We were delighted to announce on Monday the appointment of Fiona Sturgeon Shea as the new Chief Executive Officer of FST. Fiona will be leaving her role as Creative Director at Playwright’s Studio, Scotland to join the team in March 2021.

Thank you to those who were able to join us for the Strategy Development update in the second half of Monday’s Members’ Meeting, especially to those who took part in the break out discussions. It was great to hear feedback and have such meaningful engagement with the work that Alice and the Strategy Working Groups have been doing.

We will share further information regarding the Strategy Development with the whole membership in the New Year.

FST is in discussion with the Scottish Government about the possibility of running a series of 'Test events' that would be the subject of evidence-gathering to help make the case for the safe opening of theatres to larger audiences than is currently permitted under the Covid-19 safety guidelines.

If you have a production or a venue that you would like to be considered for inclusion in this programme, please let us know by Friday 15 January on hello@scottishtheatre.org and we will pass all proposals to the Scottish Government. Please mark the subject line Pilot Event Interest.

Intimacy on Stage – Guidelines for Practitioners 
18 – 21 January 2021

Join leading international Intimacy Coordinator and Founder of Intimacy on Set, Ita O’Brien (pictured) for two workshops exploring the ground-breaking new role of Intimacy Coordinator. Ita's credits include Low-Level Panic, The Censor, Food, Under the Blue Sky, Normal People, I May Destroy You. This course is fully subsidised by FST and therefore free for members to attend. Due to the nature of the course and its delivery method, there are a limited number of spaces available.

Recover, Grow and Create:
New opportunities with creative tech post Covid-19 
21 January 2021

This event is part of a series presented by Edinburgh Futures Institute and promoted by FST and EPAD.

Creative Informatics' Resident Entrepeneur Craig Fleming will introduce their new producing and collaboration platform Centrline. This aims to be an innovative, democratic and equitable solution for managing the creation and production of work, with potential to streamline processes across the sector.

The event will discuss the benefits and challenges of sharing information, sector aspirations for a collaboration platform, and offer an opportunity to feed directly into feature development. Craig will also present an inspiring case study from Catherine Wheels Theatre Company, a Q&A and a short workshop.

The Theatres Trust, ABTT and others across the sector are working on a new project to develop practical advice on the first steps everyone should be taking to make productions, theatre buildings and front-of-house operations environmentally sustainable.

To feed in to the first strand of that work, please take part in a survey looking at green productions. It should take no longer than 10 -15 minutes to complete and the deadline is Monday 21 December.

Christmas can be a strange time, there can be a pressure to feel ‘festive’ and ‘jolly’, to not acknowledge that you’re probably exhausted and have just spent a year managing your way through a global health pandemic. Now more than ever it’s important to talk and listen to one another, to offer empathy and acceptance.

The Theatre Helpline is an incredible service, open to anyone in the sector. It’s entirely confidential and open 24/7, even over Christmas. If you need it, it’s there, no matter the season. 

The Scottish Government Protection Levels Framework is still in place across the country and under weekly review. You can quickly find and check levels across Scotland here. 
 
It remains the case that theatres and performing arts venues can only open if they are situated in a Level 0 or 1 area. 

An upper attendance capacity has been set at 100 in Level 1, and 250 in Level 0. The Scottish Government confirmed that re-opening in Level 1 (as with all the Scottish regulations determining when sectors can re-open) is not a mandatory requirement. 

The Performing Arts and Venues Sector guidance was last updated on 14 December to reflect the alteration of the self-isolation period from 14 to 10 days.
You can find the full guidance here. 
 
The Live Events Sector guidance was last updated on 14 December. Particularly the sections on Workforce Planning and Support and Assessing Risk were amended to reflect the new guidance on self-isolation.
You can find the full guidance here.

COVID-19 Guidance feedback to Scottish Government
The Scottish Government is keen to highlight to the sector that feedback on this guidance is welcome, and they are open to discussion and information gathering.

You can get in touch with us on hello@scottishtheatre.org and we can pass on, just mark your email subject line 'Scot Gov Guidelines'.

Touring Fund for Theatre and Dance 
Launched on 10 December, this £600k round of the Touring Fund has been earmarked for the creation of outdoor and non-conventionally staged work. The fund and application process have been designed to respond to the current limitations on the sector. There are no upper or lower financial limits on the amount you can apply for. It is open to venues, theatres, artists, companies and producers. Deadline for applications is 5 February 2021. 
Find out more
 
Hardship Fund for Creative Freelancers 
This fund is still open but will be paused to new applications from midday on 18 December 2020, then re-opening at midday on 5 January 2021. From 11 December all applications will be handled directly by Creative Scotland. 
Find out more
 
COVID-19 Creative Sector Survey 
This survey asks about the impact of the pandemic on the creative sectors since March 2020 and ongoing issues as we move into 2021. In Monday’s Members’ Meeting, Iain Munro, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland flagged that data gathered from this survey is vital in helping support CS’s ongoing discussions with Scottish Government and partners.  
Find out more
 
EDI Advisory Group – Open Call for Members 
Creative Scotland are aiming to create a new advisory group consisting of representatives from equalities groups, the cultural sector, and wider society. The advisory group will play an important role in helping to inform, support and develop Creative Scotland’s delivery against current and future Equalities Outcomes. 
Find out more
 
Scottish Audience Intentions Survey 
In partnership with The Audience Agency, Creative Scotland has conducted a 'temperature taking' survey of organisations across the nation and their audiences' attitudes to returning to culture post-COVID. The findings offer a representative snapshot of previously regular attendees across a select group of organisations, producing companies and venues. 
Find out more

Monthly newsletters highlight the month ahead, and as ever you can find all upcoming FST events on our site or by clicking the button below. 

We also share upcoming events from select partners through our social media on both Facebook and Twitter. 

Upcoming events...

Simply click on the event name to find out more. All sessions will take place via Zoom.

Training

• Practicalities of Online Work, Thursday 17 December, 2pm
  
  
• Intimacy on Stage: Guidelines for Practitioners, Monday 18 January, 11am
  
  
• Brexit Transition: Movement, Immigration & Contracting, Thursday 28 January, 10.30am

The following FST funds are all currently open and available for application. You can find out more about each fund by clicking below.

Online Training Fund
Rolling deadline, Up to £250 per person, across all specialisms

Go, See, Network, Share Fund
Four deadlines a year: March, June, September, and December. This fund is still open during the current pandemic and funds can be used to allow you to attend online conferences, showcases, sector body meetings etc. The fund could be put towards the fee for the event, or to cover the cost of your time to attend. 

Euan Turner Training Fund
Rolling deadline, for technical/production staff and freelancers to attend IOSH or similar training. Open to non-members

FST Technical Training Fund
Rolling deadline, Up to £200 per person, for technical/production staff and freelancers. Open to non-members

In June 2020 FST convened an H&S Advisory Group to provide clarity on Health and Safety matters for theatres & theatrical producing companies relating to Covid-19. The group is meeting regularly to collate and signpost current Government, professional and union guidance on the FST site. We also run regular surgeries where you can enquire about specific issues relating to your place of work or , these will continue in 2021.

FST is administering See it Safely applications for all members who do not also hold UK Theatre membership. Find out more about this audience facing COVID-19 safety campaign by clicking below.

You can always find the most up to date listings by visiting the Jobs section on our website. This month you can find opportunities with FST Members: Toonspeak, Horsecross Arts, Citizens Theatre, Tron Theatre and the Assembly Roxy.

If you'd like to list your opportunities on our website or highlighted on our social media channels then please contact us at hello@scottishtheatre.org.