Where can you find advice and support for community theatre?

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017 is coming to an end and it’s been a fantastic year as always. With such a vast number and variety of performances across the city, we got to thinking about what makes it all possible. Funding, support and knowledge sharing within the theatre industry is vital in allowing Edinburgh to have such an exciting, dynamic arts scene and particularly important in amateur and community theatre. We cannot ignore that funding can at times be difficult to obtain, however advice, support and opportunity will always exist.

Friends of the Fringe – The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is one such example which through membership provides vital support, advice and encouragement to the artists, producers and venues who take part at the Fringe Festival.

From understanding how to reach an audience or where to find funding opportunities, to skills development and networking, it is important to know, and make use of the advice and opportunities open to amateur and community theatre. With a focus on Scottish organisations, here’s a starting point on where you can look.

Youth Theatre Arts Scotland exist to advocate and unify the Scottish youth theatre sector. The organisation provides a fantastic range of opportunities, from casting to personal development, while offering advice to young people in Scotland from all backgrounds, building passion and interest in theatre.

The Cultural Enterprise Office offers free advice and information, ideal for those of you setting up or running a theatre business. They have a wealth of resources available to access, providing advice, tips and information in a range of areas, such as crowdfunding, networking and marketing to name a few.

Playwrights Studio Scotland is the nation's only arts organisation exclusively dedicated to the long-term support, development and promotion of Scotland's playwrights. Here you can find fantastic resources, advice and opportunities to help support and encourage current and future playwrights.

The Federation of Scottish Theatre brings together opera, dance and theatre, producing a singular voice for the stage arts. The organisation supports all levels, offering advice and information, training and development including bursaries and networking opportunities.

The Scottish Community Drama Association exists to support and foster performance and writing in amateur and community theatre, establishing opportunities and networks, and act as the community theatre advocate. This fantastic association can offer advice and keep you up to date on Scotland’s community theatre scene while also offering membership for added value.

Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland. Creative Scotland distribute funding from the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Many funds are available through Creative Scotland while its website is a great resource for finding partner opportunities, advice and creative industries insights. Its Open Project Fund is a continuous programme which aims to support creative projects. Another option could be its Regular Funding Programme which opened in Autumn 2016 for funding support between 2018-2021.

Its opportunities section is a fantastic resource for discovering workshops, competitions, seminars and more.

This list is not comprehensive and many more organisations exist in supporting theatre across the UK. Church Hill Theatre and Assembly Rooms have no affiliation to any of the listed organisations.