The Northern Scottish Touring Fund selection panel has chosen the following 4 applications to go forward for production / touring funding in Round 2 of the fund (2011 - 2012):

Bright Night International - 'Jamp' NSTF R2 Promoters Information - Synopses_Bright Night.pdf

and for a clip go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HBHNvFKbQc&feature=player_embedded

Cartoon Theatre - 'A Sporting Chance' NSTF R2 Promoters Information - Synopses_Cartoon Theatre.pdf

and for a clip go to http://www.cartoontheatre.co.uk/

Dannsa - 'Connections' NSTF R2 Promoters Information - Synopses_Dannsa.pdf

and for a clip go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPYBoLjf2lc

Reeling & Writhing - 'Formel' NSTF R2 Promoters Information - Synopses_Reeling & Writhing.pdf

and for a clip go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M15G4gwL0Hs

From the 20 applications received as part of NSTF Round 2, the Consortium's selection panel has drawn up a short list of 10 applicants. The short list will now be put before the NEAT and PAN Promoters to invite expressions of interest in booking. It is planned that a maximum of 4 shows will be funded for Round 2 tours and an announcement made by Wednesday 13th April 2011. 

The short list is as follows: 

Reeling & Writhing Formel

Dannsa Connections

Smallpetitklein The Curse of Carmen

Cartoon Theatre A Sporting Chance

Bodysurf Scotland Dance Double Bill

Dudendance Theatre Spaceman

Right Lines Productions From These Parts

Tog-I & PNE Aimsir Eachainn: My world & Welcome to It, or a Carnival

                                        of Hector Macdonald

Theatre Modo A Long Way From Home

Bright Night International   Jamp

Northern Scottish Touring Fund (NSTF) 2010 - 2012

Round 2 now open for applications

About NSTF www.nstf.org 

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. This will include the shared ambition of introdcuing new audiences to the experience of performing arts, especially young people. The NSTF will support 8 performance projects over two years.

Each project will tour to 10 venues, each with a catchment area of under 3000 people. These venues will be in the NSTF Region.  For the first year these areas are: Highland, Moray, Aberdeenshire, and Cairngorm. It is possible that Argyll & Bute and Western Isles will be added to the Region in the second year, as defined by EU LEADER areas.

Who can apply

The funding scheme is open to theatre and dance companies based in Scotland with previous experience of delivering professional performances.

Companies in receipt of Creative Scotland Flexible or Project funding may apply as long as 

a) touring in the Region is additional to any already funded and 

b) some or all of the work is made within the Region.

Companies may submit proposals which will also tour outside the Region as long as that external portion of the tour is funded from other sources.

Companies based elsewhere in the UK cannot directly apply to the Fund but may develop a project in partnership with an eligible Scottish company which will apply for the Funds.

Projects employing non-UK artists will be eligible providing the applying company is an eligible Scottish company.

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.

NSTF is being funded by the CREATIVE SCOTLAND RURAL INNOVATION FUND, HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS ENTERPRISE and PART-FINANCED BY THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY HIGHLAND LEADER 2007-2013 Programme, CAIRNGORMS LOCAL ACTION GROUP LEADER 2007-2013 Programme, RURAL ABERDEENSIRE LEADER 2007-2013 Programme. MORAY LEADER 2007-2013 Programme. An application to Western Isles LEADER is in progress.

An Application Form, Guidance Notes and FAQs can be downloaded from www.nstf.org  

Stuart Brownlee

p/t NSTF Administrator
Highlands & Islands Theatre Network Limited

stuart@nstf.org 

Mull Theatre & Wildbird - 'The Mysterious Death of Netta Fornario'

Open Book - 'Macbeth'

Puppet Lab - 'Dark Matter'

Charioteer Theatre - 'Get me out of here ... I'm a Shakespearean character!'

The touring schedule is being worked out and further information will appear here soon - watch this space!

