Bursaries
FESPA provides financial support to talented people in East Suffolk wishing to pursue a career in the performing arts.
About the Bursaries
Young people who seek to pursue a career in the performing arts sometimes face huge challenges. Not only is there fierce competition for places in recognised colleges, but the costs of travel, living and accommodation on top of tuition fees and associated expenses can represent a daunting obstacle to prospective students and their parents.
In a bid to help home grown talent fulfil its potential, Friends of East Suffolk Performing Arts (FESPA) awards one-off bursaries of up to £1500 to a few carefully selected individuals.
FESPA bursaries are designed to provide financial support and encouragement to deserving students of the performing arts who either live in the area or have strong local connections and who have already obtained a course offer. Each student is required to submit an application form and CV and specifically to explain how the bursary would be of help. References also have to be supplied. In the last twelve years, FESPA has awarded bursaries worth more than £76,000 to students of acting, dancing, music and stage management.
Please contact us at fespabursaries@gmail.com if you would like more information on how and when to apply.
£76,000+
Awarded in 12 years
Current Bursary Recipients 2025
Meet the talented performers we're supporting this year
Previous Bursary Winners
We are thrilled to keep in touch with most of our bursary recipients and here are some testimonials and also links to what they have gone on to do
In short, the FESPA grant made my MPhil at Cambridge University possible and gave me a brilliant grounding in filmmaking and practice. I was heavily involved in the theatre scene there and toured Italy in 2025 with the Downing College Chapel choir. Since completing my MPhil, I have worked at INK, the new writers festival in Halesworth Suffolk as an assistant director and worked as Head of Events on the Sunrise Film Festival in Lowestoft. I have also directed and choreographed a new musical, 1816: The Year Without a Summer, which toured London and Cambridge in 2025 and stage managed a tour of Macbeth in the USA. I am currently excited to be exploring the opportunities afforded to me in my new role as manager of the Arts Centre in Southwold.
As I write I am enjoying my last few weeks studying at the Rambert Ballet school. My FESPA bursary has made a significant difference to my ability to be proactive in pursuing my future career in dance. It has contributed to my travel and day to day expenses when attending workshops and open dance classes.These have allowed me to both network and develop my individual technique. I am excited to be joining JV2 in AshfordKent and cannot wait to meet the company and develop my skills further in Jasmin’s choreographic style.
Over ten years ago, FESPA’s support enabled me to kick start my acting career while I was studying at Guildford School of acting, aged 20. That investment was an enormous help to me; it helped lay the foundation for my career and gave me the confidence to pursue a professional life in the arts. I have worked on numerous productions since then including work at the Globe (Nell Gwynn), toured the country and appeared in the West End (Tina - The Tina Turner Musical) as well as writing music for theatre and screen. I’m currently appearing in Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune Theatre in the West End.
I am also developing a new performance project using recorded testimony of council house tenants in a verbatim musical and am currently seeking match funding for my Arts Council bid - if there are any theatre angels out there reading this!
Frequently Asked Questions
Students of the performing arts - acting, dance, music or stage management - who either live in East Suffolk or have strong local connections, and who have already been offered a place on a recognised course.
FESPA awards one-off bursaries of up to £1500. The exact amount depends on your circumstances and what you set out in your application.
A completed application form, your CV, and references. You will also need to explain specifically how the bursary would help you. Both documents are available to download at the top of this page.
No. Bursaries are only awarded to students who have already obtained a course offer, as the funds are intended to help with the costs of taking up that place.
Bursaries are designed to help with the costs that sit alongside tuition fees - travel, living costs, accommodation, equipment and other associated expenses that can make taking up a place difficult.
Send all documents as email attachments to fespabursaries@gmail.com. Please get in touch at the same address if you would like more information on how and when to apply.
Help Fund Future Bursaries
Your membership and donations directly fund our bursary program. Join FESPA today and help talented young performers achieve their dreams.