Launchpad FAQs

Launchpad FAQs

Who can apply?

CRIPtic’s work is for disabled people – by which we mean “people who face disableist [including audist or neurotypist] barriers”, or “people who identify themselves as deaf or disabled – or are identified by others as deaf or disabled in society”. To find out more about what we mean by this, please look at our website.

We are looking for four UK-based solo theatre makers or companies (of up to three people). If you are a group, at least 50% of the members should be disabled.

The programme is designed around live theatre performances, but this could include digital performances, as long as you have the equipment, experience, and technical ability to deliver broadcast-quality live footage, as we do not have the scope within our team to lead on this. 

In 2026, we are intensifying our efforts to support disabled individuals who continue to face significant barriers in accessing opportunities in both mainstream and disability arts. We aim to dismantle disabling barriers and enable people to do their best work, instead of constantly fighting to have their needs met. We want to direct part of our organisational focus towards working with people who need the expertise and resources we have, and who face particular barriers in finding opportunities that meet their access needs.

Part of the expertise we have at CRIPtic includes:

  • Sourcing venues with comprehensive wheelchair access, including facilities like Changing Places toilets
  • Working with people who use 1:1 support
  • Implementing robust infectious disease and illness protocols
  • Designing remote-only or remote-priority work environments
  • Providing BSL interpretation across the board in our work

We want to increase representation of specific groups of disabled people in the arts, and are particularly keen to receive applications from wheelchair users who are unable to work in spaces that aren’t wheelchair accessible, People of the Global Majority*, working class people, and people with parenting or care-giving responsibilities.

*People of the Global Majority includes people of Black Caribbean, Black African, South Asian, East Asian, South East Asian, Middle Eastern, Arab, Latinx, Jewish, Romany and Irish Traveller heritage.

What sort of work are you looking for? 

We are looking for pieces that fit the brief, feel new, fresh and original, and have been created by a wide and diverse range of disabled people.

We want the work to be something we can help you market. This means that your pitch needs to be clear: telling us what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, how you’re doing it, and what you want the audience to take from your work. We also want to understand why it’s you creating this work, and what it means to you to do so.

Finally, we want to see clear evidence that your idea is feasible – meaning it needs to fit with your previous experience. Launchpad is there to give people a boost to the next stage of their careers – you don’t need to have performed at this level previously, but you do need the experience to prove that you’re ready for this next step.

How complete should the work be when I apply?

The work you want to develop with Launchpad should be at a draft script stage. It should not have been professionally performed, but work-in-progress sharings or scratch night presentations are fine!

During the 6 months of the programme, you will be paid to attend both creative and access-focused workshops, which are a mandatory part of your participation on the scheme. You will also work with dramaturg and director Jamie Hale both on constructing your individual piece, and also on the shifts and alterations needed to weave it into the wider performance alongside the other pieces being developed on the programme.

This means that your piece needs to be at an early stage of development, where it can still grow and change, and where you’re open to those changes being made to bring four disparate pieces together into one cohesive showcase.

It can’t be a piece you’re simultaneously working on for another project, as it needs the flexibility to be altered on Launchpad. For that reason, if you are accepted for Launchpad, you will not be able to develop this show with other parties for the duration of the programme. However, it can absolutely be an idea you’d like to develop further in future!

What themes are often covered, and what feels unique?

We often receive a lot of pitches on the following topics:

  • Narratives about encounters with the medical system (often discriminatory or traumatic ones) and experiences of diagnosis
  • What it’s like to have a particular experience (e.g. “being invisibly disabled”, “being visibly disabled”, “being neurodivergent”)

We also receive a lot of pitches that are solo shows, monologues, poetry, and story-telling.

We’re very interested to receive pitches from people working in other and combined art-forms, especially music, dance, and delivery in BSL and other signed languages.

In order to take a diversity of work, we’re unlikely to commission all four works in a single artforms or on a single theme, and works on more commonly pitched themes or artforms are likely to face more competition.

We’re a group; how is the fee apportioned?

People on Launchpad are paid for their participation in a series of workshops and meetings to develop their work, and for these the payment is to the group (and will be the same per act, whether solo artists or groups). The group would be expected to nominate one member to consistently attend all of the workshops and meetings. 

Because of the nature of these sessions, they should be attended by the person writing or creating the work. The meetings may need multiple or different members of the team at different times, but the development money is per act, rather than per individual.

For rehearsals and performances, the fee will be paid at the appropriate day or week rate to all group members who are needed to be present. We may only need performers, and not writers, to be present at rehearsals but will pay anyone whose presence is required..

I already have a sound/set/lighting designer or director on board, can I apply?

We want Launchpad artists to focus on being writers and/or performers, and the showcase to feel like one cohesive show. With that in mind:

  • Artists will not be able to bring a director or design team for their individual piece
  • The pieces we select will be produced by CRIPtic Arts and directed by Jamie Hale, Artistic Director at CRIPtic Arts
  • The sound, lighting, and staging will be done for the show as a whole, rather than individual acts
  • If your show has embedded sound, you may need to provide sound files, but the sound designer will ultimately be responsible for the sound in your piece

I don’t want to perform in my piece at the showcase. Do I need to cast other performers?

