The Jerwood Circus Awards 2003
Supporting excellence and innovation in circus.

 

The Circus Space invites applications for the Jerwood Circus Awards 2003 which give talented circus artists the opportunity and time to develop innovative performance projects.

Innovation, creation and excellence are key to circus's ability to enthuse audiences and be a live and exhilarating art form. Within this context these awards have been established to be a driving force behind the celebration of emerging talent and rewarding of ongoing artistic excellence. They are open to the circus profession as a whole and applications are welcomed from circus performers as well as directors and creative producers.

This year we are pleased to announce that the awards have increased. In 2003 there will be three awards - one of £10,000 and two of £7,000. In addition The Circus Space will provide mentors to help the winners develop their work, some space for rehearsal and showcase the work in the Springboard Season 2004.

In 2002 the winners, announced by Lady Hollick, member of the National Council of the Arts Council of England and Chair of the London Regional Council were Giffords Circus, Hoax Productions and Gisele Edwards.

This year the judges are:
~Angela De Castro - Clown, Director, Teacher, Speaker. Member of the Circus Advisory Group for the Arts Council England; founder and Artistic Director of The Why Not Institute and recent winner of a Dream Time Fellow (Nesta Awardee) and Arts Foundation Fellow 2003.

~Charlie Holland - Programme Director at The Circus Space.

~Matilda Leyser - Aerialist, physical theatre performer and dancer, recently in 'The Birds' at The National Theatre, and now creating her own company 'Several Stories High'.

~Simon Schofield - Acrobat, Production Director and co-founder of Heir of Insanity.

~Don Stacey - former Publicity Manager for Bertram Mills Circus, co-founder of the Stacey-Garrard circus/variety agency, Circus Editor of The World's Fair and contributor to The Stage and The Daily Telegraph.

The judging panel will be looking for the following:
~The creative thinking behind and artistic merit of the proposal.
~Innovation in the performance, which may include an innovative approach to traditional skills.
~The impact the opportunity will have on the applicant's artistic development.
~The ability to complete the project within the timescale and budget

Eligibility
~The awards are for the creation of a new piece of work. However a significant artistic development of existing work may be considered.
~The work must be designed with the potential to be toured (whether alone or as part of a bigger show / mixed evening etc).
~The piece of work may be of any length.
~You must be able to complete your project and perform it at The Circus Space in late Spring 2004, unless otherwise agreed in writing by The Circus Space.
~The Circus Space will expect award winners to comply with its health and safety requirements.
~You must be resident in the UK.
~The award money may only be spent on the work as described in the application.


How to apply

If you would like advice on preparing your application please contact Lee Kendall, Artist & Company Development Centre Administrator. Group advice sessions will be available on the following dates:
Weds 30th July, 2-3.30pm.
Weds 6th August, 10.30am-12.00pm
Places are limited so please contact Lee Kendall to register your interest.

Because we photocopy applications, do not staple them and please write in black ink or use good quality type. Remember to keep a copy of your application for your records.

Using no more than four sides of A4 please use these headings in the order outlined below to provide the following information:
~Name of applicant, company name (if applicable) and contact details.
~Whether you are applying for a £10,000 or £7,000 award.
~A description of your project; who's involved; it's likely length; where you would hope to perform it subsequently; and an indication of its intended audience (e.g. under 5s / family / adult).
~How your project will benefit your professional development at this time.
~A detailed income and expenditure budget. You should note that the Jerwood Circus Awards are expected to be the main source of funding for the project. Please see the bottom of this page for a summary of ideas/items that you should consider.
~Details of space or equipment that The Circus Space has agreed to provide in principle, subject to a successful application. (If you would like space or equipment to be provided by The Circus Space then you must discuss this with us prior to applying.)
~Brief biographies, in prose form, of yourself and others involved.
~Image suitable for press should you win the award. Please ensure that this is supplied on CD format at a standard suitable for print (tiff format, 300 dpi or higher)

Other enclosures such as videos of previous work (max 5 mins duration), press cuttings etc. may be enclosed as appendices. Please ensure that they are clearly marked with your name and address.

All applications must be received by The Circus Space no later than Friday 5th September 2003. Applications received after this time will not be eligible for consideration. No faxed or e-mailed applications will be accepted. Applicants may be contacted to clarify any questions arising from the application.

What happens next
The decisions will be made in September and announced at a presentation ceremony on the evening of Wednesday 15th October 2003. A representative from each application is invited to attend with a guest. Please inform Lee Kendall by Tuesday 30th September 2003 whether you wish to attend.

Budget breakdown.
Items you may wish to consider and cost for in your application include:

Show Devising
Accommodation
Cost of additional rehearsal space
Costume
Director's fee
Hiring of projector, VCR's
Hiring a rigger in addition to The Circus Space Hours as set out below
Lighting design
Music
Props
Publicity Photographs in addition to those taken by The Circus Space
Rehearsal fees
Sound design
Set
Specialist Equipment (either hire or making of )
Tuition fees
Transport

For Rehearsal and two Performances
Admin Costs
Stage Hands
Lighting Operator and Crew
Lighting equipment that you may require beyond the stock supply
Performers' fees
Programme
Public Liability Insurance for the Company
Publicity material for onward booking of the show
Stage Manager
Sound Operator
Contingency fund


The Circus Space in its commitment to the awardees will aim to provide the following:
- A basic lighting and sound rig, optional dance floor and black backdrop
- A Season production Co-ordinator.
- A Rigger and Rescuer, 12 scheduled hours each in the build up to and get out of the performance run, and during two shows.
- Free ACDC Membership to the artists involved within the shows from January 2003 through to the start
of the Production. This is additional to scheduled rehearsal time.
- A videographer with one camera for each performance.
- A photographic session to obtain publicity photographs
- A season leaflet
- PR for the shows
- Access to mentors

If you wish to do a run of more than two shows, this may be possible but the income and costs are outside this budget.