Grant winners will receive:

• Up to $500 to support professional development

BACKstage+ grants support expenses such as:

• Conference, Workshop, or Professional Development Registrations
• Travel/housing expenses for conference or workshop
• Travel/Stipend expenses for workshop facilitator
• Supplies for a student training workshop
• Professional development training for educators
• Rental or licensing fees for tech software and/or updates
• Purchase for equipment to be used in theatre instruction or production.

Applicant must be an educator employed in a secondary school

Applicant must be teaching any area of theatre, theatrical design, technology, management, or production.

Funding may not be applied to expenses incurred before the beginning of the school year in which the grant is received.

Grant-funded activities must be completed within one year of receipt of grant.

Recipients of a BACKstage+ Grant are ineligible to receive a second BACKstage+ Grant during the same or subsequent school year.

Five grants of $500 will be awarded each fall and five grants of $500 will be awarded each spring.

Funding may not be applied to expenses incurred before the beginning of the current school year.

Grant-funded activities must be completed within one year of receipt of grant.

Funds will be paid directly to the applicant or their school upon submission of receipts for reimbursement OR proof of reservation (e.g. signed contract with a workshop facilitator)

Grants will cover up to 100% of eligible expenses, not exceeding $500; no matching funds are required. Additional expenses to complete the project are the responsibility of the grant awardee.

Eligible expenses include but are not limited to:

• Conference, Workshop, or Professional Development Registration fees
• Travel/housing expenses for conference or workshop
• Travel/Stipend expenses for workshop facilitator
• Supplies for a student training workshop
• Professional development training for educators
• Rental or licensing fees for updated tech software
• Purchase for equipment to be used in theatre instruction

Applications Open: August 18, 2025

Applications Close: November 6, 2025 (11:59 PM EDT)

Review Period: November-December 2025

Award Notifications: January 2026

Read all guidelines carefully before submitting your nomination.

Current USITT student members may apply throughUSITT’s awards portal.

Applicants will be asked to provide their membership number which can be found by logging into the membership portal

Required Materials:

Applicants will be required to provide:

• Current contact information: name, email, and phone number
• Resume/CV
• Contact information for school or school district
• Narrative Statement
• Explanation of proposed activities
• Project Budget
• Budget may be uploaded in EXCEL format OR input directly to application form.
• Please include the proposed budget for the entire project, indicating what portions of the budget would use USITT funds if awarded.

All USITT award nominees are required to submit a Professional Conduct Disclosure Form. This form will not be visible to the award jury and will only be reviewed by the USITT Ethics Officer.

This form is part of the submission and your submission will not be considered complete if it has not been submitted.

A link to this form will be emailed to the nominee upon submission of the nomination form. This email will NOT disclose which honor they have been nominated for.

For more information, please review the USITT Honors and Awards Policy.

All applications for the Backstage+ Grant will be reviewed by members of USITT volunteer leadership.

No current USITT staff member may serve as a juror. Any reviewer with a conflict of interest is required to recuse themselves.

All submissions will be scored on a scale of 1-10 using the following criteria:

• Applicant indicates a joy in exploring and widening their worldview.
• Applicant shows a strong desire to advance students’ education in theatre design, technology, management, or production.
• Budget is clear and indicates appropriate plans for funds
• Narrative is clear and well thought out.

Judging process is overseen by the USITT Awards Committee and results are approved by the Board of Directors.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications after the committee has reviewed all applications. Applications not awarded during the current cycle will remain on file for 3 years.

The awarded applicant will receive an agreement explaining terms and conditions. The grant will be disbursed upon receiving a signed agreement, W9 form for the party to whom payment will be remitted (e.g. teacher or their school district), and receipts OR proof of reservation.

All documentation must be uploaded to USITT within one year of grant notification.

Applicants will also be required to share their experience with the USITT membership. This can be through social media posts shared by the USITT National Office, article featured on USITT’s website, or testimonial quotes submitted to the National Office.