Deadline:
Boris Karloff Trainee Assistant Director Scheme
The Boris Karloff Trainee Assistant Director Scheme provides an opportunity for a director / theatre maker to gain experience working on a Young Vic show. The directors / theatre makers should have limited experience of time in a rehearsal room but be able to demonstrate a commitment to directing or theatre making.
The opportunity to support the director in rehearsals, previews and run of a show will provide the trainee assistant director experience of the etiquette of the rehearsal room, the relationships between the creative team, the craft of the actor etc. They will have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in a supported environment working alongside a director on a professional production.
The chance to assist a director in the rehearsal and production process of a show will give the trainee the where-with-all to apply for assistant director roles, either at the Young Vic or elsewhere, with confidence and with an informed understanding of the skills and expertise they need to demonstrate to a company or director.
At present we are looking for a trainee assistant director to work on YV Unpacked: Love Reign by Shereen Jasmin Phillips directed by Stef O’Driscoll.
The production will perform on tour at community venues in Lambeth and Southwark between 4 – 15 October and at the Young Vic in the Maria Theatre between 18 – 23 October 2021.
YV Unpacked was established in 2018 by Kwame Kwei-Armah when he became the Young Vic Artistic Director, developed with the intention of reaching audiences who may find it more difficult to access theatre by taking professional work to them.
Following the success of two YV Unpacked tours – which saw professionally performed productions of Spring Awakening and She Ventures and He Wins performed in community venues in Lambeth and Southwark including prisons, elderly care homes, homeless shelters and rehabilitation centres. Love Reign will perform this autumn in a range of non-theatre spaces across Lambeth and Southwark.
This year marks the first time we for us to tour a new piece of writing as part of YV Unpacked, making work for new audiences that puts them at the centre. Love Reign, written by Shereen Jasmin Phillips and directed by Stef O’Driscoll, is an eclectic piece of new writing that centres a fusion of narrative and music to create a live storytelling experience. At its core Love Reign is a love letter to friendships, how we begin them, how we honour them and how preserve them against all odds in our lives. This exhilarating show encapsulates the joyful expression of friendship delicately underscored by a live soulful house soundtrack.
The Project runs from 6 September to 23 October. You will be needed for the four week rehearsal period full time. Once the tour begins the role will become part time based on the tour schedule. You will be needed every day once we are in the Maria for the week.
Important dates
6 September to 2 October in the Clare Theatre at Young Vic for rehearsals
The tour starts on the 4 – 15 October and will be up to 10 venues in Lambeth and Southwark across two weeks part time. There will be eight performances over six days performances at the Young Vic. You may need to be available for performances both in the day and evening depending on the schedule.
Tech rehearsals, dress rehearsals and performances 18 – 23 October (at the Young Vic)
Role
The role will provide support to the director in the YV Unpacked: Love Reign rehearsals and performances. This might include research, collating notes on script changes, line runs with actors, organisational and administrative support.
Fee: £2,000
Who this is for
We accept that it is hard for all directors to secure paid assisting work and we aim to provide opportunities on all our shows. This scheme is particularly aimed at new directors who have had limited access to making work or assisting.
We are particularly keen to hear from directors and theatre makers who are Black, South Asian, East or South East Asian, mixed or dual heritage, have had a lived experience of racism; from working, benefit, criminal and underclass background; identify as Deaf or disabled.
We are looking for a director / theatre maker who has the following experience.
Essential
- Have knowledge of, or interest in use of music in theatre
- Interest in participation and community audiences/projects
- Interest in collaborative process
- Can demonstrate a commitment to a career as a director / theatre maker
- Have less than two years’ experience of working professionally in theatre as a director or theatre maker
- Have not assisted at a theatre equivalent to the scale and reputation of the Young Vic
- Have not studied to MA level or above in a theatre related subject
- Hold a current DBS certificate or be willing to be DBS checked
- Be resident in the UK at point of application
Desirable
- Have seen work at the Young Vic
- Be under 26 years of age
You do not have to be a member of the Young Vic’s Genesis Network for directors and theatre makers but we would encourage you to join so you can continue to find out about events, workshops and opportunities. You can sign up HERE
If you would like to apply please send the following:
- A CV (no more than one A4 page)
- Up to 200 words on three things you would specifically like to learn from assisting on this production
- Up to 200 words on either; what song makes you feel empowered, or what genre of music best reflects your personality.
- Equal Opportunities Monitoring form (attached 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.
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 to Opportunitiesdirectorsprogram@youngvic.org
Please confirm that you are free for a majority of the dates outlined above. We will work with the appointed trainee director to create a schedule that works with their interests and other commitments. If you know you have any prior commitments during the rehearsal period outlined above, please let us know and we will try to accommodate these as much as we can.
If you are Deaf, disabled, neuro-divergent please let us know your access requirements and we can put provision in place when you are invited to the recruitment workshop and meeting. This might include, hearing loop, BSL interpreter, quiet environment, longer meeting time etc.
Please email your application to Sue Emmas, Associate Artistic Director of the Young Vic at Opportunitiesdirectorsprogram@youngvic.org
Deadlines for applications is noon on Wednesday 7 July 2021.
Please add your name, telephone number and email address to every page you submit.
We will get back in touch with everyone who applies but please bear with us as this make take some time. If your availability changes please contact Tia Begum tiabegum@youngvic.org so we can withdraw your expression of interest.