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Artist Development Hub

“Receiving Harrogate Theatre’s support in bringing my work to a larger audience was made all the more gratifying with a full house, sell-out performances in their Studio Theatre. The support, generosity and mentorship of Harrogate Theatre have been instrumental in mounting this new adventure.”

-Michael Sabbaton, Actor, writer and producer.

Actor on stage leaning backwards with people sat on chairs in background

Harrogate Theatre is committed to nurturing, supporting, and developing artists and companies. Managed by Associate Producer, Porl Cooper we’re proud to offer:

  • Associate Artist Scheme
  • Professional Development Opportunities
  • Rehearsal Space
  • Surgeries
  • Small grants

Previously we have supported artists and companies including 1927 Productions, Rachael Halliwell and Adam Z. Robinson. Read on for ways we can work together to share new stories that resonate with our audiences on our stages and across Harrogate.

Harrogate Theatre is proud to be a member of Venues North; a network of venues from across the North of England who are committed to supporting artists to create new work. Our aim is to work together as venues to support new and emerging artists from the North to get their work more widely seen regionally, nationally and internationally.

Download the Routes In guide

Our Artistic Policy:

Harrogate Theatre is a vibrant northern arts destination attracting visitors from across the UK, serving tourists and the local community with varied entertainment and creative experiences.

We will push artistic boundaries, lead change and take risks, influencing positive and thoughtful cultural engagement across our region.

We will inspire and educate all, preserve and celebrate our local heritage, and we will be relevant to and reflective of the diverse contemporary society we are part of.

  • Each year Harrogate Theatre supports four companies or solo artists as our Associate Artists to develop a new piece of work. They can be working across any discipline creating theatre in its broadest form, and the work can be presented across any of our spaces – Main House (500 seats), Studio (60 seats) or anywhere else across the building or offsite in alternative spaces with step-free access.

    The work should fit with our Artistic Policy and meet Arts Council England’s Creative Case for Diversity.

    • £3000 cash seed funding to 4 successful companies or individuals to go towards making their project. 3 of these will be offered to companies who have already engaged with us (by previous cash or in-kind assistance). 1 of these will be offered to a company not currently or previously engaged with us.
    • Tailored access to rehearsal space and technical support to deliver the project
    • Up to a week’s run of performances with 70% of box office receipts from the run
    • Mentoring and support from HT Associate Producer, Marketing Team and access to key HT staff as required.

    Our priority is to ensure that we work with the most varied selection of companies as our resources allow and those hailing from the North of England, and Harrogate and District in particular, on mutually beneficial projects which help Harrogate Theatre achieve our artistic and strategic aims.

    The next public call out will take place in Summer 2023.

  • Year-round professional development opportunities available to any artist in the region on a first come, first served basis.  To be notified of new workshops going onsale and other opportunities join the Harrogate Theatre Artists Network on facebook. To see courses currently booking please check out What’s On and click on Courses.

  • Year-round access to rehearsal space available to any artist in the region on a first come, first served basis. To enquire please contact [email protected]

  • Associate Producer timetabled surgeries every two months for anyone needing assistance or to share ideas.

    Priority will be given to those within 25 miles from the venue to support local talent and cultivate a creative community in our immediate region.

    To book please contact [email protected]

  • Small grants are offered on a discretionary basis to two companies a year for solo writing / small project opportunities for developing scripts and solo projects for developing scripts and solo projects which align with our audience development and engagement targets.

Current Opportunities

2022 CALL OUT – SEED COMMISSION OPPORTUNITIES

Harrogate Theatre is looking to support four companies or solo artists across the 2022/2023 financial year.

You can be working across any discipline creating theatre in its broadest form.

This year, in order to increase our range of work we can present offsite in spaces with step free access, we are looking for four projects which should be technically self-contained and should be able to present in a space with:

A maximum 6m x 5m playing / performance area (ie not to include audience in this footprint).

Require no more from the host venue than 13A power supply, blackout facility & changing room access.

Loose, configurable audience seating.

Some of our partner venues include Harrogate Library, Wesley Centre, St Wilfrids Church Hall, Cold Bath Brewery Clubhouse.

The piece you are creating should fit with our Artistic Policy and meet Arts Council England’s Creative Case for Diversity

    • £3000 cash seed funding to 4 successful companies or individuals to go towards making their project. Up to 3 of these may be offered to companies who have already engaged with us (by previous cash or inkind assistance). At least 1 of these will be offered to a company not currently or previously engaged with us.
    • Tailored access to rehearsal space and technical advice and assistance to deliver the project.
    • Up to a week’s run of performances to be delivered offsite between April 2023 and March 2024.
    • Receive 70% of box office receipts from said run of performances.
    • Mentoring and support from HT Associate Producer, Marketing Team and access to key HT staff as required.
    • Some background to your company / your work / practice and any other creatives involved.
    • A paragraph about the proposed project you are seeking support on. Outline its themes, why you’re passionate about it and why 22/23 is the right time for this show?
    • How does your project embed the Creative Case for Diversity? For example, what is the make-up of your creative team? What is the targeted demographic of the audience?
    • Who are the target audience? How you could Harrogate Theatre work with you to reach them.
    • What are your strengths? What skills would you like to develop through this project?
    • Limit yourself to just a few sentences on each of the above!

The HT artistic team will score each application in response to the above. We will be assessing across strength of idea, geographical locality (with preference given to artists working in the North of England) and existing support (where preference may be given to companies not currently in receipt of support from elsewhere).

Support offered by HT is made available because of NPO funding from Arts Council England. As an NPO we strive to embed the Creative Case for Diversity into all of our work. All activities and projects we support should consider and embrace protected characteristics (as defined in the Equality Act 2010) within the project’s aims and objectives and monitor progress against these.

Please send to [email protected] marking your application “2022/23 SEED COMMISSION OPPORTUNITY”

If you prefer, the above can be recorded to camera rather than written. Please then email us the link to your video.

Deadline Date for Applications: Mon 29 August 2022 at 9am
Successful applicants informed Fri 30 September 2022 at the latest

Supported Artists

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