Creative Youth are excited to announce that applications are open for FUSE International 2024. Returning to Kingston in summer ’24 for the 16th year, the stage is yours for the taking, so explore our participant pages and find out everything you need to know about bringing a performance to the festival.
FUSE International will take place from 28 June – 8 July 2024.
FUSE has venues across the town of all shapes and sizes, and suitable for all audiences. We focus particularly on supporting artists under 27, and have a team of creatives to help your festival experience feel as comfortable and stress-free as possible.
If you’re over 27, but creating work for young audiences, or first began your journey with Creative Youth before turning 27, then please do apply.
How to apply
All our applications (except short performances under 15 minutes) are through Eventotron, a festival management platform.
Key dates for 2024
Applications open: Wed 8 November 2023
Applications close: Mon 8 January 2024
Programming decision: End of Feb 2024
Each year, the FUSE International Awards recognise and celebrate the amazing companies and performances who have excelled and captivated their audiences with their work.
We would like to say a huge thank you to all the wonderful companies and performers who have brought Kingston to life this summer. From theatre, music, cabaret, dance to visual arts and comedy, there has been something for everyone across the town during the festival.
A wide variety of awards celebrate all facets of our multi-arts programme, with each individual show/performance being reviewed by one of our team members.
All companies who win an award win a free registration to take part in FUSE International 2024 the following year.
2023 Award Winners
We’re thrilled to announce this year’s award winners:
Best Dance Performance
I CAN DANCE
Best Children & Families Performance
ARCO Junior – WAYTCO
Best Ensemble Performance
The Ordinariness of Her – CAPA College/ Momentum Theatre
Best Fringe Performance
Oubliette – Barking Hearts Theatre
Friction Burn – Precipice Theatre
Genderfluid Babe Manifesto – Lu Greco
My Dad Wears A Dress – Maria Telnikoff
The Western Australia Youth Theatre Company has a history of producing award-winning shows that provide actors with professional experiences, developed theatre skills and life capabilities.
We are so excited to be welcoming this heartwarming and comedic theatre to Kingston, attracting audiences of all ages with two versions of the show that delve into Adam’s life as a self described autistic individual.
ARCO Senior offers a heartfelt exploration of a young man’s struggles to connect with others, while ARCO Junior introduces Adam and his fish friend Finbar in a comical take on understanding life with autism. ARCO Junior is suited to 7-14 year olds. For more information, take a look at our ARCO flyer.
So You Wanna Change the Arts is a programme that provides professional and practice based learning opportunities in the form of webinars, physical workshops and advice. These sessions explore topical industry issues alongside practical advice sessions for and by young people. We welcome panelists from various sectors and art-forms to share advice and insights for those at the start of their creative journeys.
So You Wanna Change the Arts is part of Creative Youth’s wider Creative Talent Programme which offers artistic, strategic and business support to young emerging artists. Leading many of the workshops for this years programme is our new 2023 Young Creatives cohort. Young Creatives is a panel of emerging talent, from 16–26 years old, who generate new ideas and plans for the charity.
Creative Youth is run by young people, for young people, which is exactly how we run this programme. Coming from a diverse range of backgrounds and disciplines, these Young Creatives have devised engaging and informative workshops/ webinars – aimed at those beginning their career in the arts.
Explore our e-leaflet to find out more about the different workshops and events available.
So You Wanna Change The Arts is generously supported by Arts Council England.
After the huge success of our FUSE Film event as part of last year’s festival we could not wait to showcase more films this year with our glittering FUSE Film showcase and awards.
FUSE Film focuses on celebrating the work of young film makers and sharing the creative talents of incredible emerging casts and crews.
This year we will be screening all of our shortlisted films and awarding our winners in the following categories:
Best Short Film
Best Miniature Film
Best International Film
You can reserve your tickets for our screening and view the official shortlist by clicking here.
