With the situation as it stands, we have opted to put a bit of a focus on places people can access free child meals this half term and food banks and places you can donate.
We still have some new Opportunities in the list, and of course our rolling ones too.
WELL BEING
The Theatre Helpline is a free (from mobiles and landlines), independent
and confidential phone and email service that provides support to people working in the theatre industry. It’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year round
The number to call is: 0800 915 4617
Or visit https://theatrehelpline.org/ for
more information
Leading a movement against suicide. Open to all, they also have campaigns for males facing mental health struggles. Call: 0800 58 58 58. The helpline and webchat is open to all and can be accessed 5pm – Midnight every day, 365 days a year. Or visit their website here.
The British Association for Performing Arts Medicine has a range of services to help support the medical needs of those in the performing arts. From free clinics, information resources and a practitioner directory, they are a good resource if you may be struggling with any health situations.
To find out more about what they do, follow the link here.
The Film and TV Charity have a 24 hour helpline and chat service available to anyone who is struggling at this time. Their trained team can provide help and advice about legal queries, mental health and financial advice.
To find out more follow the link here.
HALF TERM MEAL SUPPORT
With the Government voting to not continue free school meals throughout half term, there has been a number of independent business' who have thrown open their doors to help.
Below is a list of contacts for those offering help. It is not extensive, and if you have others, please do let us know so we can add them.
Places To Go
Yummies Cafe & Milkshakes Copplehouse Lane Fazakerley
9am - 10am any child from the age of 4 to the age of 16 will be entitled to a FREE sausage OR bacon sandwich.
The Watering Can L18
A child who accesses free school meals can arrange for a free takeaway packed lunch.
Call 0151 319 2366.
Taste Sandwich Bar
They will be offering free packed lunches for families.
Inbox @tastedingle on Twitter to arrange. All information will be kept confidential.
Fika 131 Woolton Rd, Liverpool L15 6TB
They are offering any child under the age of 16 who may go without a meal due to school closure a free breakfast.
Monday To Friday before 10.30am.
Meatless 312 Smithdown Road L15 5AJ
Offering a free meal to a child who would otherwise go hungry. The link to their post is here. You can show it to them, if you are concerned about or would prefer to be discreet. There is no judgement.
RayRayz 173 Park Road
They will be providing lunches over the October half term.
Contact them for more information 0151-345-5595 or find them on Instagram here.
The Old Hardware Shop 8 Woolton Street L25 5JA
Vegan sandwich shop offering free sandwich box and juice to any child who needs it.
Wed to Sat, 10 til 4pm
Their Facebook page is here.
Leah's Blinds and Interiors 105 Knowsley Road L20
For the October half term, Leah is making packed lunches for those who need it.
Her Facebook page is here to be able to contact her.
Kraft Chippy Old Farm Road L32 7QY
Opening Monday to Friday between 12-1pm for any child under the age of 16 affected by the school closures.
Facebook page here.
Helping Haltons Kids
A charitable organisation arranging to make packed lunches for the Halton Area. They have 11 collection points Throughout Runcorn. Collection points in Widnes will be announced on Sunday ready to start Monday.
More information can be found on their Facebook page here.
Key Lime Coffee
12 - 2pm Monday to Friday during October half term to any child in need to a free school meal.
Contact 0151 708 0404
WYLDE Coffee 86 Telegraph Road, Heswell CH60 0AQ
Will be making free school packed lunches for any child under the age of 16 during half term. Confidential and no questions asked.
You can contact them via email: jamiewyldecoffee@gmail.com
Or check out the Facebook page here.
Pullman Jack's 2a Ferndale Road Waterloo L22 9QW
Offering free meals for children who need them. You can private message them on Facebook or come in and see them. No judgement, fuss or questions.
They are open Friday & Saturday 10:30-3 pm.
Facebook page here.
This Twitter thread has a more extensive list of business' who are offering free meals for children. Follow the link here.
If you hear of any more places feel free to contact us, or add to our Facebook page
FoodBanks and Places to Donate
The Liverpool Independent Delivery Service (LIDS) have a place you can directly give monetary donation to help with their programmes in collaboration with Red Neighbours.
Find out more here.
Micah Liverpool have a food bank and a volunteer programme where you can donate your time to help. For more info on both click here
The Florrie are currently in the process of reopening their food union. You can contact them for more info on this here.
North Liverpool Foodbank has an option to access it's service and to help with it's services. To do so click here.
The Knowsley Foodbank are always accepting food donations, and have a list of useful items. They also have information on how to access the services and vouchers. For info click here.
FUNDING
Theatre
Acting For Others is a consortium of 14 member charities set up to help provide financial and emotional support to professionals within the theatre.
The Greater Manchester Artists Hub has got some great things going on at the minute. As well as private and group advisory sessions, they currently have two funds available. One is a hardship bursary and the other to support the development of a new piece of work.
