Strict rules on who can applying for particular pots of funding are blocking innovative approaches to how companies can be set up and run, says Thomas Hescott.
The news is good if you work for a small-scale, independent theatre company: Arts Council England wants to support you. You just have to look at the recent winners of the strategic touring grant announced back in September. Paines Plough, with a core staff of only four, was awarded more than £750,000, to work with key partners including Margate Theatre Royal, Lincoln Performing Arts Centre and Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal. Meanwhile, Unlimited Theatre received more than £100,000 for a research project on developing new audiences.
But if you scratch beneath the surface, is ACE doing enough for small companies? Paines Plough, while operating with a small, core staff is, after all, more than 40 years old and in receipt of national portfolio funding from ACE, meaning it is core-funded by the arts council... Keep reading on The Stage
The news is good if you work for a small-scale, independent theatre company: Arts Council England wants to support you. You just have to look at the recent winners of the strategic touring grant announced back in September. Paines Plough, with a core staff of only four, was awarded more than £750,000, to work with key partners including Margate Theatre Royal, Lincoln Performing Arts Centre and Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal. Meanwhile, Unlimited Theatre received more than £100,000 for a research project on developing new audiences.
But if you scratch beneath the surface, is ACE doing enough for small companies? Paines Plough, while operating with a small, core staff is, after all, more than 40 years old and in receipt of national portfolio funding from ACE, meaning it is core-funded by the arts council... Keep reading on The Stage