Kicking things off on Friday 30 June (20:30) is Lu Greco with their incredible fringe piece Gender Fluid Babe Manifesto, a piece about a trans person killing their internal demons from their root. Set in the context of being brought up in Argentina in the 90s, and told through act, spoken word, dance, drag and visuals. Find out more
Following on Saturday 1 July (20:30) is Guilherme Cosme’s – Perspehone and the Ghost Brother. A dark and immersive visual music experience which explores themes of mental health, sexuality and religious brainwashing. His homonymous album, released in 2022, is a meditative collection of tunes which finds the singer diving deep into his own battle with mental illness. Find out more
Get involved on Sunday 2 July (12:30 & 14:30) with Amy Sze Production’s perfomative workshop, Be Right Back. All about migration and diaspora, the workshop uses playful storytelling through scaled 3D-printed miniatures, maps and interactive modelmaking. As an all-migrant creative team from Hong Kong, the collective encourages the participants to share their experience and ask: How can we build a community together and share our common experience of being an immigrant in Europe?Find out more
Gender Fluid Babe Manifesto
Persephone and the Ghost Brother
Be Right Back
Rounding off the first weekend of the festival at FUSEBOX is Qingyang Wang’s Journey of Whispering Dreams (Sunday 2 July 20:30). The solo performance is a blending-together of autobiographical fragments, poetic text, physical movement, dance, soundscapes and ancient Chinese cultural references, including an allusion to the classic play Peony Pavilion. Find out more
Our first July performance is ASHES from the National Academy of Theatre Arts in Cracow on Tuesday 4 July (20:30). While maintaining an intimate and private narrative, the show portrays a clear image of a family breakdown in the modern world. Inspired by a monologue from the TV series “Bojack Horseman”, the creators reinterpreted the well-known story, enriching it with private experiences and rewriting it in order to fit the reality we live in. Find out more
On Wednesday 5 July (20:30) we have BeBop Theatre bringing you A Grand Day Out. Ever wondered what would happen if you got your divorced parents back together again for a day? In this funny and intriguing performance, BóNJ is pulling in all their family favours and really hoping Gran keeps picking up the phone. It’ll be just like the old days…Right? Described as somewhere between the warmth and comfort of yer Gran’s homemade soup and ‘Marriage Story’ (2019), this is a playful show that’s not to be missed. Find out more
Ashes
A Grand Day Out
My Dad Wears A Dress
Next in the line up at FUSEBOX is Maria Telnikoff’s: My Dad Wears A Dress, on Thursday 6 July (20:30). In this one-woman show, Maria explores her own personal experience of growing up with a transfemale parent: the highs, the lows and the heels!
Filled with early ‘00s nostalgia, it’s a personal yet relatable show about growing up, difference and acceptance. Find out more
Finish your festival week laughing at our stand up comedy evenings, with perfomances on the 6 and 8 July (15:00) from Whole Lotta Comedy where the comedians of the future perform for you today. Young comedians who are already making their way on the UK comedy circuit join together to entertain you. Find out more
If that’s not enough, Best of Brighton Fringe: Comedy will be concluding our week on Saturday 8 July (20:30). Each year Creative Youth’s wonderful team of young people head to Brighton Fringe to judge the best theatre and stand-up comedy shows by performers under 27 at the festival. Be sure to catch this year’s choices and keep an eye on our website for the announcement of the winners making their way on the UK comedy circuit join together to entertain you. Find out more
Apply for FUSE International 2023 by this SUNDAY 15 JANUARY and be part of the UK’s largest multi-arts festival for performers under 27.
As the UK’s largest multi-arts festival for performers under the age of 27, FUSE International brings together some of the brightest young talent from around the world for 10 extraordinary days of theatre, music, comedy, dance, circus, visual art and more. It is a celebration of new voices, raw talent, ideas in development.
HOW TO APPLY:
Before applying through Eventotron, we encourage you to first read the application informationon our website, and read our festival resources page. This tells you everything you need to know about applying to be part of the festival, and provides helpful information such as venue sizes, services and costs, and FAQs.
If you have any questions about applying to be part of FUSE International 2023, speak to our Festival Director, Petra, onfusedirector@creativeyouthcharity.org.
As the UK’s largest multi-arts festival for performers under the age of 27, FUSE International brings together some of the brightest young talent from around the world for 10 extraordinary days of theatre, music, comedy, dance, circus, visual art and more. It is a celebration of new voices, raw talent, ideas in development.