The Revive fund will offer 10 GM-based creative freelancers a £500 hardship bursary along with peer networking support and a 1-1 advice session with GM Artist Hub to explore your own particular circumstances and needs.
Deadline: Midnight Sunday 25th October 2020
The Reboot fund is offering 8 grants of £1500 to support the initial development of a new piece of performance-based work over a three month period.
Deadline: Midnight Sunday 25th October 2020
Get into Theatre is a one stop shop of ways into a career in theatre. They have sections on training, experience and funding.
With information on courses and funding, this website is a useful resource whether you are a newbie to it all, or an experienced professional looking for further development.
Front of House and Backstage Workers
If you work backstage or front of house and are struggling right now then The Theatrical Guild might be a good place to look, they have set up a great resource for theatre workers at any stage of their career. It includes help with finances, funding, counselling and training. You can apply for help here, and if you aren't eligible, they will pass you onto an organisation that can help.
Backup – The Technical Entertainment Charity – provides financial support to industry technical professionals working in live events, theatre, TV and film.
Application are open for their latest round of hardship funding. To learn more click here.
Application close: 8pm 30th October 2020
Playwrights and Writers
The Peggy Ramsay foundation is a charity set up to help give theatre writers the space and time to write. If you have had a play professionally produced, you can qualify for support.
To find out more details on eligibility and how to apply click here.
If you're a playwright you'll be pleased to know there is a new prize from the wonderful people at Hope Mill Theatre called Through the Mill. The winner receives £5000, and their play will be produced by the theatre. The finalists will receive on to one mentoring with Jonathon Harvey. Find out more about how to apply here.
Deadline for submissions: 27th November 2020
The Society of Authors has set up the Authors' Emergency fund.
Open to all professional authors who are resident in the UK, including writers, illustrators, literary translators, scriptwriters, poets, journalists and others. Note: those who have had ACE emergency response fund are ineligible for this grant. Find out how to apply here.
53Two, MAP Productions and TripleC are looking for writers to pitch ideas for their latest Christmas advert.
Pitches should be no more than 250 words, and require no more than 4 actors.
The successful writer will receive £200.
Email pitches to: info@maplatform.co.uk
Deadline: Sunday 25th October
You can also see the original advert here.
Education
Education Support as a charity who help provide effective and relevant support to all of those working in the education sector today.
They currently have grants to help those who are either working or retired from the education sector. There are a few criteria involved in applying, so we recommend reading the outline of it all here.
Radio
Are you a writer who's always been tempted by radio? The Alfred Bradley Bursary Award is open for applications. It's a £5000 bursary for a writer in the north of England who is new to writing for radio. Check it out.
Deadline to apply: 5pm on Friday 6th November 2020
Outdoor Arts
Have an outdoor show ready to book? Outdoor Arts UK have created an online directory for shows that are able to be performed in the current climate accounting for social distancing and safety measures for both artists and audiences. It’s a straightforward form to fill in, which you can do here.
Digital
Arts&Heritage have a £1000 commission available for a piece of digital work. The idea is that the work will be become their leading visual identity over the Winter months.
The web page has more detail about what the commission entails and the requirements and can be found here.
Deadline: Midnight, Sunday 25 October
Music Industry
Music Support is a charity who offer support and resources for those within any area of the UK music industry suffering from mental, emotional and behavioural health disorders. Find out more.
The Association of Independent Music has opened a crisis fund for music contractors and freelance workers in the independent music industry, whose source of income has been severed without warning due to lost work in April and May as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It's an ongoing fund and you can join here to apply.
ORA Singers is launching an Emergency Composers’ Fund.
It is essentially a commission for £1.500 for 8 composers living in the UK to write a new choral
There is no age restriction and other than being a UK resident, there are no other entry criteria.
All eight commissions will be announced on a rolling basis throughout the next 3 months. Composers are encouraged to register as early as possible to be considered.
For more information and how to apply follow the link here.
Black Artists
Creative Debuts have established the Black Artists Grant, which is on a rolling system so there is no deadline. Once a month £1500 will be given to black artists in the UK with each artist receiving £500. If you want to put yourself forward for a grant, you can find out more about how to do that here.
D/deaf and disabled Artists
Graeae are offering free support to Deaf and disabled freelancers thanks to support from Arts Council England and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Support includes: access support for zoom meetings, purchase or loan of technology, help getting projects off the ground, and help with personal finance applications. More info here.
ArtsAdmin and Shape Arts have been co producing Unlimited since 2013, which is the worlds largest disability arts commissioning programme.
Professionally established disabled artists or companies that support disabled-led work across all artforms and who are based in England and Wales (unfortunately artists based in Scotland cannot apply for this award). Are invited to apply for commissions for up to £60,000 to fund projects.
The first stage is Expression of Interest and the portal for applications open on 1 October until 27 October 2020. For more details about the commission and the criteria follow the link here.
VISUAL
Box on the Docks are 30 unique and eye-catching 'boxes' that have been installed outside MediaCity’s restaurants, winding through the gardens and along the waterfront.
