The Shiona Carson Award for Excellence

In honour of our beloved former Artistic Director, Shiona Carson, this award recognises the outstanding achievements of young talents in drama. With the total of HK$50,000 the award will recognise the achievements of five outstanding students from S4A programmes, each receiving HK$10,000 to support their artistic journey. 

The Shiona Carson Award for Excellence is a prestigious initiative designed to honour the legacy of Shiona Carson and her passion for empowering young people through drama education. The monetary award aims to empower youths with experiential learning opportunities, fostering their talents and enabling them to make a transformative impact through drama education.

Who was Shiona Carson?

Shiona Carson was the Artistic Director of Shakespeare4All Hong Kong (S4A) (registered charity) from January 2015 to July 2022. Shiona was responsible for conceiving, developing and implementing the artistic vision and mission for S4A. 

Under Shiona’s artistic directorship, S4A has now grown to be the leading all-round English children’s theatre company of Hong Kong, with an outreach of over 16,000 children each year participating in our classes, performances and theatre workshops.

How to Apply

1) Submit a personal statement of 300 words maximum explaining how you would like to spend the award on the programme of choice and how it would benefit your drama education needs. Please submit this to s4acommunity@gmail.com.

2) Applications are open until 10th January 2026 11PM. Late applications will not be accepted.

3) The applications will be reviewed by a Shiona Carson Award of Excellence (SCAE) Committee Panel.

4) The awardees will be notified before the end of February 2026 to give them time to apply for their chosen programmes throughout the year in advance. 

Requirements/Eligibility

• This scholarship is for students aged 8-18 who have joined previous S4A programmes from October 2024 to September 2025

Awardee Disbursement Disclaimers

• Awardees will have 24 months to use the funds

• Awardees must keep records of their spending and explain how the funds have supported their experiential drama education goals

• Recipients aged 15 and older will receive the full amount upfront

• Recipients under 15 will receive the funds in one of their parent’s names

• S4A reserves the right to make changes or adjustments to the amount of students

If you have any questions about the award, the process or if you need support, please feel free to contact us by phone (+852 2520 6232) during office hours or email us (s4acommunity@gmail.com).