For Artists who have woken up in the night with a brilliant, risky, exciting idea and aren’t sure how to take it to the next stage. Something that hasn’t been drafted, performed or rehearsed before.
Applications have now closed for 2026 artists and will re-open in Autumn 2027.
Meet our 2026 First Steps artists here.
Our First Steps Catapult alumni include: Ashton Owen and Natalya Martin, Farrell Cox, Layla Bradbeer and Mikayla Teodoro.
What We Offer
- 2 Days of rehearsal and play space (to be decided by availability of the Polka spaces and the availability of the company).
- Financial support of £1,200 to contribute towards creative fees and materials.
- Mentoring from Polka’s Artistic Director, Executive Director, Senior Producer and core Polka team over the course of 12 months.
- Two industry training days bespoke to the TYA sector, but also around ACE application writing, marketing, working with communities and schools.
- Research and development opportunities can be arranged with children from schools, nurseries or community settings.
- Scratch performance sharing opportunity at Polka’s Big Dreams Festival 2026, with invited industry audience and technical support.
- Tickets to Polka Theatre productions
Application Criteria
- Applicants must have a demonstrable interest in, and commitment to creating children’s theatre, but don’t have made children’s theatre before.
- All projects must be developing work that is completely unique, and not a book, TV, film adaptation.
- Open to Artists currently underrepresented in the sector. This includes those marginalised due to ethnicity, disability status, gender identity, sexuality, age and socio-economic status.
- All project must be for any age between 0-6yrs.
- Artists from any discipline can apply.
Find out more
Learn more about our other strand of Artist Development on the Catapult programme, Next Steps
