UP's one-year mentoring programme gives you the opportunity to turbocharge your professional development as a producer. For a whole year, you will receive guidance and perspective on your professional practice, regardless of where you are in your career.
You will be matched with a qualified mentor who has valuable experience and insight relevant to you and the areas in which you want to develop.
As a supplement to the mentoring programme, the programme's mentees are offered a week-long, paid internship with an experienced or highly specialised performing arts producer.
Does this sound like something for you? Are you a new performing arts producer with at least two years of experience who wants to take your professional skills to the next level? Then apply before December 1.
Who can apply?
UP's mentor programme in 2026 is specifically aimed at performing arts producers who collaborate with performing artists and companies in the project-supported field.
Both experienced and less experienced producers can apply as mentees in the programme. You must be interested in taking a leap forward in your production practice – either in terms of professional skills or personal career development.
At the time of application, you are expected to have at least two years of relevant experience in production within the performing arts field and to have ambitions for a continued career in the project-supported field.
This is not an educational program, but rather a sparring and development process.
You can only apply as an individual.
Four mentees will be accepted into the programme.
What does the mentoring programme entail?
Based on your application, you will be matched with a qualified mentor who has valuable experience and insight relevant to you. You define your own focus for the program and the areas in which you would like to develop.
A performing arts producer works closely with the creative artist to handle a wide range of professional areas, including financing, project management, internationalisation, network management, strategic development, PR, and administration. This places high demands on the producer's professionalism and practice.
Examples of focus areas may include:
- Management awareness, self-management, and management dilemmas as a producer
- Business development and entrepreneurship as a freelance producer
- Sustainable production
- Challenges in collaboration with the artistic director
- The producer's many professional skills
- ...or completely different specific topics that you define in your application.