FUSE International (formerly International Youth Arts Festival) provides a platform for emerging artists under 27 and is the place to try new work in a safe and supportive environment. 2023 will mark the 15th festival in the stunning historical location of Kingston upon Thames.
HOW TO APPLY
Before applying through Eventotron, we encourage you to first read the application informationon our website, and read our festival resources page. This tells you everything you need to know about applying to be part of the festival, and provides helpful information such as venue sizes, services and costs, and FAQs.
If you have any questions about applying to be part of FUSE International 2023, speak to our Festival Director, Petra, on fusedirector@creativeyouthcharity.org.
KEY DATES Applications open – 8 November 2022
Application deadline – 8 January 2023
Programming decisions made – February 2023
FUSE International launch & tickets on sale – May 2023
FUSE International – 30 June 2023 – 9 July 2023
The festival is organised by charity Creative Youth, which supports artists aged 5 – 26.
The artforms FUSE incorporates are changing all the time. We don’t like to be prescriptive – fundamentally, if you have an idea, we want to hear about it. And whatever it is you bring, you can be guaranteed an inclusive, supportive and energetic environment in which to present it.
All applications are made through Eventotron, an online festival platform. There’s more information on the pages below and our festival resources section.
We are excited to announce that we are providing 3 young emerging dancers/choreographers the opportunity to do an intensive workshop with Korean choreographer, SY Park, which will lead to a showcase presentation at Rose Theatre, Kingston, and as part of the Korean Festival, on Sun 13th November 2022.
Professional Korean choreographer, Gong-Won (SY Park) will be visiting London, and is offering to work with 3 dancers to share her techniques and work focused on her “Map Project”.
Since 2020, Gong-Won has produced a dance series, ‘Map Project’ which is focused on the dancer finding a personal connection to/of a specific place or moment and combines participant’s individual memories.
Gong-Won will run three full days or five half days/evening workshops from the 2nd week of November – pending participants availability. This will take place in Kingston and will work towards a unique dance showcase/presentation at Rose Theatre with a theme of participant’s individual memories of Queen Elizabeth II.
SY Park from Korea was in London to take part in the Korean Harvest Festival in New Malden on the 10th September which was cancelled due to the Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. Almost immediately, she and a festival producer came up with an idea to create a dance film / project to commemorate the late Queen. She made the first episode to tell her story in a dance film while she was in London.
From the 2nd October, SY Park visited Andong Hawhey Village, Gyeong Sang Buk Do in Korea to make the second dance film to tell a story of Queen Elizabeth II. In April 1999, the late Queen undertook a state visit to Korea. There is a special connection of the late Queen and the village Andong. The late Queen visited Andong during this time and had a special birthday celebration prepared by people from Andong Village. SY Park danced around the Queen Elizabeth II museum to retrace the memory of the late Queen and to create the Queen’s story as the second episode.
On the 13th November, SY Park will premiere the third and the final episode which will also involve three young emerging dancers/choreographers who have taken part in her workshop. It will also be presented with dance films made in London and Andong as well as graphic display of Korean poetry, Chohon written by Sowol Kim. Music by SH Choi and HS Kim.
Since 2010, we have been working with the wonderful and talented Tangle Photography who has helped capture the spirit of our events and festivals. Tangle has photographed theatre, dance, circus, music shows and more and documented workshops, live shows and rehearsals.
Tangle has been equally vital in coordinating our photography volunteer team, an ever-changing and growing group of emerging creatives who receive mentoring and support during their time with us. Some volunteers may photograph one show, others may capture several, but they all come away having experienced the thrill of photographing performers in a challenging range of lighting conditions and scenarios; a key skill which can be transferred to many photographic opportunities and events.
Our volunteer photographers try to capture as many events as possible every year and visiting companies can use the images from social media to showcase their shows. This can be particularly helpful for companies touring the UK festival circuit.
Photograph by Rachel Guest
It’s always a challenge to showcase all of the amazing shots that are taken throughout our festivals and events, so we wanted to share a few here, and direct you to our Facebook page where you can see the full galleries of every show captured in the past few years. We hope you enjoy looking through and reliving the festival atmosphere.
Photograph by Ruth O’Brien
All images used in this article are by Tangle Photography unless stated otherwise.
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