A six-month funded programme for artists with bold new ideas
What would you make if you stopped worrying about whether it was too ambitious, too political, too different, or too difficult?
We're looking for bold new ideas that respond to the world we live in now.
About SHIFT Artist Labs:
SHIFT Artist Labs is a 6-month funded programme running between January and July 2027, for artists with ideas that need the time, care and investment to grow.
We know that many artists carry work that has been put on hold: ideas that have been self-censored, scaled back, deprioritised, or simply haven’t had the resources to develop. SHIFT Artist Labs exist to help those ideas take their next step.
We are looking for projects that ask difficult questions, challenge dominant narratives, and ask who gets to tell stories and on whose terms. Joyful or provocative, intimate or epic, we’re interested in stories that feel alive to the present moment.
What the Programme Offers:
Five projects will receive a tailored package of investment including:
The Process:
You'll be matched with a dramaturg, a producer, an industry steward, and join a programme of workshops with the wider SHIFT network.
Important Dates:
The compulsory workshops will run for 2 hours either in person or on Zoom during:
The programme will conclude with an in-person sharing on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 July 2027.
Travel for the in-person days and accommodation for the two-day final sharing will be covered for artists based outside London.
Who Can Apply:
You cannot apply with a project that:
Available Places:
To ensure the programme reaches artists across regions and communities, the five available places will be allocated to:
In line with Tamasha’s mission and values, we are particularly interested in supporting work by Global Majority artists.
For more information and to apply, click the Opportunity Info link below!
The Emerging Playwrights Fund (the “Fund”) is calling theatrical visionaries who are ready to push boundaries and captivate audiences through the intimate, limitless world of audio drama.
This is storytelling without walls. Your words, world-class performers, and millions of listeners waiting to be transported.
Who Should Apply:
We're seeking early-career theatrical writers who craft immersive fictional experiences that engage, entertain, and inspire. We value diverse perspectives, innovative approaches to form, and stories that harness the unique intimacy and immediacy of audio storytelling. Whether your work explores internal worlds through sound, creates vivid landscapes through language, or experiments with narrative structure—if it pushes boundaries and demands to be heard, we want it.
For this cycle, we're particularly interested in original audio dramas in the following genres:
About the Fund:
Audible is a leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling. Since 2017, our theater initiative, which includes the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City, has been built on one mission: to radically increase access to exceptional plays and performances.
The Emerging Playwrights Fund sits at the heart of that mission. We invest in and nurture self-identifying emerging playwrights—some of the most inventive, creative, and provocative storytellers working today. Through the Fund, we connect extraordinary performers with remarkable original work, amplifying new voices and bringing them to millions of listeners. To date, Audible Theater has commissioned 50 projects through the Fund. We support the creation of original dramatic work written with audio in mind, but theatrical in spirit—stories that live and breathe in the listener's imagination.
What the Fund Provides:
Audible will select up to five applicants to receive a fee of $25,000 each to write and develop an original audio play. In addition to the fee, Audible may provide the selected applicants with creative and logistical resources to assist each artist and project, including but not limited to: development and production fees, casting expertise and talent budget, access to Audible’s state-of-the-art studio and production equipment.
Audible is dedicated to commissioning, developing, and producing work that reflects the diversity of our listeners and our world. We actively encourage submissions from emerging playwrights of all races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and backgrounds.
Your voice, amplified.
Submission Guidelines:
Submissions will be accepted from September 23, 2026 – November 18, 2026 (11:59PM EST).
For more information and to apply, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Join us for a conversation with theatre maker and aerial artist Farrell Cox, exploring her career as an interdisciplinary artist.
Farrell will share how she brings different disciplines into her work, how she decides which skills to draw on for each project, and how she weaves her lived experience into the stories she creates.
We’ll also explore how to recognise and make the most of your full creative skillset, and how to keep creating and developing your practice within the current challenges facing the theatre industry.
An informal session with space to reflect, share ideas and explore new possibilities for your own creative practice.
