Open Online Theatre — Residency
November 2026 – April 2027
A resident’s prototype performance at a previous OOTFest showcase.
IJAD Dance Company is launching the sixth edition of the Open Online Theatre Arts/Tech Residency, a six-month hybrid residency for artists and creative technologists. It’s an opportunity to develop your creative practice by experimenting with evolving technologies — VR, AI, volumetrics, motion capture, and multi-camera live streaming.
Our practice-led programme combines 10 in-person studio days in London and Nottingham with online workshops, personalised mentorship from industry-leading professionals, and opportunities to monetise your work through our Open Online Theatre platform.
Come with a question, leave with a prototype is our operating promise. Play, fail, adapt, and discover how each technology can expand your creative language.
Studio briefing ahead of a hands-on technology session.
Who it’s for
We invite applications from early- and mid-career UK-based creative technologists and performance artists of all kinds: dancers, theatre-makers, circus performers, live artists, musicians, and multimedia artists.
You don’t need pre-existing technical expertise — only a genuine curiosity about presence, liveness, and how the body performs in digitally-mediated space. Applicants need to be available for all 10 in-person workshop days and up to 8 additional hours of personalised mentorship; priority goes to those available for the full residency.
Fees: £800 contribution (£200 refunded on completion of the full programme). Thanks to Arts Council England support, this covers only around 8% of the programme’s full cost.
Creative research and prototyping session from a previous cohort.
What residents receive
- 11 in-person workshop days with experienced mentors and tutors — 3D asset creation, motion capture, multi-camera live-streaming, AI, and virtual production
- 8 additional hours of one-to-one personalised mentorship
- The chance to host monetised workshops and events on IJAD’s Open Online Theatre platform
- A supportive peer-to-peer community for shared reflection and inspiration
- Collaboration opportunities inside and outside the programme
- The chance to apply for a paid performance slot at OOTFest27
By the end of the residency, each resident will have developed a prototype for future work — from a short live performance or technical demo to a hybrid piece or something entirely new.
Hands-on motion capture training during the residency week.
Timetable
| w/c 26 October | Residency launch event (London) |
| 9–10 November | Online workshops |
| 30 November – 1 December | In-person workshops, Nottingham |
| January – March 2027 | In-person workshops, London (exact dates TBC) |
| April 2027 | Closing workshop, Nottingham (exact date TBC) |
“What live streaming can be in the future” — a past OOT workshop session.
How to apply
Apply here [Google Form link] by [deadline]. You’ll hear from us by [date], with interviews held on [date].
Read our FAQs here. Questions? Email hello@ijaddancecompany.com.
