As a young theatre director, I have been finding a whole lot of closed doors and not so many ways to open them. There is no clear path for getting into the theatre industry, which makes it feel like an impossible mountain to climb. That’s why I want to create a series of posts on theatre opportunities available for people who have the skills, but don’t yet have connections and experience.
First up, three theatres that make it their mission to provide opportunities for young theatremakers:
Camden People’s Theatre, London
Best for: Unusual work that challenges the conventions of performance.
CPT are not too keen on plays, but anything that is wacky, weird and poignant is right down their alley. They are interested in immersive and devised work, performer-led work and physical theatre, to name but a few. However, judging from their program, anything that pushes boundaries would have them interested. Their mission statement is to support early career artists, which they have successfully been doing for the past 24 years.
Get involved:
- Throughout the year CPT host a number of festivals showcasing new work. Notably, Sprint Festival which runs every spring presents a wide variety of unusual shows. As part of Sprint, CPT also offers development programs for shows. Applications open around autumn.
- Fringe Previews. CPT provides a great opportunity for those based in London to have their work previewed before the festival at not *too* mad a price. But the best part of this is the support that I have seen CPT show for the performances, advertising them through social media, sharing their fundraisers and genuinely rooting for the shows to do well at the festival. Having their name behind the production is no small asset.
New Diorama Theatre, London
Best for: anyone, with a huge range of opportunities.
NDT is another theatre focused specifically on supporting emerging artists. They provide a variety of funds, opportunities to perform, rehearsal spaces and community projects to get involved in. On top of that, the work that they have supported has been truly outstanding and often wins universal critical acclaim at the Fringe (which is as close as you can get to accomplishing the impossible).
Get involved:
- Two night stands – an opportunity for emerging companies to perform in London for two nights with no hire fee, £15 accommodation and the ability to take 100% of what you make from ticket sales to invest into the development of the show. Applications accepted on the rolling basis. Dreamy, right?
- Graduate companies program – Every year six graduate theatre companies are given training which builds their skills, teaches them to fundraise and deal with legal stuff, while also giving them the necessary contacts. 2019 applications currently open!
- Edinburgh Untapped Award – The winning show gets a performance venue and £3000 towards their travel and accommodation, plus marketing support.
This is only a few of the opportunities they offer. I do highly recommend looking at their website, as they also run monthly artist surgeries, host the “Incoming” festival and offer free rehearsal space to BAME-lead groups.
503 Theatre, London
Best for: New Writing
This theatre focuses on supporting new writing and acting as a launchpad for early career playwrights.
Get involved:
- First, and most importantly, you can submit a script to 503 Theatre at any time. That’s very rare.
- Annual playwriting award – the winning script is guaranteed to be produced and the author receives £6000.
- Writer residencies – there is a number of residencies, which include workshops, support and opportunities to have work staged. Check out 503FIVE and Right to Write.
Unfortunately, most of them are London-based and, of course, the catch is that you already need to be producing amazing work to have a shot at any of those. How? I am not quite sure yet, but I am looking into it, so stay tuned for a list of directing opportunities and three more theatres that work with emerging theatre companies.
Also, don’t hesitate to get in touch if you know of any / have advice for theatremakers at the beginning of their career!
Theatre Machine 