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Course Title
Festival Creation: An Introduction
From a large multi-stage music festival to a local performing arts festival, or even a brand marketing event, this course teaches you how to develop your idea and make it a reality.
You will learn all of the main building blocks to create and run your own event. From idea creation to the development of your ethos, brand, and story. Raising funding and sponsorship to selecting a location, recruiting a team, and designing your programme. You will also receive practical tips for live event management to make sure your festival runs smoothly and safely, along with advice for post-event reporting, budgeting, and planning for future growth.
By the end of this course, you will be equipped to explore a number of ideas, validate a choice, and understand how to develop that idea and make it happen.
This course is delivered by Sarah McBriar, Founder and Creative Director of Up Productions and AVA Festival.
Course Content
- Discover what it takes to turn an idea for a festival into a reality
- An introduction to key skills including budgeting, branding, hiring, and production planning
- Learn how to identify and apply for funding
Course Fees - £445
Course Dates
There are currently no upcoming dates for this course. Register your Interest to find out first when new dates are released.
Booking Information
Our courses are available on a first come, first served basis in order of payment.
To secure a place, please take the following steps:
- Read through our Terms and Conditions before booking
- Click on ‘Book your place’ above. Please make sure you are booking for the correct course and option (i.e. Mon/Wed or Tue/Thu if more than one option is available)
- Click ‘Select’ and follow the steps through to the completion of booking
- If your preferred dates are sold out, you can click ‘Join Waiting List’ and we will let you know if a place becomes available
This course is for anyone who is interested in creating and producing their own festival of any size and genre, whether that’s theatre, music, visual arts, or brand marketing events
| Days | Various. The course consists of 2 sessions in total and is delivered once a week for 2 weeks. |
| Times | All times listed are either GMT or GMT +1 (depending on the time of year). If you’re joining from overseas, please use a timezone converter before booking to establish what the local time will be for you. |
| Age | The minimum age is 18 on the first day of the course. There is no upper age limit. |
| Max. class size | 12 students |
| Course Delivery | All of the Online Short Courses take place using Zoom. You will ideally have access to a quiet room where you can be free of distractions and able to collaborate with the other participants. |
| International students | You are welcome to join this course from anywhere in the world. |
| Language requirements | Applicants must be confident speaking and reading English to a conversational level (IELTS score of 7.0 or equivalent). You may be expected to read texts/scripts that have advanced vocabulary. |
| Attendance | Due to the structure and the collaborative nature of the courses, full attendance is requested. |
| Refunds | We are able to offer a full refund up until 7 days before the course begins. After this, the course will become fully non-refundable. |
| Cancellations | Central reserves the right to cancel this course if we do not meet the minimum number of participants. In this instance, a full refund will be made to you. We are unable to refund any other costs you may have incurred. |
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Why should I sign up for the Festival Creation short course?
To develop the skills and knowledge to take an idea from concept to completion.
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How much experience do I need to do this course?
Experience is preferred but not essential. You need an understanding and deep passion for your art form and the ability to use excel.
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How does the course work online?
You will join a live online session each week, where you will work with an industry expert tutor and your peers to develop the key components of your idea. At the end of each session you will be set a task to prepare and submit in advance of the following session.
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What is the state of the festival industry? Is there still a career in festival production?
The live event sector and industry is suffering from the devastating impact of covid. The industry is going through a ‘reset’ phase whilst the pandemic continues. As the roadmap to recovery becomes clearer in 2021, the time spent on development, building, and planning is critical, to meet the needs of the pent up demand, and support the re-building of the sector and it’s quick recovery. Creative producers, entrepreneurs and festival creators are critical to the ‘bounce back’, and developing the skills in this ‘down’ period will support your career and enable you to play a part in the industry’s comeback.
We don’t want finances to stop you taking part in our online short courses. If the fees are a barrier for you attending, please consider applying for one of our bursary places.
To be eligible, you must live in England and meet one of the following criteria:
- I am from a low income household (below £25,000)
- I am care experienced (care leaver/in the care of your local authority)
- I am a disabled student
- I have caring responsibilities (young carer/carer)
To apply, please email short.courses@cssd.ac.uk with supporting documentation for the above as well as the dates of the course you would like to take.
Please note that bursary places are limited, so we are not able to guarantee bursaries to everyone who is eligible.
Course Tutor
What our students say...
“This course is excellent. Our tutor gave us an in-depth and thorough overview in practical terms of exactly how to create, orchestrate and ultimately run your own festival.
Sarah McBriar’s knowledge and expertise are second to none. She shared details of her own personal journey and experiences as a successful festival curator, director, and producer.
Her skill as a teacher and mentor coupled with her caring and personable manner allowed us to develop our own ideas and her stringent, fast-paced tutelage ensured we kept pace and reached learning goals and deadlines whilst feeling supported.”
Farah, 2022
“Sarah’s masterclass gave an insightful look into the inner workings of AVA and the festival industry. I gained newfound confidence in areas such as programming, budgets, and operations. I couldn’t have asked for a better start in the industry.
Taking part in the course gave me further confidence to apply for the internship at AVA.
One year on I am pleased to say I’m there permanently. Every day’s a school day and I’ve learned a lot about marketing, operations, and managing events. I couldn’t have asked for a better start in the industry.”
Ciarán, 2022
AVA Festival
This course is delivered by Sarah McBriar, Founder and Creative Director of AVA Festival.
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