INFORMATION FOR PROMOTERS
About NSTF
The Northern Scottish Touring Fund (NSTF) is a new interactive fund which awards production and touring grants to performing companies. It also supports the selected projects with marketing (social networking, printing and distribution) and tour booking services. The NSTF’s aim is to encourage future potential artistic collaborations and the commissioning of indigenous theatre and dance in the North of Scotland.
The Northern Scottish Touring Fund (NSTF) is managed by a consortium made up of:
HITN (Highlands and Islands Theatre Network, representing 23 professional theatre companies and venues in the Highlands and Islands).
NEAT (North East Arts Touring, representing promoters in Moray, Aberdeenshire and Angus).
PAN (Promoters Arts Network, representing promoters in the Highlands & Islands and Argyll & Bute).
HI~Arts (the Arts development agency based in Inverness, providing marketing support).
The NSTF offers an opportunity for Theatre and Dance companies to work with promoters in rural venues to develop and deliver high quality small-scale touring performances in the North of Scotland. The NSTF will support 8 performance projects over two years. At least two of the awards will be for dance performance.
Each project will tour to 10 venues, each with a catchment area of under 3000 people. These venues will be in the NSTF Region: Highland, Moray, Aberdeenshire, Cairngorm and Western Isles, as defined by EU LEADER areas.
The scheme will offer grants of up to £45,000 per project, support with marketing under the NSTF brand, 10 guaranteed tour dates in the NSTF Region, and the possibility of a further showcase outside that area.
The Fund aims to encourage work to be produced as far as possible in the North of Scotland, involving artists from, or based in, the NSTF area, and other artists.
Benefits for Promoters
· NSTF will hold the contract with the commisssioned company to produce and deliver the agreed show at an agreed number of venues on agreed dates.
· NSTF will cover the cost of the booking fee for each performance.
· Where the performance is ‘outdoors’, NSTF will assist with securing relevant licences.
· NSTF and the Promoter / Venue will share a 50/50 split of the box office for each performance.
· NSTF is here to support the Promoters as well as the companies, Promoters have a say in how the work is selected.
· NSTF will work with and assist Promoters in the marketing of the touring shows through various platforms.
· NSTF will fund Promoters to go and see the work in progress for their booked shows when required.
· NSTF will assist with venue hire and other costs in the event where venue hire fees exceed income from the performance as agreed in advance with individual Promoters.
Round 2 – 2010-2012
Twenty applications for funding were received for Round 2 of the NSTF scheme. A selection panel consisting of the following personnel met to agree a short list of ten applications for further consideration by promoters across the NSTF region, before a final decision is made on funding up to a maximum of four productions for touring during 2011 – 2012:
The Selection Panel currently consists of the following representatives:
HITN & Chair of Selection Panel: Muriel Ann Macleod (Project Co-ordinator)
NEAT: Caroline Aston (NEAT Co-ordinator) and Peter Vallance (Universal Hall)
PAN: William Wilson (Lyth Arts Centre) and Fiona Begg (Lochalsh Arts Network)
HI-Arts: Sian Jamieson (Audience Development Co-ordinator)
Creative Scotland: Susan Hay (Development Officer)
The selection panel was asked to rate the twenty applications received against six specific criteria, which can be found at www.nstf.org/fund/selection-process.
Ten short listed productions