The Genesis Future Directors Award at the Young Vic 2022

 

BSL video, British Dyslexia Association style guide version and a Large Print version of this information are available below.

If you have any questions, queries, thoughts or feedback about the award please email Sue Emmas, Associate Artistic Director at sueemmas@youngvic.org.

 

The Genesis Future Directors Award at the Young Vic 2022

The close relationship between the Genesis Foundation and the Young Vic dates back over nearly twenty years. The generous support we have received has been crucial to establishing and maintaining our work with directors, which is at the heart of everything we do. 

The Genesis Future Directors Award enables us to identify, support and nurture a director to explore their craft and stage a production in the Clare Theatre. The Award is aimed at early-career directors or theatre makers who have demonstrated a talent for and commitment to directing, but have had limited opportunity to make work. 

 

THE AWARD

The Young Vic has a deep commitment to diversity. This is seen in the shows we create and present, as well as in the people we work with. We know that UK theatres have a long way to go to engage with and speak to the full range of experience of the people living in this country. We want to do what we can to change that.

To help us be as inclusive as possible, our programming aims to embrace representation, ambition and excellence. In 2022, the Genesis Future Directors Award will be an opportunity for the Young Vic to meet and work with Deaf, disabled and neuro-divergent directors, theatre makers, designers and actors.  

We would like to receive proposals from:

• Deaf, disabled and neuro-divergent early-career directors
• Early-career non-disabled and neuro-typical directors who demonstrate a commitment to creative inclusion and access in their previous work.  

The selected director will have the opportunity to rehearse for four weeks on a play for the Clare Theatre. The production will be part of the Young Vic’s program and will be fully supported by the Young Vic’s creative, administrative and production teams. The director will receive a fee and the actors will be paid a Young Vic company wage. The award will conclude with 12 performances to a paying audience in spring 2022.

The director will work with a full creative team including producer, designer, lighting designer, sound designer and stage management team, as well as a casting director. They will also be mentored through the full preparation and rehearsal process by the core creative team at the Young Vic.   

We will provide financial support for travel and accommodation for directors who live outside of London. 

The director will embed creative accessibility into their vision and design for the show. 

The director (whether Deaf, disabled, neuro-divergent or non-disabled) should:

• Have already demonstrated a talent for and a commitment to directing
• Have directed at least one professional production* but are at an early stage of their development as a director / theatre maker
• Have demonstrated a commitment to originality and a desire to expand their understanding of theatre practice
• Be committed to a collaborative and inclusive process
• Be available to direct the production in February / March 2022 (dates to be confirmed)
• Be resident in the UK at point of application

* We would define professional, as: the team who created and realised the production have or hope to have theatre as their main career focus and source of income. This can be for any length of run.

You do not have to be a member of the Young Vic Genesis Network to apply but we encourage you to join so you can find out about our other opportunities for directors and theatre makers.  For more information on the Directors Program go to www.youngvic.org.

 

HOW TO APPLY

You will apply with a play of your choice and you will need to achieve your production with a maximum of four actors.

The play should be an existing text with a production history. It should not be a new play, or an adaptation or a play that needs dramaturgical work. The production should not require supernumeraries, a community chorus or equivalent.

There is provision in the budget for a BSL interpreter to be part of the full rehearsal and performance period as well as other integrated creative access such as captioning and audio description.

 

STAGE ONE

Please send in:  

• Information about the play, the cast size and any initial ideas for your production (this should

      be either written (single A4 page), video or audio (maximum of three minutes)

• CV (see suggested format below)
• A Lightning Talk (see information and download document below)
• An electronic copy of the script
• Equal Opportunities Monitoring form (download document below) *

*  Filling in the Equal Opportunities Monitoring form will help us to be as representative as possible, in the makeup of our creative teams. Our aim is to embrace diversity, ambition and excellence. To achieve this, it is useful for us to know a certain amount about who you are. 

 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLAY

We are most interested in your initial ideas for the production – you might want to tell us why you have chosen the play, the cast size, creative team you might like to work with etc.  Please feel free to express your ideas in notes, bullet points, diagrams, stream of consciousness etc. We encourage you to use whichever form best suits your ideas and approach. 

We welcome applications in writing as well as video and voice notes. The video and audio file should be no more than three minutes and be submitted via we transfer.  

Please make sure each document, video or audio file is clearly marked with your name and email address.

 

LIGHTNING TALKS

A Lightning Talk is a presentation that gives each director 10 Powerpoint slides for 20 seconds each with accompanying commentary. 

The Lightning Talk should give a flavour of:

• Your past work  
• Your response to, and initial ideas for, your chosen play
• If you could go back and direct one piece of work again, what you would do differently?

 

Please make sure that the file name of your Lightning Talk presentation is your full name and each document, video or audio file is clearly marked with your name and email address.

 

If you are Deaf, disabled or neuro-divergent and we need to make adaptions to the Lightning Talk format please let us know.  We will discuss with you the most effective way for you to communicate your ideas and for us to find out about your proposed play. 

