FEATURES

TELEGRAPH REVIEW

For the Telegraph Review in September last year I interviewed set designer Es Devlin about her work.

Here’s a link to the feature. She’s a visionary that works on opera, theatre and large scale pop shows. Look out for her work at the closing ceremony of the Olympics and also in the upcoming Batman show at the O2.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/7968375/EsDevlin-Get-set-go.html

 

GUARDIAN EXPERIENCE

A feature I did for the Guardian in early 2010.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/27/stalked-by-first-love

A POUND OF TALENT

A lack of support and funding faces young directors today, but Lewisham theatre company Stonecrabs is their shining light.

Last yearAlex Crampton, from Hackney, gave up her full-time well-paid head-hunting job in her second year since graduating from university, investing £1,500 of her own money, to concentrate on becoming a theatre director. ‘It was a really big decision for me as its life-changing and I wasn’t sure if I should give up my full-time job, but I realised I needed to just get into it and do as much as possible.’ There’s no security, slim job prospects, a lot of work and next to no funding available. Crazy? Perhaps, but hundreds of young people every year jump into the underfunded world of theatre directing.

Alex is one of eight directors who have just showcased their work at The Albany theatre in Deptford, south east London. These new directors were lucky; they were picked to take part in Stonecrabs theatre company’s three month directors training course, but each person involved knows how difficult it is to get support and funding as new, young directors.

Investing a large sum of her own money in her first London production, Gut Girls, at The Space, in Millwall in February 2009, Alex had to split box office sales with the theatre 50/50 which meant she lost out heavily. This is a familiar story to other new directors, especially with most theatres charging at least £1,000 a week rental to anyone wanting to use the space.

Stonecrabs’ co-Artistic Director Kwong Loke believes that their course is one of a kind in London: “The Genesis project run by the Young Vic do workshops for a few days at a time and master-classes, but I don’t think anywhere has the substantial three-four months training, completely free that ends in actually showcasing a piece of work.” Kwong also recognises that funding ‘is a big NO’ for new directors, and apart from one-off cash awards such as the JMK award, given to one budding director a year, there is hardly any support out there.

Advice on how to become a director from the experts is clear – Bouffes du Nord founder and director Peter Brook says: ‘You must first call yourself a director, and then you must do it’. The Genesis young directors project, run by the Young Vic, is an invaluable network for young directors, offering arts forums, classes and contacts. But nothing replaces actually directing a show and this needs money.

Hannah Khalil, a writer and director, is currently working on her new play Plan D at the Tristan Bates theatre in Covent Garden. Having directed pieces previously she knows the struggle to get funding, especially from the Arts Council: “the Arts Council says you have to pay an equity wage for the actors for a week, which is all very well, but that means, if you have seven actors, for a two week run you have to pay £35,000 before you’ve even started. The Arts Council take one look at a figure like that and say – we’re not paying you that.”

The Arts Council maintain they provide funding for individual directors  through Grants for the Arts, but the Arts Council’s recent measures to centralise their grants system in the hope it will help save money, doesn’t bode well for inexperienced directors trying to get some cash for their first production. The current prospects for new directors will make the most talented baulk at the thought of even trying. With that in mind – where could our Peter Brooks of the future end up? In headhunting jobs?

Places to get funding and help in London for New Directors

Genesis project – run by the Young Vic it has a huge network of new, aspiring directors, all in touch with each other and is a brilliant resource when looking for a cast, a theatre, or even someone’s brains to pick.

JMK award – this is a yearly award giving £12,000 to the winning proposal, who can then spend the money on a production performed at Battersea Arts Centre. A runner-up prize of £2,000 also exists

Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre trust award – A yearly one-off prize usually for a non-traditional production. The winner receives £32,000 and there are two runners-up research and development grants of £2,000 .

Hackney Theatre Partnership – a collective of theatres and arts centres in Hackney, Tower Hamlets and east London. They give advice and try to support directors as much as possible in their early years.

Stonecrabs Theatre Company – A theatre company run by directors. It runs a yearly three month directing course culminating in a showcase of work at a professional theatre.

Jerwood Directors Award – funded by the Jerwood charitable trust, this award gives a bursary to a director wanting to produce a piece for the Clare at the Young Vic.