity to observe and support activity during a busy period of theatre making.
areas of focus include:
timing: Applicants should be available for activity taking place between 28th September and 10th October 2026.
York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre exists to provide opportunities for young people aged 5 – 19 yrs from our community to participate in weekly drama sessions with the aim of improving confidence, developing performance skills, working as part of a team and enabling participants to live creative lives. Our programme works across the week at the theatre and across community settings and we’d love for you to come join us.
Winner of the Little Viking’s Best Drama Class for five years running (2018 – 2022), it’s no surprise that our Youth Theatre is hugely popular with York families.
Our Youth Theatre takes place in venues across our beautiful city, including:
You can select any of the following fee bands online when you making your booking:
Sibling discount: If you have more than one child in Youth Theatre, there is a sibling discount of £5 off each young person, which can be applied to any of the 3 fee bands. Use discount code: YOUTHSIB5
If you have selected the lower priced bands we will ask to see some evidence of your situation after you have made your booking, to ensure the system is fair for everyone.
Autumn 2026 Sessions
Priority booking for current members opens on 23 June at 1pm.
Public booking for new members for our Autumn Term opens on 30 June at 1pm.
Places can be booked online via our website, in person at the Box Office, or over the phone. All places are offered on a first come, first served basis, so we recommend booking as early as possible to secure your preferred class.
Our Autumn Term runs for 10 weeks from the week commencing 21 September (11 weeks for production term groups), with no sessions taking place during the half-term break (Wc/26 of October).
Mon 21 Sep - Wed 23 Sep
The Production Assistant will play a central role in the day-to-day running of Brighton People’s Theatre across all of the company’s work. This is a hands-on production and administration role that will give the post-holder a genuine understanding of how a theatre company organises and delivers its varied programme.
The post-holder will be line managed by Associate Director and work closely with the Access and Support Manager, Producer, Freelance Artists, Freelance Production team and Artistic Director. This role offers an exceptional entry point into producing and production management within a community-rooted arts organisation at a moment of real ambition and growth.
This role will include assisting with:
Admin and Coordination
Community Engagement and Casting
Events and Festival Production
Joint Team Responsibilities
The role will be based primarily at our central Brighton office at The Old Courthouse, Church Street, Brighton. There will also be a requirement to work from our other delivery sites including Friends Meeting House on Ship Street, ACCA at Sussex University and Moulsecoomb Place on Lewes Road and other venues as required.
*The Museum of Life Production is subject to funding. There will be other productions to be involved with if funding is not secured.
A mentorship scheme hosted by The Old Vic for mid-career directors, offering insight and support to demystify the next steps in your career.
Three mid-career directors will be paired with established directors for six mentoring sessions taking place between Sep 2026–Feb 2027. Our mentors are Sally Cookson, Richard Jones and Clint Dyer. Monthly mentoring sessions will be scheduled by the mentor and mentee pair, based on availability.
These monthly sessions will provide an opportunity to reflect on professional practice, build new networks and connections, and identify areas for growth and career progression supported by your mentor. Mentees will receive a fee for each session in recognition of the value of dedicating time to career development.
Mentors and mentees will be invited to attend performances at The Old Vic to provide further opportunities to stimulate creative conversation and enrich the process.
Interested in learning carpentry skills and techniques? Do you want to get hands-on experience in carpentry this summer? Aged between 16-19? Apply now for our free carpentry course.
In this free, three-day course you will:
We are committed to diversity and access by prioritising engaging young people that we recognise are currently underrepresented in technical theatre:
