1. Headlines for ALPD Members
- University of Coventry Arts and Society Campus, the Delia Derbyshire Building on Cox Street
- Opening 15th February 2027. Closing 7th March 2027
- Professional Members can apply to put one production in the physical and up to 3 in the catalogue
- Productions must can be anywhere in the world, but must have been designed in the period 2023-2027
- SBTD will publish and distribute a physical catalogue, similar to the Make-Believe catalogue from the 2015 Exhibition [https://www.theatredesign.org.uk/catalogues/makebelieve/]
- Exhibitors can buy catalogues at a discount too
Exhibitor Fee: £120 (£60 payable on submission, balance payable by 31 August 2026)
Deadline for applications: Sunday 12th July 2026
Before You Apply, Prepare…
- 150-word biography (third person)
- 150-word production description(s) (third person)
- Full production and photo credits (including creatives, performers who appear in the photos, photographer)
- List of proposed 2D/3D exhibition items (with rough dimensions)
- Catalogue order quantity
Click here to apply between 1st May 2026 – 12th July 2026.
More information, including FAQs, at https://www.theatredesign.org.uk/designstage/
How the Exhibition will be promoted:
SBTD will be actively promoting design | stage through its extensive network of industry contacts across the UK and internationally. Invitations will be sent directly to theatre decision-makers, including Producers, Directors, General Managers, venue representatives, and other key industry professionals. design | stage will also be promoted through SBTD's marketing channels, including newsletter, social media, website listings, and partner organisations. Coventry City Council and Coventry University will be actively distributing their Press Release.
There will also be a Private View, industry events and symposiums to maximise visibility and encourage attendance from both UK and international theatre professionals both in person and online.
While attendance numbers cannot be predicted right now, we can take courage that previous SBTD exhibitions have attracted thousands of visitors, and we project 12k for design | stage. Given that we are also celebrating 50 Years of SBTD, we are expecting a greater interest from the industry.
2. ALPD Association Contributions
The ALPD is going to make a short film (around 10 minutes) documenting the design and production process behind the lighting design of four productions - each at a different scale or different genre.
The film aims to show model box meetings, plan drawing, rig preparation & pre plotting, fit-up and focus, lighting session, tech sessions and a shot of the production being applauded by the audience (hopefully with the cooperation of the theatre's press & publicity department). The Executive have allocated some budget to the project, to pay for a videographer and editor, but we will also need some images to be captured by the Lx team, and I would like to get in a short interview with key members of all the Lx teams.
So far, I have two offers from Lighting Teams: One from Lucy Carter for a production going into the Royal Exchange, and one from Jodi Rabinowitz. It would be great to identify another two, or even 3 so we have a "spare", by mid July. Please get in touch with Nick Moran if you are interested [nm@nickmoranlighting.com]
3. Opportunities for ALPD Members to Contribute to the Design of the Exhibition:
A message from Curator, Dana Pinto:
SBTD are about to ‘advertise’ to their membership for two volunteer Exhibition Designers and two volunteer Exhibition Design Assistants, to focus on the design | stage exhibit in the Delia Derbyshire Building and the second design team for 50 Years of SBTD at The Belgrade Theatre. How feasible would it be to offer two Volunteer Lighting Design and assistant opportunities to your membership? An LX team for design | stage and the other for 50 Years of SBTD? Could this be of interest? At the moment, we cannot commit to offering fees having just had an unsuccessful application to ACE. I will resubmitting and the second (and its final) time, however we would not receive this outcome until early October.