Financial Assistance to Troupes Going to Mumbai/Poona and Other Parts of the Country & Vice Versa

What is this Tiatr Academy of Goa travel assistance scheme?

Financial Assistance to Troupes Going to Mumbai/Poona and Other Parts of the Country & Vice Versa is a scheme of the Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG), which functions under the Art, Culture and Museums Department, Government of Goa. The scheme compensates Goan dramatic troupes for their transportation costs, recognising that staging tiatrs in Mumbai, Poona and other parts of the country is not always financially viable.

The scheme works in both directions. Goan troupes staging a minimum of five shows of the same tiatr in Mumbai or Poona qualify, and so do Mumbai or Poona troupes staging five shows in Goa. For other locations such as Kolkata, Delhi, Gujarat, Nagpur, Bangalore or Udaipur, the benefit can be availed even for a single show.

Applications are accepted one month in advance of the performance date, on a first come first serve basis, subject to the availability of funds.

How much assistance is given?

The scheme note states two things about the amount:

• Financial support is provided to compensate for transportation expenses incurred while staging tiatrs, so as to promote Goan tiatr.
• The extent of the financial support is fixed by the Tiatr Academy of Goa.

No published ceiling exists in the scheme document, which means an applicant should not rely on a fixed figure. The Academy decides the amount case by case, and disbursement follows the report of its representative.

Who is eligible for this scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are the writer or the director of the tiatr.
• The tiatr is staged as per its traditional format.
• The tiatr has 6 or 7 acts (podd'dde).
• The tiatr includes at least 4 cantos and comedy linked to the story of the play, and at least 10 kantaram.
• The kantaram include at least 2 duets, 1 duo, 1 trio, 1 quartet or quintet, and 1 choral song with solos.
• Your troupe stages a minimum of 5 shows of the same tiatr in Mumbai or Poona if it is a Goan troupe, or 5 shows in Goa if it is a Mumbai or Poona troupe. For other places such as Kolkata, Delhi, Gujarat, Nagpur, Bangalore or Udaipur, one show is enough.
• All advertisements, press notes, banners, tickets and handbills explicitly state that "This Tiatr is organized in collaboration with Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG)".

You are not eligible if:

• You are neither the writer nor the director of the tiatr. A producer, actor or organiser who is not the writer or director cannot apply in his own name.
• The tiatr departs from the traditional format, has fewer than 6 acts, fewer than 4 cantos or fewer than 10 kantaram, or lacks the required mix of duets, duo, trio, quartet and choral song.
• Your script, song lyrics, performances or speeches contain adverse remarks in any form, written or verbal, against any government, individual or institution, or anything against caste, creed or religion that may hurt anyone's sentiments. If proved, TAG may disqualify the performance and either withhold payment or recall any payment already made.
• You have already availed the scheme twice in the same financial year, or are applying a second time for the same tiatr. The scheme is limited to twice a financial year, for two different tiatrs.
• Your application reaches TAG less than one month before the performance date.

Special earmarking for Mandd Sobhann, Mangalore

For performances at Mandd Sobhann at Mangalore, financial assistance is extended to two troupes from Goa. Of these two tiatrs, one should be from the commercial troupes and one from a prize-winning troupe of the Goa Kala Academy 'A' Tiatr Competition. Payment for a Mandd Sobhann performance is made only after a certificate of performance is issued by Mandd Sobhann.

What documents are required?

At the application stage

At the benefit disbursal stage

How to apply for this scheme

1. Take a printout of the prescribed format of the application form from the Tiatr Academy of Goa Citizen's Charter published on goa.gov.in, or obtain the form directly from the TAG office in person.
2. Fill in all the mandatory fields, attach self-attested copies of all the mandatory documents, sign the form and mention the date.
3. Attach the typed copy of the script and lyrics, the hall booking proofs, and self-attested copies of the Aadhaar card and PAN card. If the hall is booked in someone else's name, add a letter of authority to that person; if the tiatr is in a parish, attach the organisers' letter instead of booking receipts.
4. Submit the completed form with documents to Tiatr Academy of Goa, AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001.
5. Ensure the submission is made at least one month in advance of the scheduled performance date, and keep a copy of the submitted form and the acknowledgement.

