Bursary
Our bursary awards provide independent producers the financial and practical support needed to mount their first commercial production.
Producing can be a lonely business, but it shouldn’t be! We understand that upscaling your productions can be an intimidating process.
Stage One’s Bursary scheme exists to support independent commercial theatre producers. Unlike other grants or funding, its primary aim is to help develop you and your commercial producing career, rather than only supporting production and project costs.
The Bursary is a grant of up to £20,000 awarded to independent commercial theatre producers who have proven they are on a clear trajectory of development within the industry.
In the last 5 years through the bursary scheme we have:
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Supported 80 producers new to the Stage One bursary and paired them with an experienced mentor
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Awarded £430,000 of new bursaries to emerging producers
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Awarded £320,000 of top-ups to previous recipients of the award
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Co-founded an exciting new partnership to support emerging producers with a focus on developing new British musicals
Applications for the Autumn 2024 Bursary round have now closed. The next round will be announced in early 2025.
When applications are open, you can apply for up to £20,000 to Stage One to support the development of your independent career in commercial theatre producing.
Be sure to read all about the bursary award before applying.
“After years of producing small-mid scale independent projects, I was ready to take the next step and scale up. Stage One have been instrumental in helping this transition, not just financially but supporting business planning, mentoring and developing essential relationships in the industry.
This support has enabled me to confidently develop this work through the pandemic and utilise this time as best I can whilst theatres remain closed.”
Sofi Berenger
Bursary Recipient Autumn 2020
Metal Rabbit Productions/VAULT Festival