Testimonials

"Tessa absolutely transformed our show in a tiny amount of time. She brought a brilliant combination of puppetry expertise and storytelling experience to upskill our team and help fix a few clunky bits of the story too. Thoroughly recommend to anyone."

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"Tessa was instrumental in my successful DYCP grant. Not only was she was great at helping me clarify my ideas and pare the text down to a succinct clarity, but having her on the journey also spurred me on to completing the application early!  Thank you Tessa - I will certainly be getting in touch for future projects."

"Tessa was instrumental in our successful ACE application.  Her extensive knowledge of the process and criteria were invaluable and helped to identify areas for improvement.  Tessa's rigourous and methodical approach provides a firm base on which to construct an application.  Her experience, enthusiasm and support make what can be a daunting process much more manageable.  I would highly recommend working with Tessa.  Excellent value for money and the results speak for themselves."

"Working with Tessa was a joy. She completely engaged with our project and quickly saw the holes that needed filling. She has a great knowledge of funding and project management from her own direct experience of theatre making, but also a passion that really shines through.

Tessa also directed the puppetry for our touring show Three Suns. She has an incredible eye for detail whilst also being able to see what the show needed as a whole. Her bright and professional approach made her a pleasure to work with. I hope we continue to work together in the future."

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"Tessa worked with us on our first ever grant application, and we really needed someone with experience to look at our application. Tessa gave us some fantastic advice and also gave us tips we never would have known about! With her advice and support, our application really went up a notch and we ended up being successful! She also gave us advice to shape our website and Touring Pack, which were in dire need of transformation. As a new company, advice like this was absolutely invaluable."

"Tessa is highly knowledgeable and experienced in writing successful Arts Council applications, and really helped us to refine and shape our successful application for a tricky project. We really feel we wouldn't have been successful in attaining Arts Council funding without Tessa's help and guidance."

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“We worked with Tessa as our consultant on a funding application for our touring show. Despite having great feedback on previous applications, we were unsure as to why we weren't having successful responses. Tessa offered her experience and wisdom, providing insightful guidance that other theatre mentor professionals working in this area were unable to offer. Tessa has a wealth of experience and really knows what is needed for successful grant applications. She is astute, sensitive and able to see the bigger picture as well as important details - her planning model is very effective. After working with Tessa, we received our much needed Arts Council Grant and were able to tour our show.  We would definitely work with her again and recommend her to anyone working within the theatre and arts environment.”

"I met Tessa during her introductory to puppetry course and she mentioned her extensive experience applying for ACE funding. As a happy coincidence I was in the middle of writing one. After the course I contacted her with some questions regarding budget, contract templates and timelines. As anyone knows, applying for funding, understanding the funding sources and then working with the funders (if you are successful) can be difficult to get your head around, especially if it's your first time. Tessa was incredibly supportive and there was no question too small. If you are new to the funding application game or just need your application checked over, Tessa is your go to, your light through the darkness: she is the one you want on your team."

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"Tessa's knowledge and expertise has been critical in completing my Arts Council Application. This is the first time I've ever had support and it makes an absolute world of difference in my ability to ensure all of the details fall into place and the amount of time and stress it takes to do. She is incredibly knowledgeable and made the process unexpectedly fun - I enjoyed our sessions and have learned an immense amount from her"

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"Tessa Bide provides wonderful access support. She is highly organised and motivated and has a variety of facilitation skills to ensure her clients can reach the standards necessary to put forward cogent and compelling cases for funding and other forms of artistic support. She is also a joy to work with and makes tasks (that previously were and interminable source of drudgery as well as being vacuums for time and efficiency) simple and achievable. Worth every penny."