What happens after you apply

1. Performance witnessing and verification. The Tiatr Academy of Goa may appoint and depute its own representative to witness the tiatr performance in Mumbai, Poona or the other specified location. The representative submits a report to TAG.
2. Release of financial assistance. Payment is released to the applicant based on that report. For tiatrs performed at Mandd Sobhann in Mangalore, payment is disbursed only after Mandd Sobhann issues a formal certificate of performance.

The applicant must also send five photographs of the performance on stage to TAG for records, and submit the hall or auditorium booking receipts at the disbursal stage.

Conditions troupes must comply with

• A compulsory announcement stating "This Tiatr is organized in collaboration with Tiatr Academy of Goa (TAG)" must be made before the commencement of the tiatr and again during the interval.
• The same acknowledgement must appear in all advertisements, press notes, banners, tickets and handbills.
• No adverse remarks may be made in written or verbal form against any government, individual or institution, or on the basis of caste, creed or religion, in scripts, song lyrics, performances or speeches. If such remarks are proved, TAG may disqualify the performance and either withhold payment or recall payment already made.

Why applications fail

• Applied less than one month before the performance, so the application falls outside the window.
• Funds exhausted. Since cases are taken first come first serve subject to availability of funds, a late but otherwise valid application can still miss out.
• Fewer than five shows staged in Mumbai or Poona for a Goan troupe, or in Goa for a Mumbai or Poona troupe.
• Format conditions not met on acts, cantos or the required mix of kantaram.
• Applicant is not the writer or director.
• Third time in a financial year, or a repeat application for the same tiatr.
• Hall booking proof missing and no organisers' letter in its place.
• Announcement or banner credit to TAG not made, which is a condition of payment.
• Adverse remarks in the script or songs, which can lead to recall of payment already made.

Where to apply and get help

Tiatr Academy of Goa, AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001. The scheme note and the prescribed application format are published in the TAG Citizen's Charter on goa.gov.in, and the form is also available at the office. There is no fee for applying.

How to check your application status

This scheme runs entirely on paper, through the Tiatr Academy of Goa office in Campal, Panaji. There is no online portal login, tracking number or SMS update for this particular scheme, so status checks depend on directly contacting the Academy rather than checking a website.

1. Keep your acknowledgement copy ready. When you submit the application at least one month before the performance, note the date of submission and, if the office gives one, an inward or diary number. Quote this when you follow up, since applications are processed first come first serve and the date of receipt matters.
2. Call or visit the Tiatr Academy of Goa office at AS-1 / AS-4, Block A, 2nd Floor, Campal Trade Centre, Opposite Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001, and ask whether your application has been registered and whether funds are still available for the current cycle. Since the scheme has no published helpline number, a visit or a call routed through the Art, Culture and Museums Department, Government of Goa, is the reliable channel.
3. Before the performance date, confirm whether a TAG representative has been deputed to witness the show. This deputation is the step that triggers verification, so knowing whether it has happened tells you whether your file has moved past the initial screening.
4. After the performance, follow up on the disbursal file separately. Payment depends on the representative's report reaching the Academy, and for shows at Mandd Sobhann, Mangalore, it also depends on that venue issuing its certificate of performance. Submitting your five stage photographs and hall booking receipts promptly, and then asking the Academy whether the representative's report has been received, is the practical way to track progress toward payment.
5. If there is no response for several weeks after the performance and the required disbursal documents have been submitted, escalate in writing to the Tiatr Academy of Goa, referencing your submission date and performance date, rather than only calling repeatedly.

Because sanction is subject to the availability of funds, a status check is also effectively a funds check: an application sitting unprocessed for a long period during a financially tight quarter may simply be waiting behind other troupes' applications rather than facing a specific problem with the file.