Ignite Fund

Crowded Fire’s Enrichment Fund for Theater Designers

The 2024 Ignite Fund Application has closed—recipients will be announced soon!

Crowded Fire believes in the development of all artists and technicians, yet there are a limited number of grants for theater designers and technicians. We understand that growth in and innovation of design comes from designers’ and technicians’ investment in tools and training. We believe in your, the designer’s and the technician’s, vision and want to support the richness you bring to our local theater ecology.

The Ignite Fund provides grants for professional development workshops and training opportunities, to purchase design tools and equipment, and to strengthen the economic sustainability of an arts practice.

Launched in 2016, CFT’s Ignite Fund seeks to support the growth of and enhance the working lives of theater designers and technicians in the Bay Area with an eye towards supporting the plurality of race, culture, class, gender, and age in our local design and technical community.

Past Ignite Fund recipients include Miaccuicatl Alexander, Alexa Burrell, Brooke L Jennings, Kevin Lo, Sara Witsch, Kenan Arun, Nathaniel J. Bice, Chibueze Crouch, Mitchell Jakubka, Gabriel Nuñez de Arco, and Grisel (GG) Torres.

GRANTS

Each year a total of up to $7,500 will be granted through the Ignite Fund. In 2024, grants will be awarded between $750 to $1,500.

TIMELINE

Applications will open on October 15, 2024
Applications close November 20, at 11:59pm.
Notification of applicants (via email) by December 2, 2024.
The earliest start date for granted activities is December 15, 2024, with completion of activities by July 31, 2025

ELIGIBILITY & CRITERIA

Applications will be reviewed by a panel composed of local theater designers, technicians, and/or community members, as well as Crowded Fire staff and leadership team. Panelists will review eligible proposals and select recipients based on the information provided in your application by using the following selection criteria:

Designers and technicians practicing in the following areas will be considered:
- scenic, lights, sound, costumes, props, projection, video, puppetry, and stage management.
All applicants must demonstrate a proof of commitment to the Bay Area. In past years this was proof of working on four local, Bay Area theater productions in the last two calendar years; this year, it could be a short statement sharing your previous residency or future plans/commitment.
Designers and technicians may apply for grants in the amount of $750 to $1500 in support of:
- professional development workshops and training opportunities,
- purchase of design tools and equipment, and
- strengthening the economic sustainability of an arts practice.
Priority will be given to:
- applications that support a designer’s or technician’s career growth and/or bolstering a designer’s or technician’s individual tools and equipment.
- designers and/or technicians who reflect a potential to significantly impact and advance the local theater community.
- applicants who exhibit a track record of innovative, exploratory, and quality work.
The panel will review the applicant pool with an eye towards supporting the plurality of race, culture, class, gender, and age in our local design and technician community.
Applications must clearly articulate a plan to implement the proposed activities and an appropriate proposal budget must support that plan.
Only one application will be accepted per applicant. Collaborators may also apply as a team.
We do not require applicants to have previously worked on a Crowded Fire show.

You’ll be able to write your answers, or upload a video submission answering the following questions:

Please note that the online form allows you to save your application mid-way through your process, so that you can save your progress and return to the form at a later date. Please be sure to click the “submit” button at the bottom of the online form to finalize the submission process, as we cannot access incomplete applications. Questions to prepare include:

Proposal Title & contact info
Artistic Statement: Describe your artistic vision and philosophy. (500 words or less)
Identity: How does who you are influence how you experience the world?
Proposal: Describe your proposal activities and the timeline of those activities.
Immediacy: Why this proposal right now? How will support from the IGNITE Fund further your artistic growth and career?
Community: What is your commitment to working in / advancing the local theater community? If applicable, how will this IGNITE fund help?

Submission of the following documents in the application:

PDF Resume of primary applicant. [File name: LastName_FirstName_Resume]
Proposal Budget: a detailed breakdown of the total proposal cost and the total requested from the IGNITE FUND. [File name: LastName_FirstName_Budget]
3 examples of your work or description of a past technical project submitted as a link, jpeg, or pdf file.

If you are more fluent in non-written communication, we are now also accepting video submissions in lieu of written responses to the prompts above and file attachments. Please upload the video file or include a link to your video in your application and be sure all required information in the above bullets is discussed/displayed in the video.

2024 Applicants will be informed via email the first week of December 2024 on the status of their application. Dates for the 2025 Ignite Application process will be announced by Spring 2025.

PLEASE NOTE:

Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
Please do not submit any materials beyond what is required in the application.
Only complete applications will be considered. Late materials will not be accepted via email once the application is closed.
Please do not call or email Crowded Fire Theater Company to check the status of your application.
Ignite Award Recipients will be asked to submit a headshot, bio, and quote about the Ignite Fund program

For questions regarding the application process, please email: Ignite [AT] CrowdedFire.org