Additional research

Arts Council England

Website: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/

Arts Council England is a development agency for creativity and culture, investing public money from Government and The National Lottery into creative projects. They support thousands of individual artists, community and cultural organisations who apply for their funding. The application can be for either £30,000 and under, or £30,000 and over depending on how much is needed for the project. In the application guide, they highlight how important they think accessibility and diversity is, with questions such as 'Tell us how your project addresses the Creative Case for Diversity'.

I believe the Arts Councils' project grants would be highly beneficial for my theatre company because of my primary focus on making theatre more diverse and accessible both on and off stage. This increases the likelihood of the Arts Council funding my projects.

Get Into Theatre

Website: https://getintotheatre.org/

Get Into Theatre is an independent charity that provides information, advice and opportunities regarding careers in theatre and sources of training (e.g. university courses), work experience (e.g. workshops) and funding (e.g. scholarships, bursaries and funds). They specifically aim to help young people who don't know much about the job options within the theatre and the different ways to make a start in the industry. They believe everybody should be able to pursue a career in theatre regardless of background, ethnicity, disabilities, sexuality, religion, or gender. 

I believe this website is beneficial to me personally as well as for my business as I am a young person wanting to pursue a career in theatre. Having one website that provides information about a variety of opportunities is incredibly useful and I can find ways to better myself as a performer. By gaining more experience I will be able to improve the chances of my company being successful, because I will have a greater knowledge of theatre as a whole. Their focus on diversity and inclusion will also help me find more methods of improving this within my own company.

Skillsbuilder

Website: https://www.skillsbuilder.org/ 

Skillsbuilder provides a universal framework that helps with building useful life skills: listening, speaking, problem solving, creativity, staying positive, aiming high, leadership and teamwork. There are various steps and levels within each skill that allows to improve all of them. The steps offer questions for the reader to ask themselves and reasons for why the skill is so important.

Though this isn't directly relevant to my business, it will be very useful if I am able to improve upon all these skills. It will allow me to be a better business owner, working effectively with other people and making my company seem more appealing. For example, building on my listening and speaking skills will better my ability to collaborate and get feedback from others, which will make the company easier to work with.

Society of London Theatre

Website: https://solt.co.uk/

The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) primarily promotes theatres and productions in London, supports major theatre events (e.g. Olivier Awards) and aim to make theatre more accessible. It's a major part of their mission. They have their own charity 'Theatre Development Trust' that offers grants, with a focus on audience development (encouraging young theatre goers, increasing diversity and access for new theatre goers), workforce training and career development (addressing skills shortages, entry routes, in career training and inclusivity) and access requirements. 

I could potentially be eligible for a grant from SOLT as I aim to encourage a large variety of people to find enjoyment in musical theatre, provide career opportunities to those who may struggle to find a job in the theatre industry, and make productions that are accessible as possible so more people have the chance to experience them. However, as evident in their name, SOLT is based in London. Though I would expand my theatre company if given the chance, I currently have to stick with keeping it local. Still, their website offers industry resources and guidance, as well as info on how to make theatre more accessible, so I can use these to improve my company as it is at the moment.

UK Theatre

Website: https://uktheatre.org/

UK Theatre is a theatre and performing arts membership organisation that supports organisations and people in the industry through training, networking events, industry updates, etc. By becoming a member, you receive numerous benefits such as discounts on training courses, access to mentoring programmes, access to contact details in their directory, updates about relevant matters in the industry, Legal & Employment Relations support and a listing in UK Theatre's Directory.

This kind of support would be beneficial to my company because it could increase my connections with people in the theatre industry, which would increase the likelihood of my work getting noticed. It would also just be great for support as I try to establish my company pretty much independently. However, there is an annual fee for the membership, so applying for it would entirely depend on how much my business may make.