Grants to Theatre Artists: Individual Creation, Artists-in-Residency, Playwriting Residency and Professional Development
Deadlines
15 April and 15 September
Program Description
The Grants to Theatre Artists program provides support to individual Canadian professional theatre artists of all cultures. There are four components to the program: Individual Creation, Artist-in-Residency, Playwriting Residency, and Professional Development.
These grants allow artists to devote a specific period of time for the individual creation of new work, for terms as artist-in-residence (for administrators, playwrights, designers, directors or other creative artists), for terms of playwriting residencies, and for projects of professional development. Residencies, both for playwriting and artist-in-residencies, are undertaken with theatre companies that receive support from the Theatre Section of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Support for playwrights is available through all four components. A playwright wanting to pursue the independent creation of a new work applies through the Individual Creation component of the program. A playwright wanting to spend time in residency with a company to observe and participate in general theatre practice applies through the Artist-in-Residency component. A playwright wanting to pursue a specific project of individual creation in a working partnership arrangement with a theatre company applies through the Playwriting Residency component. A playwright wanting to pursue a program of advanced training (such as graduate studies in playwriting at universities or theatre schools) applies to the Professional Development component.
In general, submissions for Individual Creation request subsistence for the time needed to create new work, plus research and travel costs (if applicable). Submissions for the Artist-in-Residency and the Playwriting Residency components usually involve subsistence costs for the term of the residency. In addition to subsistence costs for the term of the project, applications to the Professional Development component may include costs for travel, research and tuition related to the program of work.
Developmental workshop costs to a maximum of $2,000 may be included in Individual Creation project costs, but grants to theatre artists do not provide assistance for production costs.
Eligibility
Applicants must be professional theatre artists. They must also be Canadian citizens or have permanent resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Playwrights must have had at least one work produced professionally on stage or published professionally. Other theatre artists must have practised with professional companies or independent professional productions for at least two years.
Scriptwriters who wish to write a stage play must have had at least one dramatic work produced professionally on radio, television or film.
Composers must have written music for at least one professional theatre production.
In order to be eligible as a host company for both the Artist-in-Residency and Playwriting Residency components, a theatre company must receive either Operating Grant support from the Theatre Section of the Canada Council for the Arts or must have received at least one Production Project Grant in the preceding three years.
For Professional Development applications, candidates applying for programs of work that involve graduate studies at a university or advanced training at a theatre school must have practised with professional companies or in independent professional productions for at least five years.
Applicants who have been unsuccessful in a previous competition may not re-submit the same project to a subsequent competition.
The Canada Council for the Arts defines a professional artist as someone who:
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has specialized training in the field (not necessarily in teaching establishments)
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is recognized by their peers (artists in the same artistic tradition)
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is committed to devoting as much time as possible to their artistic practice, considering their financial situation, and
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has a history of public presentation.
Candidates may apply once per fiscal year (1 April to 31 March) to the Grants to Theatre Artists program. Artists can receive a maximum of two Grants to Theatre Artists in any 48-month period.
This Canada Council for the Arts program is accessible to Aboriginal artists and artists of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Grant Amount
Grant amounts range from $3,000 to $20,000, in increments of $1,000. Applicants must, therefore, round their total budget request to the nearest thousand. Grant amounts depend on the funding artists need in order to complete their proposed project. Applicants must justify the amount requested.
The value of the grant requested will be determined by the requirements for subsistence (to a maximum of $2,000 per month), transportation and project costs, as well as by the length and geographic location of tenure. Tenure can range from a few weeks to a year, in Canada or elsewhere, as required.
Retroactive funding is not available.
Application Form
Grants to Theatre Artists: Creation/Residency/Professional Development (pdf, 251 KB)
This form can only be printed and cannot be filled out on-line
OR
To apply for a grant online go to GO! Grants Online
Further Information
Robert Allen, Nancy Guertin, Kim Selody or Bruce Sinclair
Program Officers
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 (Pascale Julien or Linda Nickolson,
Program Assistants, ext. 4483 or 4186)
Fax: 613 566-4410
January 2009