They are commissioning artists and designers in Salford and Greater Manchester as they extend the project into the festive season with Box on the Docks at Christmas!
To read and download about how to submit a proposal follow the link here.
FEE: £1000 max per structure including materials and installation
Deadline to apply: 5pm on Friday 6th November 2020.
VARIOUS
The Responsa Foundation curates contemporary art projects exploring our intolerance to others. They support projects by either inviting artists to partake in projects, or funding proposals submitted by artists.
The Foundation's objective is, 'promote the belief that the history of intolerance repeats itself. By producing art that people engage with, we can find ways of exploring this difficult subject matter together and get it out there.'
If you are an artist who feels passionately about this, or is interested in creating work exploring these themes, you can find out more information about the foundation and their application guidelines here.
RESOURCES/TRAINING
Theatre By The Lake are offering a free workshop, Directing Classics, with director Atri Banerjee.
It is an interactive workshop that will take place via zoom, and is suitable for people aged over 18 who are interested in exploring paths in directing and writing.
Some previous experience of theatre-making is desirable.
To apply to take part, email claire.dunk@theatrebythelake.com with your CV and up to 100 words explaining why you would like to take part.
Date and time of workshop: 7-9pm Mon 26 October
Writing on the Wall are offering a free course in partnership with Enterprise Hub.
Level Up is a six week course is aimed at people who may have a business idea and want to develop skills that will help them in the workplace and their own creative practice.
Maybe you want to launch your own publishing house or dance company - what you can you do to turn your idea into a reality?
For more information on the course and how to apply, follow the link here.
Deadline to apply: Monday 2nd November, 5pm.
Collective Encounters are running Confidence through Creativity, an accredited, arts based training programme for women over 19 who have not been in work, education or training for at least 6 months.
Sessions take place online twice a week: Tuesday and Thursday mornings, 11am – 1pm.
A new course starts on Tuesday 17 November 2020 and is open for applications now.
For more information click here.
Paines Plough have launched Re:Assemble, which is a professional development programme aimed at challenging and evolving existing dramaturgical systems and practice. Held online, with a potential three day retreat (Covid dependant) it will be a peer-led programme with contributions from guest practitioners.
Deadline for applications: 10am, Monday 26 October 2020
For more information about the programme including the application pack, click here.
Open Hire is a new initiative set up by Josh Roche and Derek Bond. It is about opening up the approach of hiring freelancers, and making it a more fair and transparent process.
It is asking theatres to sign up the the Open Hire guidelines, and make this a new way of working.
You can find out about the scheme here.
You can sign up to find out about jobs here.
The guys at Equity have put together a financial guide for all things Covid related. It includes things such as how the government financial schemes work, but how to apply for benefits and how to get help.
It may be of use, and you can read it here.
Screen Skills have a range of opportunities and resources available to those interested in the Film and TV industry.
Ranging from free zoom events, study modules and training courses, there is plenty to have a look at. you can do so here
One of the things to happen during the lockdown was the creation of the Freelancer Taskforce. It involved many people doing sterling work to champion the plight of freelancers. (We had some great representatives in Liverpool supported by the Everyman and Playhouse.)
Co-founders of the blog The Uncultured, Ashleigh Bowmott and Laura Sweeney were members of the taskforce and have created a document, which is a really interesting read. It reflects upon how organisations can help with supporting freelancers and gives great food for thought.
The blog itself is also worth checking out as they offer support for bid writing and one to one consultations.
The Octagon Bolton currently have a range of online writing workshops for only £7 each. There are three available with playwrights Juliet Gilkes Romero and Sarah McDonald-Hughes.
Manchester based artist?
Seen a show at The Royal Exchange?
If so then joining the Open Exchange may be a help. An online community designed to connect other local artists and offer resources and training opportunities, you can check it out here in more detail, to see how it could help you.
Collective Creative Initiative is a project created by the people behind Pearson Casting.
A fantastic project, it is in essence, a bucket load of FREE resources for everyone consisting of 30 hours of online classes and workshops. All webinars are free and fully funded until December 1st 2020.
To check it out and see what webinars, online classes and Q&A's are happening and how to access them, follow the link here.
If you work within the arts sector, or certainly have a professional interest, you may find Arts Professionals a good place to find content.
It has sections on Jobs, News and Professional Development.
Out on the page is a place of support and connection for LGBTQ+ writers.
It offers many resources including Writing Retreats, Networking, Information sharing, Q&As with established LGBTQ+ writers and Online Events.
You can find more information about them, and a list of what events are happening here.
The Bruntwood Prize have published a fantastic toolkit for anyone who wants to make a start or develop their practice with writing a play. Check it out.
That's us for this week!
But see you in seven days, for another round. We hope you found some useful information you can use, or send to a friend.
MFTA x
Heard about a great opportunity, or have an opportunity to offer?
You can let us know by sending us a email - info@marchforthearts.com
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