Performing Arts Scholarships at Arts & Culture Trust (ACT)

The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is calling on young people with the dream of pursuing performing arts studies to apply for an ACT Scholarship.

Matric learners and individuals under the age of 25, who are not currently registered for an undergraduate degree, are eligible to register online to do an audition. This year, there are three performing arts scholarships up for grabs worth R200,000 in total.

Funded by the Nedbank Arts Affinity and the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO), and supported by The Market Theatre, the 2017 Scholarships Programme, strives to nurture young talent and provide tertiary education opportunities to young people with their sights set on pursuing performing arts training in 2018.

Aspirant young performers are invited to apply in one of the following categories; acting, dancing, singing, or musical theatre. Once registered online, hopefuls will be required to perform two pieces of their choice, within their chosen category, at an audition. Musical theatre applicants are encouraged to perform pieces that showcase their competency as a triple threat performer (singer, dancer and actor).

Auditions will be held in all nine provinces between late June and mid July 2017. ACT CEO Pieter Jacobs says this will ensure everyone is given an equal opportunity. “Over the years we have seen that exceptional talent is not only the preserve of those with access to development opportunities, and undertaking a national road trip to find the best talent has proved well worth it,” says Jacobs.
Since 2009, The ACT Scholarship Programme has awarded 23 scholars and students with over R2,3 million worth of tertiary education funding, Jacobs says that this year they look forward to continuing this legacy.

“It is tremendously rewarding to see previous recipients make their way into productions across the country,” he says. “To mention a few, Tankiso Mamabolo just finished a run as part of the Baxter Theatre’s production of Marat Sade and Arlin Bantam is starring in Rent at Joburg Theatre. This is testament to the valuable investment of our partners.”

Registrations for the programme close on Tuesday, 30 May 2017. For more information about the programme, as well audition dates and venues, and to access the registration form, please visit http://act.org.za/programmes/scholarships.html.

For more information about ACT, please visit www.act.org.za or connect with them on Twitter or Facebook.

The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) is South Africa’s premier independent arts funding and development agency. The primary aim of ACT is to increase the amount of funding available for arts and culture initiatives, and to apply these funds to innovative, sustainable projects that make a meaningful contribution to society. Through structured funding programmes, ACT provides support for all expressions of arts and culture, including literature, music, visual art, theatre and dance, and the support extends to festivals, community arts initiatives, arts management, arts education and arts administration.

The Nedbank Arts Affinity is a proud supporter of ACT. Since the inception of ACT in 1994, Nedbank has raised and distributed more than R16 million through its Arts Affinity Programme, in support of more than 800 South African arts, culture and heritage development projects, at no cost to its clients. To open a Nedbank Arts Affinity account please visit any Nedbank branch or call 0860 555 111, or visit www.nedbankarts.co.za for more information.

The Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO) is a multi-purpose copyright society that collects royalties for the use of copyright-protected works on behalf of authors and publishers, which it then distributes back to the correct copyright-owner. As a custodian of copyright and the protection of rightsholders’ works, DALRO’s main areas of administration are reprographic reproduction rights (photocopying from published editions), public performance rights (including stage rights for book musicals and dramas) and reproduction rights (whether for publishing or copying) in works of visual art. 2017 is DALRO’s 50 year Jubilee anniversary, having served the copyright needs of the creative industry since 1967. For more information, please visit www.dalro.co.za

The Market Theatre is renowned world-wide for brilliant anti-apartheid plays that have included Woza Albert, Asinamali, Bopha, Sophiatown, You Strike the Woman You Strike a Rock, Born in the RSA, Black Dog – Inj’emnyama, as well as the premieres of many of Athol Fugard’s award-winning dramas. The Market Theatre’s history is intertwined with the cultural, social and political struggle for freedom in South Africa. For more information, please visit www.markettheatre.co.za.

Media release with courtesy from the Arts & Culture Trust.