CRIPtic Arts will be responsible for casting performers for the showcase, taking into account any casting notes you’ve given.

My idea involves high risk work (e.g. fire work, aerial work), can I apply?

Absolutely. If we want to take your piece forward, we may ask for an outline, training and performance history, and risk assessment at an early stage (before interview, or between interview and decision-making) to share with the venue and ensure that it can be accommodated safely.

How many sessions am I expected to attend?

We expect participants to be able to attend all of the scheduled sessions. Exceptions will be made for missing occasional dates.

How do you assess applications?

Launchpad exists for several overlapping reasons. Partly we want to put on a great show of exceptional work by disabled people at a world-class venue. However, we also see it as an important opportunity to give people a chance to move forward in their careers.

When we’re assessing applications, we will often ask ourselves questions like:

  • How original is the idea? Have we seen it before?
  • Is the piece at the right stage of development for us to work together on shaping it for performance?
  • Can we imagine a future in which this piece can develop further after Launchpad?
  • Is this piece going to be marketable to other audiences and venues in the future?
  • Do the applicants have enough experience for us to be confident that they can deliver this project?
  • Are the samples of work submitted of a quality and level that’s appropriate for Launchpad?
  • How many opportunities have the applicants had previously, and to what extent do they need this opportunity?
  • How clearly can we identify the shift that Launchpad would make in their creative practice and future career development? Are they at the right place for this opportunity to have real benefit?
  • What barriers have they faced in accessing other opportunities? Are there things that Launchpad can offer (e.g. a venue with hoist-adapted toilets, and support towards funding for 1:1 support work and BSL interpreters) that they need and that wouldn’t be provided by other opportunities?

Don’t worry about neuronormative applications and what you think is “expected” in terms of spelling, grammar and structure – your application will be read by a disabled team and will be assessed on its creative or organisational merits. Just tell us about the things we’ve asked you to tell us about, in the way that works best for you.

What support is available to me when I apply?

As a disabled-led team, we understand the barriers disabled people face to applying for arts opportunities. That’s why we’ve tried to design a “friendly application process” for our projects that is as universally accessible as possible to diverse, and neurodiverse, communities from the outset. Read more about this here.

Advice before applying

We will always hold at least one online Q&A session about applying for our development programmes, led by one of the panel who assess applications. This will be recorded and published to our website as a video after the fact. Where we are seeking to reach groups we are prioritising in our work, or who are under-represented in our work or the sector, we offer group-specific Q&A sessions or 1:1 sessions.

How you can apply

You can submit an application:

  • By filling in a Google Form
  • By downloading and filling in a Word document
  • In audio format (in spoken English and up to 7 minutes long)
  • In video format (in spoken English or BSL and up to 7 minutes long)
  • Using bullet points or full sentences in response to questions
  • Using an image or images (e.g. a mind-map or photo of handwritten answers) in response to questions

Please note that audio, video and images may be transcribed into written English, to meet the access needs of reviewers.

Our application forms contain a guide character count or word count, showing how much we expect applicants to write, but these limits are set higher to take into consideration that not everyone can explain concepts within a low word/character limit.

Where possible, we will provide a “mock answer” to any longer written questions to give applicants an understanding of what we are hoping to receive, or a list of bullet points that explain what sort of information we’re looking for. We’ll also include an explanation of what we are assessing in the answer.

If there are questions or things in the application form that you don’t understand or are struggling with, please do say so in your application – we will not discount an application we would have otherwise moved forward because a question has not been answered, but will get in touch with you to discuss it.

Support when writing your application

We can’t offer 1:1 support with applications – because everyone applying for opportunities with us is disabled, this wouldn’t be financially or logistically feasible. However, we don’t expect all applicants to write applications solo, and happily accept those written with partners, friends, peers, support workers, or anyone else. 

We know applicants might use AI to support with or write their application – however, we value unique approaches and self-expression and we’d always prefer a less “well written” application that conveys your individual voice, over a perfectly written application that was produced by AI. Ultimately, we’re looking for the ideas behind what you tell us, not how you tell us them, and encourage you to ensure that comes through in your application.

Deadlines

We will always have a fixed deadline, with the option for people to apply for an extension of up to a set number of days or weeks, as an access consideration where required. We will always publish the fixed deadline, instructions for applying for an extension, and the maximum extension available on the project. 

Please note that we won’t ever be able to extend beyond the maximum extension stated.

How your application is reviewed

Applications are reviewed and decisions are made by a disabled panel, including at least one neurodivergent person, and we do not expect them to be written in a neurotypical style. This means you will not be disadvantaged for using different spelling, grammar, speech, signed language, or structure. If we want to move your application forward but parts of it haven’t been done in a way we expected, contain mistakes, have gaps that concern us, or if we don’t understand an answer given, we’ll come back to you and work with you in those areas before we make a decision. Your application is not the end of the conversation, it’s the starting point.

Any other advice?

We have our 2026 Q&A later this month but, in the meantime, you can view:

If you have any queries about anything here, please contact us on artists@cripticarts.org to discuss.

Apply for Launchpad

Tatum, a non-binary person, sits in a spotlight, their back to the camera.

Launchpad

A development and staging scheme for four theatre makers to further develop an existing script.

Click here →