design | stage
Call for Designers
National Exhibition & Celebrating five decades of creativity across the UK, in partnership with
Exhibiting dates: February – March 2027
Venue: Delia Derbyshire Building, Coventry
An ambitious exhibition and catalogue showcasing outstanding work from SBTD, ASDP, and ALPD members. Featuring professional productions from 2023–2027, design | stage brings together the breadth, creativity, and future of UK performance design.
Applications Open: Friday 1st May, 2026
Deadline: Sunday 12th July, 2026Exhibitors Application Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfuLsz5jFa3YVdH2NrM64WC9R_NM_yShu4My2-fi76e44IajA/viewform?usp=header
Open to professional members of:
- The Society of British Theatre Designers (SBTD)
- The Association of Sound Design and Production (ASDP)
- The Association for Lighting Production and Design (ALPD)
Opportunities to Participate:
- Exhibit one production (2023–2027) in the main exhibition
- Submit up to three productions (2023–2027) for the published catalogue
- Choose to be featured in the exhibition film The Designer Lens
- Contribute to Making Unmaking Remaking, a programme of workshops, talks, and symposium events
Exhibitor Fee, £120
- £60 deposit (within 10 days of submitting your application)
- £60 final instalment (due by end of August 2026)
Optional extras (payment due by the end of September 2026)
- Early-bird catalogue at £14 (rising to £20 after 12th July deadline)
- Voluntary bursary contribution to support fellow Designers
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
Join us in Coventry to celebrate, reflect, and shape the future of design for performance.
Click here to apply between 1st May 2026 – 12th July 2026.
Dana Pinto – Curator exhibitions@sbtd.org.uk
Lexa Kirity – design | stageAdministrator designstage@sbtd.org.uk
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can apply?
This opportunity is open to current professional members of The Society of British Theatre Designers (SBTD), Association of Sound Design and Production (ASDP), and Association for Lighting Production and Design (ALPD).
What work is eligible?
You may submit professional productions that took place between 2023–2027. This includes work across theatre, live performance, events, opera, dance, and related disciplines.
How many productions can I submit?
Exhibit 1 production for the physical exhibition (2023 – 2027)
Up to 3 productions for the published catalogue (2023 – 2027)
Do I have to exhibit to be included in the catalogue?
Yes. Eligibility to be included in the Catalogue is to participate in the physical exhibition.
Where can I find the Exhibition Application Form?
Complete the online Exhibition Application Form between Friday 1st May and 12th July 2026.
What does the exhibitor fee cover?
The £120 fee contributes towards…
- Exhibition production and installation
- Venue costs at Delia Derbyshire Building
- Catalogue production
- Marketing and promotion
What is the payment schedule?
- £60 deposit (within 10 days of submitting your application online)
- £60 final instalment (due by end of August 2026)
- Optional extras (e.g. catalogue orders, bursary contributions) are due by the end of September 2026.
How do I pay to secure my place?
Bank Transfer
Bank: Lloyds Bank
Sort Code: 30-91-79
Account No.: 00611841
Account Name: Society of British Theatre Designers Limited
PayPal https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/K5JDGDHTW6M96
Please note that Bank Transfer is preferred, as it incurs no additional costs to the exhibition budget.
Can I get a refund if I withdraw?
Yes, please contact the organisers to discuss.
Dana Pinto – Curator exhibitions@sbtd.org.uk
Lexa Kirity – design | stageAdministrator designstage@sbtd.org.uk
What should I prepare before applying?
You will need:
- A 150-word biography (third person)
- A 150-word production description per submission (third person)
- Full production and photo credits
- A list of proposed exhibition items (with dimensions)
- Your catalogue order quantity
What kind of work can I exhibit?
You can propose a range of materials, including:
- Modelbox
- Costumes on your own mannequin(s)
- Set pieces, costume items or props
- Lighting or sound documentation
- Drawings, sketches, renderings
- Lightbox
- Photographs or digital media
Why do I need to specify the number of display boards I wish to use?
We are limited with our space, and wish to be inclusive to involve many Designers in design | stage.
What is The Designer Lens?
The Designer Lens is the exhibition film accompanying design | stage, featuring selected designers and their work. Participation is optional and edited at the Film Director’s discretion.
What is Making Unmaking Remaking (MUR)?
This is a public programme of talks, workshops, and symposium events running in the run-up and alongside the exhibition. Contributors will be invited to shape discussions on contemporary performance design.
Who is organising the exhibition?
The exhibition is led by The Society of British Theatre Designers in partnership with Coventry University. Dana Pinto is curating the exhibition exhibitions@sbtd.org.uk
Where will the exhibition take place?
At the Delia Derbyshire Building, Coventry, UK.
What are the key dates?
- Applications open on Friday 1st May 2026
- Deadline is Midnight, Sunday 12th July 2026
- The exhibition runs from February to March 2027
Can I edit my application after I submit it?
If you need to make changes after submission, please contact the organisers as soon as possible. Amendments may not be possible after the deadline.
Dana Pinto – Curator exhibitions@sbtd.org.uk
Lexa Kirity – design | stageAdministrator designstage@sbtd.org.uk
Who do I contact for questions?
Dana Pinto – Curator exhibitions@sbtd.org.uk
Lexa Kirity – design | stageAdministrator designstage@sbtd.org.uk
Is financial support available?
