Theatre Touring and Special Initiatives Program
The Canada Council for the Arts is committed to equity and inclusion, and welcomes applications from diverse Aboriginal, cultural and regional communities, including people with disabilities.
Deadlines
- 1 May (generally, for projects taking place after the following August)
- 1 December (generally, for projects taking place after the following March)
If either of these dates fall on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
Please refer to the Program Guidelines for detailed information.
Program Description
The Theatre Touring and Special Initiatives Program provides assistance to organizations that serve and reinforce Canada’s theatre touring and presenting infrastructure and contribute to the development of increasingly appreciative and knowledgeable audiences for theatre in Canada.
There are two components to this program:
- Special Initiatives Grants
Touring in Canada Grants
This component is for Canadian professional theatre companies (including collectives and ad hoc groups) and Canadian theatre festivals. Production Touring refers to tours of Canadian productions within Canada. These applicants must fill out the application form pages for Production Touring. Festival Hosting refers to Canadian theatre festivals presenting Canadian theatre works. These applicants must fill out the application form pages for Festival Hosting.
Special Initiatives Grants
This component provides assistance to Canadian professional theatre organizations for special initiatives that serve the theatre touring or presenting community at large.
General Eligibility
To be eligible to apply, applicants must be Canadian professional theatre companies (including collectives and ad hoc groups) or Canadian theatre festivals. Collectives and ad-hoc groups must be made up of professional artists who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. They do not need to be living in Canada when they apply.
The Canada Council defines a professional artist as someone who:
- has specialized training in the artistic field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
- is recognized as a professional by his or her peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition)
- has a history of public presentation
- is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if possible financially.
Please note that agents and managers are not eligible to apply to this program.
Specific Eligibility Criteria
Touring in Canada Grants component
At least one performance must be confirmed in writing before the application is submitted.
a) Production Touring
Non-profit professional theatre companies (including collectives and ad hoc groups) who have developed a tour are eligible.
First-run tours to a co-producing partner’s locality are not eligible. Tours where the presenter does not guarantee a fee are not eligible.
Tours within a 400-km radius within the province of origin of the company or groups are not eligible. However, Inter-provincial tours, regardless of distance, are eligible.
b) Festival Hosting
Canadian theatre festivals presenting professional Canadian theatre works are eligible to apply to this program on behalf of companies programmed by the festival. These applicants must fill out the application form pages for Festival Hosting. Companies touring to additional venues than the festival should apply to Production Touring and include the festival booking on their itinerary.
Special Initiatives Grants
Canadian theatre organizations (in general, companies and presenters etc.) are eligible to apply to this component. Both one-time-only and recurring initiatives are eligible. However, if the initiative is recurring, the applicant must justify this recurrence and reapply each year for funding.
Grant Amount
There are no minimum or maximum amounts that may be requested or received through this program. Funding is dependent on the volume and nature of the requests and the availability of funds. Applicants might not receive the full grant amount requested, depending on the number of requests submitted to the competition and the peer assessment committee’s evaluation.
Special Initiative Grants will not exceed 50 percent of the proposed project’s expenses.
These grants cannot be used to fund activities that occurred before this program deadline.
Further Information
Nancy Guertin
Program Officer
Theatre Section
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P. O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
Telephone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 5484
TTY: 1-866-585-5559
Fax: 613-566-4410
November 2012