Key Information:
For more information and to reserve your place, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Why do some stories work while others fall flat? What makes a story compelling, and how can understanding its structure help you become a better storyteller?
Join John Yorke, award-winning television drama executive and bestselling author of Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them, for a live online masterclass exploring the fundamental principles of dramatic storytelling.
Drawing on decades of experience developing acclaimed television drama, John will examine why story structure exists, where it comes from and how writers and other creative professionals can use it to develop stronger stories.
What you'll explore:
About John Yorke:
John is the former Controller of BBC Drama Production, Head of Channel 4 Drama and Managing Director of Company Pictures. His credits include Shameless and Wolf Hall.
He founded the BBC Writers' Academy and is the author of Into the Woods, which has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide, and Trip to the Moon: Understanding the True Power of Story (2026).
Who is this for?
Playwrights, screenwriters, directors, actors, dramaturgs, aspiring writers and anyone interested in developing their storytelling skills. The session is relevant to both emerging and established creative professionals.
Key information:
For more information and to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Planning your next steps in performing arts training?
The Stage's annual How to Choose Your Drama School guide is here to help!
Curated using insights from more than 1,000 respondents to our 2026 drama school survey, the guide brings together practical advice and expert guidance to help aspiring performers make informed decisions about their training and future careers. Now its own standalone supplement, this is the perfect comprehensive guide to share with your students and wider networks.
To read the guide, click the Opportunity Info link below.
Association of British Theatre Technicians
This Introduction Webinar will give you an overview of Theatre Green Book: what it is, the background to its creation, what tools and resources are available, and how you can get started on your journey towards greener theatre making.
Hosted by Theatre Green Book Producer Laura Sedgwick, this webinar is free, and open to anyone in the performing arts sector. Theatre Green Book is for students, freelancers, and anyone working for an organisation making theatre, dance, opera, circus, live art, outdoor performances or anything inbetween. The webinars will be held in English, and are open to anyone from across Europe and internationally.
Whether you are completely new to Theatre Green Book, or have used it previously and would like a refresher, please do come along. There will be time for questions, and we love to find out more about everyone who is making environmentally mindful performance.
Key information:
For more information and to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
The Introduction to Directing short course at Birkbeck, University of London equips you with the skills and knowledge required to practise as a professional director or independent theatre artist in today’s industry.
Led by leading practitioners, you will understand the role of a professional director and the relationships with key collaborators such as actors, writers, designers and the industry. You will gain a greater understanding of the relevant theory and methodology, supported by practical sessions to enhance your knowledge.
The course will cover:
Practical sessions will include:
This Introduction to Directing course at Birkbeck is well suited to emerging or aspiring directors. It closes with a panel discussion with an artistic director and freelancers to provide you with insights on your potential career paths. The course also offers a great taster for those wishing to study on the MFA Theatre Directing course in the future.
As a learner on this course, you will study alongside fellow professionals wishing to enhance their knowledge in the subject area, giving you the opportunity to make connections with like-minded colleagues and network.
You will receive a Birkbeck certificate of participation upon completion of the course.
This course is non-credit bearing, so carries no credit points.
For more information, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Introducing The Youth Theatre Together Map!
Click the Opportunity Info link below to find a youth theatre near you. Search by adding a location, organisation name, age range, activity or region into the search bars.
Through in-house productions, industry based placements and hands-on training, you’ll learn all relevant skills relating to the work of the production technician in theatre, events, and other areas of the entertainment industry.
Course overview
With technology at its core, this course offers practical, hands-on training in a variety of high-end lighting, sound, and video systems – skills that are in high demand for the theatre, events, film and television industries in Wales and across the rest of the UK.
You’ll have classes given by leading professionals operating at the top of their field, alongside several production placements, both based at the College and with our industry partners here in Wales.
With your placements, developing your expertise for a technical career in the creative industries is only one part of it. These experiences will also help you to build communication and team working skills that are essential to thriving in collaborative environments.
After graduation, you could take on roles such as a production electrician, lighting technician or programmer, sound and system engineer, video operator or programmer, among many more.
Why study this course?