How to apply for a theatre works! grant
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 - Closed
Window 2 - Closed
Outcomes will be shared from mid-July 2026.
Window 3
Applications open on Monday September, 14.
Applications close Friday October, 23.
This applies to performances for up 12 months ahead from January 1, 2027 onwards.
US Eligibility Criteria
The schools you would like to work with as part of your application must:
Meet our eligibility criteria:
We support children and young people aged 7-16.
The school(s) listed on your application must have a minimum of 40% Free and Reduced-Price Lunch (FRPL) eligibility/Title 1.
We will also take into account the percentage of students with Special Educational Needs, where appropriate, when considering grant applications that already meet our core economic disadvantage threshold. Applications must be for verifiable schools and we check applications against the latest available published government figures.
If you have applied in the previous year, you must list different schools on your application
If your grant was successful last year, you will need to add different schools to your application, this is because we only support the same schools once every two years.
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 (e.g the play text is studied within class), we will only fund places for the students identifying as FRPL/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.
An education element is essential.
Applications must include an education-related experience. You could embed any of the following within your theatre trip e.g backstage tours, workshop or a post-show Q&A with the theatre company where at least two backstage/technical team members take part (e.g. sound technician, stage manager). Alternatively, teachers may devote time in class to discuss the themes of the play or wider experience or make use of the resources and modules offered in our Education Hub.
Grant recipients will be asked to provide full feedback in the Student Impact Evaluation Form as to which education experiences you provided and how students reacted to them.
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. Once you’ve accepted the offer you’ll receive a follow up email with an overview of the next steps including information on booking your trip, the Student Impact Evaluation Form and when we pay your grant to you. We suggest reserving tickets and reaching out to schools you’re planning to support and arranging transport (if applicable) at this point.
Two months before your requested performance date (unless your performance is sooner) we will send a request by email for your organisation to invoice theatre works! for 80% of your grant. We’ll pay you (the applicant) directly. With these funds, you can pay for the tickets and pay for any transport/activities you’ve reserved.
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 Student Impact 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.
Important Information for 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 are unable to support every application we receive due to limited funding available.
We aim to prioritise grants that will deliver the greatest impact for children and young people, particularly those from underserved communities and those who may have had limited previous access to live theatre and cultural activities.
All applications must include at least one educational element linked to the theatre visit. This may be as simple as a post-show Q&A session involving cast and company (with at least two backstage technical team members). Other examples include backstage tours, workshops, teacher-led classroom activities before or after the visit, or use of resources from the theatre works! Education Hub.
Applications that include multiple educational components are particularly encouraged. You will be asked to provide full feedback in the Student Impact Report outlining which educational activities were delivered and how students responded to them.
Please explain in your application how you will ensure that a broad range of children from underserved communities benefit from the programme. Preference will be given to applications that demonstrate clear plans to reach children who may not otherwise have opportunities to attend theatre performances.
Applications from schools serving a high proportion of children eligible for Free/Reduced-price lunch/Title 1 are encouraged. We also ask applicants to keep costs reasonable wherever possible. However, every effort should be made not to single out individual students.
We are keen to consider local needs and gaps in arts access. Applications from rural areas may be prioritised where there is limited access to cultural opportunities for children and young people in the local community.
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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 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.