Before you apply for funding for local schools to see a production at your theater, discover if your theater or touring company is eligible for theatre works! funding and understand our application process.
When to apply
We have three application windows every year.
Window 1
Applications open on Monday 12 January.
Applications close Friday 27 February.
This applies to performances requested for up 12 months ahead from 1 April 2026 onwards.
Window 2
Applications open on Monday 11 May.
Applications close Friday 26 June.
This applies to performances for up 12 months ahead from 1 August 2026 onwards.
Window 3
Applications open on Monday 14 September.
Applications close Friday 23 October.
This applies to performances for up 12 months ahead from 1 January 2027 onwards.
US Eligibility Criteria
Participating schools must not have received a theatre works! grant in the previous calendar year and must have:
40% + Free School Meals/Title 1 and/or 25% Special Educational Needs Students
We support children and young people aged 7-16. If the schools you would like to invite to your theater production have a minimum of 40% FSM/Title 1 and/or 25% Special Educational Needs students it is eligible to for funding.
Applications must be for verifiable schools and we check applications against the latest available published government figures.
What productions are you eligible to apply for?
Eligible productions
We support applications for professional productions only. These can be musicals or plays. We do not offer grants towards, dance, choir or opera productions.
If the production is curriculum-related, we will only fund places for the students identifying as Free School Meals/Title 1.
What our grants support
As a US theater you can apply for up to $5000. We pay for theater tickets, transport, and related educational activities such as post-show Q&A sessions and backstage tours.
We are happy to pay only for transport or educational activities providing they are linked directly to a theater production that meets our criteria.
We do not expect to pay more than $15 per theater ticket and request theaters to provide education rates/reduced ticket prices.
Seeing different types of productions
We like to support projects that reach a large number of children. Touring companies can be an excellent way to expose a larger audience to the theater especially if they visit schools or regional venues.
We want children and young people to be exposed to a broad spectrum of plays. When you apply for grants over time, we encourage you to look at a range of plays. For example, if you apply for a musical one year, the next time you might apply for a different performance type.
1. Read the eligibility criteria
Once you have read and understood the eligibility criteria and feel you meet the basic criteria for applying, it’s time to fill out an application form.
If you have any questions, contact us.
What to expect from the application process
2. Review the application window.
We have three application windows per year. See full details of each window here.
Please ensure your performance falls on or after the applicable start date for your specific window.
It will not be possible to apply outside of these windows.
3. Submit the form
Complete the form and submit it during the application window. Once you’ve submitted your form, you will receive a copy of it and an automatic confirmation of submission via email. (Do check your junk).
Please do not book any theater tickets or travel ahead of your grant being approved, any arrangements should be provisional.
4. Application review stage
Your application will then be reviewed by our grants team and independent reviewer, one week following the close of the application window. Following this, you will receive an email with the outcome of your grant application and if approved, the amount we will provide.
If your grant is unsuccessful you can apply again in the future.
5. If your grant is successful
Within your grant outcome email, you’ll be informed about the amount of grant funding awarded, the requirements for submitting an invoice for 80% of your grant ahead of the theater trip, and information on our evaluation form.
You’ll then be able to organise your trip, by booking tickets, arranging transport and other necessary steps.
We’ll pay the 80% invoice directly to the applicant approximately two months before your theater trip.
6. The theater trip & evaluation
Have a wonderful theater trip and share it with us via our social channels.
Following your trip we ask that the applicant completes an Evaluation Form which collates feedback quotes from the children attending, it’s essential for measuring our impact.
If the evaluation is satisfactory, then the remaining 20% balance will be paid. If balancing invoices are not submitted within 60 days of the performance date, we will withdraw our grant for the outstanding 20% amount.
FAQs - US Theaters & Touring Companies
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Every year, however, the funding must support different schools to the previous application. The same school cannot benefit consecutively, two years in a row.
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$5000.
This can be used towards tickets, transport and additional educational activities for local schools.
We do not pay for programmes and refreshments.
We rarely pay up to 100% of the grants requested. We look to schools to use additional budget and those available from parents, where possible.
If costs quoted on your application are estimates, such as for bus transport, and turn out to be less than our grant we will normally reduce our grant accordingly. If actual costs turn out to be higher, we will not increase our grant to cover any shortfall.
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Yes. We want to support a diverse range of projects across different regions to maximize our national impact.
We are keen to consider local needs and gaps in arts access. We might for example favour rural applicants if the application indicates there is limited access to cultural activities for children and young people from the most underprivileged area.
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A curriculum-based play refers to a play where there is a direct link between what students are studying in school and what they will be attending at the theater.
For example, if students are studying Hamlet in class and will be attending a theatre performance of Hamlet, that would be a ‘curriculum-based’ play and in this case we only pay for Free School Meals/Title 1 students.
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Unfortunately, we can’t support every application we receive due to available funds.
We want to support grants that deliver the most impact to children and young people.
We want to see where an effort is made to provide related educational experiences. These efforts may be as simple as a teacher devoting some pre- and post-classroom time to discussing the impact of the play. We also encourage signing up for Q&A sessions where these are available.
Please specify in your application what efforts you will make to ensure a wide range of children from underserved communities benefit from this programme.
Preference will be given to applications that show the school has implemented plans to reach out to children who may not have had the opportunity to attend theater performances in the past.
However, make every effort not to single out Pupil Premium students.
We are keen to consider local needs and gaps in arts access. We may favour rural applicants if the application indicates there is little or no access to cultural activities for children from underserved communities and young people in the area.
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Unfortunately, we are unable to support every grant application due to available funds.
The decision on a grant application is final; we do not engage in discussions on reasons for our decision. However, you may make a subsequent application.
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The requested performance date must be after the applicable grant application window performance date. We give grants up to 12 months from this date.
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Feedback from students and teachers is critical to the charity. People who are considering donating to the charity look at the evidence we provide to see if the charity is being effective. Direct feedback from children is critical to our work.
We like direct quotes that talk about what the experience meant to the student. Please don’t simply say that a Child or young person liked the play. Possible feedback questions are provided on the evaluation form. If related workshops or educational materials are created, please tell us about them. We also like to see extracts of written work or pictures students created.
Video footage is welcome including from any workshops or post-event activities. We appreciate that getting parental permission for filming students can be challenging.
Please note that the quality of your feedback (and application) will be taken into account as part of the consideration given to any future applications to theatre works!
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It should be submitted to us within 30 days of the performance date.
Consider how you will gather feedback from students if the performance is close to the end of the school term.
See Terms and Conditions for more information.
Apply Now
Now that you’ve read the criteria, you’re ready to complete the application form when the next application window opens.
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Please note that the quality of your feedback (and application) will be taken into account as part of the consideration given to any future applications you may make to theatre works!
You have six months from the date of our approval to your application to claim your grant by submitting your initial 80% invoice.
You must claim the balancing 20% within 60 days of the performance otherwise you will forfeit payment.
You confirm that a written Child Safety Policy equivalent to that adopted by the NSPCC is in place, including a Disclosure and Barring Service or equivalent checks for everyone who will be working with the children.
You confirm that the grant will only be used for the purposes outlined in the application, and any unspent funds will be returned to us.
If false information is provided or funds are used for purposed outside those outlined, we will require repayment of funds.
theatre works! will not accept responsibility for any claims arising from the events for which funding has been agreed.
You agree that we can make public the name of the school(s) or sponsoring organisation that receives a grant from us.
You agree that any information provided to us, including quotes and photos from children and teachers, can be used for the charity’s promotional purposes.