Successful applicants will be given:

• £2,000 seed funding commission (for the 2-week residency and scratch night performance)
• Mentorship from specially selected individuals
• Space to rehearse and explore ideas in Cardiff
• Production support for the public scratch sharing as part of The City Socials
• Access support (up to £680 per commission)*
• Platforming and showcasing opportunities as part of The City Socials

*There is an additional fund to support multiple access needs including, but not limited to; disability access, neurodivergent participation, those with caring responsibilities and those who require additional support to travel within Cardiff.

As this programme is funded by Shared Prosperity Funding via Cardiff Council, this opportunity is only open to artists and groups based in Cardiff.

We're looking to support artists and groups who are currently working freelance and are not in full-time employment or education.

We’re interested in hearing from artists and groups who want to explore how making new work can be reactive, collaborative and ever-changing.

This project is open to anyone at any point in their career, but all applications should be focused on previously unexplored work and should align with this call-out’s values: urgent, exciting and collaborative.

• Urgent: What ideas and stories should we be exploring and telling right now? How can we create in response to the world around us, harnessing the power of live performance?
• Exciting: How will the work meet its audience? How will it challenge, entertain and introduce them to something radical, contemporary and emerging?
• Collaborative: How do we think about co-creation? How can we find new ways of exploring and making that centres collaborative thinking, inclusivity and an openness to change?

We're particularly interested in hearing from artists or groups who are typically underrepresented in the arts including marginalised identities, working class, global majority, disabled and/or neurodivergent.

The City Socials are a regular event hosted by NTW TEAM. They are fun and interactive get-togethers designed to bring together emerging and early-career artists and freelancers working in theatre to chat, share, rave and rant.

There will be opportunities for people to share thoughts and ideas, and introduce new work. The successful residency artists or groups will share their work-in-progress as part of these events.

Food and alcohol-free drinks will be provided to fuel conversation.

We encourage you to apply in whatever way you feel most comfortable and confident. This might be in a video, audio message or by email. Whatever format you choose, please tell us in no more than 3 minutes or up to 600 words:

• Who you are and what you do (referencing the ‘who we are looking for’ section above)
• What is the one story we should be telling right now - how and why?

Please also include:

• Applicant name(s)
• Email
• Phone number
• Postcode (in Cardiff)
• Your preference for which month you’d like to do the residency in: August, September, October or November

If you would like to speak to someone about this call-out, get in touch with Justin, our Creative Associate, by emailing justincliffe@nationaltheatrewales.org.

Please send expressions of interest by 10am on Thursday 4 July to team@nationaltheatrewales.organd complete an Equal Opportunities Monitoring form.

You say you can only fund Cardiff-based artists, so what is the catchment area?

Anyone who lives in a Cardiff Council county ward is eligible to apply.

I’m a multi-disciplined artist, can I apply?

We are open to all forms of expression and creation, as long as they result in a live performance for an audience.

Is this opportunity for emerging artists?

The City Socials residencies are open to freelancers at any stage of their career. The important detail is that you have an urgent and/or new idea, and are open to investigating how the process and project can be open to co-creation.

Does the £2000 funding support just me, or other freelancers I might want to work with?

The funding is £2000 per residency. How you use this funding is dependent on the needs of your project. Working with our in-house team, we will co-develop your budget based on the overall aim of your project and the people you want to work with to make it happen.