Exhibiting-Designers have the opportunity to make a donation to support a Designer bursary. We are committed to ensuring this opportunity is accessible to a diverse range of Designers. A small number of bursaries will be available, funded by donations, for those who may be unable to afford the £120 participation fee for the exhibition and the catalogue. If cost is a barrier, we encourage you to get in touch to discuss this support option. All enquiries will be managed with the utmost discretion and confidentiality. Email the Curator, Dana Pinto at exhibitions@sbtd.org.ukBursaries will be announced from 1st October, 2026 onwards.
Dana Pinto – Curator
Dana is interested in theatre that breaks the proscenium arch, drawn into performance that surrounds, invites and unfolds in immersive ways. With an arts lecturing experience in scenic construction / painting, she has led curriculum teams and authored national qualifications in Production Arts. She founded the School of Scenography and Design & Tech Innovations Ltd, served as UK Managing Editor for The Scenographer (2020–24), Vice Chair/Treasurer for Second Wave, and supports SBTD through mentoring, collaboration, and championing underrepresented voices.
Dr Xristina Penna – Making Unmaking Remaking Lead
Dr. Xristina Penna is a Performance Designer, Researcher and Educator. Her work bridges scenography and neuroscience to create spatial environments (scenographic contraptions) who shape perception, and embodied experience of the audience through mixed-media, handmade objects, and deliberately inefficient aesthetics. She is the Programme Leader for Production Arts: Props, Painting, and Set at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and co-convener for the Theatre and Performance Research Association Scenography Working Group.
Dr. Susannah Henry – Publications and Editorial Lead
Dr. Susannah Henry is a practice researcher in scenography and Programme Leader for the BA Performance Design at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Susannah is interested in the relation of the designer’s story to their practice, which she frames as autoscenography. She makes performance and writes about topics relating to motherhood, scenography, intersectional feminism and ecology. Her freelance design practice is currently focused on work for younger audiences.
Lexa Kirity – Exhibition Administrator
Lexa was born in Romania and relocated to the UK in 2020. She is a Set and Costume Designer and maker with a particular interest in devised projects and education through theatre. With a strong background in performance and multidisciplinary practices, her work is informed by an exploration of emerging artistic approaches. In collaboration, her ‘what if’ approach to problem-solving is valued for deconstructing barriers and embracing challenges with joy and curiosity.
Miren Candina – Editor
With a background in translation and art studies, Miren is currently pursuing a PhD in Contemporary Arts at the University of the Basque Country. Interested in how images can shape both spatial environments and experiences, her research explores the intersections between live performance and image-recording practices through scenography and modes of display. She also engages in projects that combine her interests in language, writing, and image-based practices.
Jiahui Cai – Editor
Jiahui Cai is a multidisciplinary artist exploring storytelling through material and sensory experience. Working across theatre, food scenography, and ceramics, she creates mixed-media narratives that blur boundaries between performance and everyday objects. With a background in performance design, her practice engages space, texture, and transformation, using clay and food as vessels for memory, ritual, and cultural dialogue.
Stella-Jane Odoemelam – Film and Immersive Experience Lead for The Designer Lens, 50 Years of SBTD, and OnStage
Stella-Jane is a London-based theatre designer and practitioner working across performance design, including carnival, dance theatre, live events, and immersive experiences. Her emerging practice blends playful, graphic styles with architecturally inspired, revisionist narratives. She integrates sound, lighting, video, and VR to create richly immersive experiences in her work. Committed to sustainability and ethical practice, she also works as an educator and facilitator, delivering creative design workshops across educational and community settings.
Paul Burgess – Sustainability Co-Lead
Since training at Motley, Paul has worked as a Set, Costume and Video designer at venues ranging from Shakespeare’s Globe and Glasgow Citizens to theatres in Rawalpindi, Mumbai, Hanoi and New York. He has co-created installations for locations including the Barbican Centre and a former nuclear bunker in Siberia. An advocate for ecologically minded creative practices, he leads the SBTD’s Sustainable Design Working Group and is a co-director of Ecostage.
Kira Curtis – Sustainability Co-Lead
Kira is a Lancashire-based researcher, facilitator, and scenographer, currently undertaking a practice-as-research PhD at Lancaster University. Her research uses scenographic exploration as a method for imagining sustainable futures, particularly in Blackpool. Alongside this, she works on a range of nature and theatre projects and is a co-director of Ecostage, placing ecological thinking at the heart of creative practice.
Maelisa Singer – Accessibility and Inclusivity Lead
Maelisa is a Costume Designer, Visual Artist, Writer and Researcher. Her work concentrates on the intersection of costume and disability, with particular focus on invisible disability, stemming from her own lived experience. Maelisa is currently pursuing a PhD in Art at the University of Edinburgh, funded by the College Research Award.
Nicola Hewitt-George – Social Media Lead
Nicola is a Freelance Scenographer, Visiting Lecturer, and Design Technician for the Department of Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway University. Specialising in site-specific and applied and participatory theatre contexts, Nicola’s work has taken her to a variety of places; in theatres, on film sets, in royal palaces, underground in a subterranean warehouse, on the edge of a cliff, in museums, libraries, on the streets, and in the landscape.