Alasdair Satchel - 'Thursday'

Charioteer Theatre - 'Get me out of here...I'm a Shakespearean Character'

Mull Theatre - 'The Mysterious Death of Netta Fornario'

Open Book - 'Macbeth'

Puppet Lab - 'Dark Matter'

Zenwing Puppets - 'Skeleton Woman'

A brief synposis of each production can be found on the NSTF website @ www.nstf.org

The short listed applications will now be referred to the NEAT and PAN Promoters for further consideration. A final selection will then be made regarding the commissioning of up to a maximum of four productions for Round 1 of NSTF funding.

Applications received in Round 1 are:

NSTF R1/2010/1   - Arts in Motion / Cartoon Theatre - "The Return of the Bungee Jumper"
In an extension of their very popular house style, this is a comedy adventure in the world of extreme sports, using animation and live performance. The show will be produced in two versions - Gaelic and English - suitable for adults and children.

NSTF R1/2010/2   - Right Lines Productions - "Morrison's Van"
A complete evening of professional entertainment, weaving local input with a unique theatrical experience. Five episodes of a gripping radio serial performed on stage in five different venues. See one live - catch the others online. A total multi-platform experience!

NSTF R1/2010/3   - Right Lines Productions - "From These Parts"
This production will be a fast moving comedy that revels in revalation through the ridiculous. The proposal is to examine the issues of aliens and alienation - and what exactly does it mean to be a local. The show will explore cultural identity in a Scottish Sci-fi comedy context. 

NSTF R1/2010/4   - The Puppet Lab - "Dark Matter"
Dark Matter will be a spine tingling story set in a garden large enough to accommodate an audience of 25 - 30 at a time. It will be entertaining and scary, suitable for 14+ and will ride the zeitgeist of current vampire horror flicks to appeal to the 'hard to reach' youth audience 15 - 20 years old.

NSTF R1/2010/5   - Charioteer Theatre - "Get me out of here! I'm a Shakespearean character"

Prospero believes modern life has alienated the public from appreciating the value of the classics. Gathering the lead characters of all Shakespeare's plays on an island, the Reality Show format asks the audience to consider the characters and their plays from a more contemporay perspective.

NSTF R1/2010/6   - Zenwing Puppets - "Skeleton Woman"

A traditional Inuit story retold through the humour and power of puppetry. The highly visual puppets will be combined with a new musical score using digitalised natural sounds and pipes. Like all good fairy tales the strory works on different levels, appealing to a wide age range.

NSTF R1/2010/7   - Mull Theatre & Wildbird (co-production) - "The Mysterious Death of Netta Fornario"

A co-production by Mull Theatre and Wildbird. A Gothic tale of magic, madness, murder and mystery set on Iona in 1930. Mixes fiction with real events of the unexplained and still controversial death of Netta Fornario, using stagecraft to create a spine chilling audience experience.

NSTF R1/2010/8   - Plutôt la Vie - "By the seat of your pants"

A new Scottish touring production, in a clown style, for family and community audiences, young and old. A visual story that reveals itself through relationships: between characters, the objects they use, their environment, relationship with the audience and the performance space.

NSTF R1/2010/9   - Open Book: Plays by Writers Ltd - "Macbeth by William Shakespeare

In this modern staging of Shakespeare's classic Scottish play, Macbeth is trapped by his paranoia as his family, his friends and fate itself turn against him. Set around a dinner table placing the banquet at the centre of the action and the audience as guests, combining theatre and magic.

NSTF R1/2010/10 - Alasdair Satchel - "Thursday"

A solo physical theatre piece examining personal freedoms inspired by GK Chesterton's novel 'The man who was Thursday'. Informed by contemporary concerns about terrorism, global pandemics, the surveillance society; and age old concerns about agencies working outside our ken.

NSTF R1/2010/11 - Smallpetitklein Dance Company - "Falling Man" 

Creating and touring the new, full-length dance work 'Falling Man', fusing dance, animation, film and set to a sound-score by composer Scanner. Inspired by a series of pictures by Richard Drew of a man falling from the World Trade Centre on 11/09/2001.