Theatre Production Project Grants: Extended Project Support
UNDER REVIEW
Deadline
Note: The September 2009 competition is postponed to 2010. Organizations that were planning to apply at that time can apply in the regular Production Project Grant program.
Completed applications and all support material must be postmarked on or before 15 September 2010. If this date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
The Canada Council will not accept applications postmarked after the deadline, incomplete applications, or those submitted by fax or email.
Program Description
Extended Project Support, a new pilot component of the Theatre Production Project Grants program, has the primary objective of supporting professional Canadian theatre companies and collectives that wish to embark on a project over an extended period of time (maximum three years). This project may include both development and production of one or more pieces of theatre, as well as tour coordination costs. However, actual touring costs (fees, transportation, per diems, etc.) cannot be included.
The intent of this component is to support theatre companies whose artistic practice takes precedence over administrative structure. It offers a long-term financial stability that enables the companies to work with either artistic partners (through residencies, co-productions, co-presentations, etc.) or administrative partners (sponsorships, foundations, or other private funding sources) from the outset of the project.
This component is addressed to professional Canadian, non-profit theatre company or collective:
- with a strong artistic vision, featuring alternative creative practices and/or ongoing investigation of theatrical form;
- that produces -- and wants to continue producing -- with the support of a light administrative framework that leaves the organization with considerable artistic liberty. These applicants would benefit artistically from the longer term stability that this pilot component would provide, because it would not require them to change their mode of operation.
Eligibility
Applicant Eligibility
- The core members of your company or collective must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
- Theatre companies or collectives must have received at least two Theatre Production Project Grants from the Theatre Section of the Canada Council within the last five years.
All Canada Council programs are accessible to Aboriginal artists or arts organizations and artists or arts organizations from diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Project Eligibility
Grants offer financial support for:
- production, including public presentation
- the time allotted for the development of a production, which must include a public presentation (including a reading or public workshop)
- costs associated with tour coordination (fees, honoraria and related administrative costs, excluding agents’ fees and other touring costs).
Co-productions are eligible, but your application must include a letter of intent or contract from the co-producer.
Restrictions
- Your organization is not eligible for support from this component if it is an incorporated, non-profit theatre organization that is currently receiving operating assistance from the Theatre Section of the Canada Council.
- You must speak with a Theatre Section Officer at the Canada Council for the Arts before applying for a grant from this component of the Theatre Production Project Grants program.
- If you have been unsuccessful in a previous competition of this program, you may not resubmit the same project to a subsequent competition.
Grant Amount
Grants will generally range from $8,000 to $25,000 per year, depending on the phases of the project’s activity. The total maximum amount that your company or collective can receive over three years is $75,000.
The Canada Council does not guarantee any support beyond a three-year period, either for later phases of the project or for new projects.
Retroactive funding is not available.
Assessment of Applications
Assessment Process
The Theatre Section will review applications for eligibility, according to the published criteria, with outside consultation if needed. You should be aware that meeting the eligibility criteria means that your application will be assessed but it does not guarantee that you will receive a grant.
A peer assessment committee will evaluate eligible applications, in a national comparative context. The committee is a representative body of theatre professionals, with various kinds of expertise. Members are selected to ensure balanced representation of gender, experience, regional and cultural diversity, Aboriginal peoples and genres.
The committee bases its review of applications on commissioned assessments of any of the applicant’s work that the Canada Council has funded previously, if assessments are available. The committee also bases its review on the assessment criteria outlined below. It your responsibility to request the Theatre Section, in writing, for an assessment of your company’s or collective’s work. You must make the request at least 30 days before the work’s production.
Assessment Criteria
Applications will be assessed taking into account the following criteria. Based on these artistic and administrative criteria, the peer assessment committee will establish, by consensus, the priority of projects to be funded. The committee will also establish specific grant amounts, based on the funds available to this program component.
Artistic Criteria
- Artistic interest of the project.
- Articulation and quality of the artistic process.
- Impact of the project on the development of the art of theatre and on Canadian theatre artists.
- Public impact of the project.
Administrative Criteria
- An appropriate balance between expenditures and revenues.
- The ability to forecast potential risks of a project, and the financial stability of your company or collective, if applicable.
- Appropriate planning and allocation of resources to production, marketing and administration.
- The diversification of revenue sources (for workshop or development projects, it is understood that box office revenues will be less than those for production projects).
If you are applying on behalf of an incorporated company, include financial statements or mission statements from the most recently completed fiscal year. Note that the Theatre Section considers an accumulated deficit representing more than 10 percent of a company’s total revenues could indicate financial instability. If your company is in that position, provide an explanation for the accumulated deficit as well as a deficit reduction plan.
Further Information
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. 4483 or 4480
TTY (TDD) machine, for hearing-impaired callers: 613-565-5194
Fax: 613-566-4410
May 2005