Let us know if there are adjustments we should make and your access requirements at each stage of the process. This might include: live captions, BSL interpreter, quiet environment, longer presentation time, for example.

If you have any availability issues please let us know at this stage and we can do our best to accommodate your needs.

Applications should be addressed to Sue Emmas with THE GENESIS FUTURE DIRECTORS AWARD in the subject box and sent to opportunitiesdirectorsprogram@youngvic.org

 

Deadline for application: noon on Monday 27 September 2021

 

 

STAGE TWO

All directors who apply are invited to present their Lightning Talk. There will be two days for Lightning Talk presentations during week 4 October 2021. There will be two sessions

Session 1                   in person at the Young Vic

Session 2                   online through Zoom

Once we have received you application we will send you a link to a form that will enable you to choose and sign up to a Lightning Talk slot.  

If you are unable to attend one of the Lighting Talks days you can record an audio file that accompanies your Lightning Talk. The panel will then watch and listen to your Lighting Talk in your absence.

You will present your Lighting Talk to Sue Emmas (Associate Artistic Director), Jennifer Tang (Genesis Fellow / Associate Director) and a Young Vic associate artist. 

 

STAGE THREE

Following the Lightning Talks a small group of directors will then be invited to meet with Kwame Kwei-Armah (Artistic Director), Sue Emmas (Associate Artistic Director), Jennifer Tang (Genesis Fellow / Associate Director) and other members of the Young Vic team as well as Harriet Capaldi from the Genesis Foundation.  This will take place week 25 October or 1 November -  time to be confirmed.   

If you have any questions or queries please contact Tia Begum on directorsprogramme@youngvic.org.

 

KEY DATES

Introductory Session (see below)                               10.00am Friday 10 September

Deadline                                                                      noon Monday 27 September

Lightning Talks at Young Vic or on Zoom                   week commencing Monday 4 October

Stage Three                                                                week commencing 25 October or 1 November

Production dates                                                         February / March 2022

 

Introductory Session on Zoom

We will be holding an Introductory Session on Zoom on Friday 10 September at 10am where we will provide an introduction to Lightning Talks and answer any questions. These can be technical or creative content questions.  A recording of the session will be available for those that can’t attend.  If you would like to attend, please sign up HERE.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Guidelines for Applications

 

CV

Please send us your CV. If it doesn’t already follow this format, we encourage you to follow the guidelines below. This will help us understand what you have done, when, with which company etc. Please only complete the sections that are relevant to you.

Directing

Year    Show   Writer  Theatre/Venue            Length of run (days/weeks)

                                           

Directing Young People/Community

Year    Show/Project   Theatre/Company       Age range       Nature of Project

                                               

Assistant Directing

Year    Show   Writer  Theatre/Venue            Length of run (days/weeks)

           

Education / Training

This doesn’t have to be a formal qualification

 

Skills

E.g. languages, musical instruments, dramaturgy etc.

                                   

Other

Please briefly list any work you have done in areas such as dramaturgy, performing, writing, movement directing, producing or consultancy (this can include BSL, audio-description and neuro-divergency).

 

Professional Production

We would define professional, as: the team who created and realised the production have or hope to have theatre as their main career focus and source of income.  This can be for any length of run.

It does not include shows made at university or whilst training at drama school.

 

Lightning Talks

The Lightning Talks should have no moving image embedded within them. They should be still images only. If you choose to use sound in your Lightning Talk please let us know so we can check for technical errors.

If you are unable to make either of the Lighting Talks days during the week 4 October you can record an audio file that accompanies your Lightning Talk. The panel will then watch and listen to your Lighting Talk in your absence.  

Notes on Lightning Talks is available in a separate document below.

 

About the Genesis Foundation

The Genesis Foundation has supported the Young Vic’s Directors Program since its inception nearly twenty years ago and currently funds the Genesis Future Directors Awards, the Genesis Fellow and the Genesis Directors Network. Founded by John Studzinski CBE in 2001, the Foundation has donated more than £20 million to the arts over the past 20 years. Its main focus is on partnerships with leading arts organisations such as the Young Vic, National Theatre, Almeida Theatre, LAMDA and The Sixteen, and on training programmes that equip emerging artists for life as a creative professional. In 2021, through the Genesis Kickstart Fund, the Foundation is allocating £1 million in grants for future-facing projects that provide paid work for freelance creative professionals.

www.genesisfoundation.org.uk

 

About the Young Vic

The Young Vic based in Waterloo in London produces classics, new plays, forgotten works, musicals and opera, and tours widely in the UK and internationally. It has deep roots in its neighbourhood and extensive co-producing relationships with leading theatres all over the world. The Young Vic’s Directors Program provides support for directors at the early stages of their career.  It offers free skills workshops and peer-led projects, paid assistant directing roles through the Jerwood Assistant Director Program and Boris Karloff Trainee Assistant Director Program on Young Vic productions, and our online network, the Genesis Network.

www.youngvic.org