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4 news London’s Royal Docks to become cultural quarter Giverny masso Plans have been revealed for the Royal Docks in east London to become a new cultural quarter, generating thousands of jobs. London mayor Sadiq Khan and mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz outlined their vision earlier this month for the Royal Docks to become a place where “creative work is made, new ideas are formed and cultural participation is open to all”. According to Khan, the new cultural quarter has the potential to deliver 35,000 jobs, 4,000 new homes and more than £5 billion of local investment within the next 20 years. Work has already begun on a range of creative spaces, including the Factory Project, which will transform former Tate and Lyle Sugar warehouses into an event space, community workspaces and music and film studios. Planning permission has also been granted for a rotating theatre, which will house Dutch musical Soldier of Orange. The Royal Docks is also establishing a Creative Partners Network, a scheme to support local creatives by encouraging partnerships, and a Creative Connectors Scheme, to involve local people in its plans. The announcement was made at the launch of live performance and events programme Royal Docks Originals, which takes place throughout October. Community-led immersive promenade performance Arrival leads the programme of events. Running from October 21 to 23, Arrival will be accompanied by more than 20 music, dance, art, theatre, film and photography commissions. The drive to make the Royal Docks a cultural destination is being led by the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone, a joint partnership between the Mayor of London, London Borough of Newham and the London Economic Action Partnership. Fiaz, who is also co-chair of the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone board, said: “We are delighted to announce the plans to transform Royal Docks into London’s most exciting place for cultural and artistic production. With a vibrant and growing community in a borough that has the youngest population of anywhere in the country and is the most diverse, we have a very rich creative culture with huge business potential.” She added: “We’re very excited that Royal Docks Originals festival is the beginning of this new vision and will host both local and international artists, showcasing exceptional talent in the area. I hope you enjoy the programme of events we have put on this October – it’s a taste of more exciting things to come.” Khan described the cultural zone as “the latest example of London roaring back to life with culture leading the way in our city’s economic recovery”. Epstein Theatre in Liverpool to reopen under new management Elms is director of arts PR company Bill Elms Associates, and a theatre producer under Bill Elms Productions, and becomes the artistic and communications director at the Epstein Theatre. A new management team has been appointed to run the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool, who will operate it as a variety venue. Epstein Entertainments Ltd is a joint venture between Liverpool producers Bill Elms, Chantelle Nolan, and Jane Joseph. The theatre has been run by administrators since 2017, when the previous operator went into administration. It had continued to offer music, comedy and drama but closed in 2020 due to the pandemic. The 380-seat venue will now reopen this year. Nolan is currently general manager at St Helens Theatre Royal and is the new artistic and operations director at the Epstein Theatre. Along with her mother Joseph, she also runs Regal Entertainments Ltd, which has run St Helens Theatre Royal for the past 20 years. Oxford School of Drama latest to reduce audition fees Matthew Hemley Bill Elms Productions, St Helens Theatre Royal and Regal Entertainments Ltd will continue to run as normal. Elms said: “I’m delighted to have been successful in the joint tender for the lease of the Epstein Theatre. This is a venue I have loved with a passion for so many years and is one of Liverpool’s leading historical and cultural gems. I’m excited to play a part in both strengthening and reaffirming its future.” Nolan said she had performed at the venue as a child: “Performing there helped fuel my love of theatre, but little could I have known then that I’d be running the venue one day.” In July 2011, a £1 million refurbishment of the theatre was completed and it was renamed the Epstein Theatre. atthew Hemley The Oxford School of Drama ( pictured right ) has become the latest to slash its audition fees, in an effort to remove the “financial barriers” experienced by some applicants. Previously, the school charged all applicants a £45 fee to audition, but this has now been reduced to £15 for the initial self-tape audition, with a further £30 payable for those who are invited to the recall auditions. The recalls are held in person at the school and include a workshop alongside an individual audition with the panel. Executive director Liz Wilson said: “We want to make sure everyone can get access to training, so we’re working hard to ensure that the financial barriers for some applicants can be removed.” In addition, the school offers a meanstested audition-fee waiver, open to anyone, which is now in its second year. Last year, the Guildford School of Acting reduced fees for the first round of auditions by more than 70%, aimed at improving access and increase diversity. The school’s flat-rate audition fee of £55 was reduced to £15 for first-round auditions. Anyone who progresses to a recall workshop day will pay an additional £30. RADA has also reduced its audition fees. Quentin Lake October 21 2021 Actors, comedians and writers including Michael Sheen, Katy Brand and Neil Gaiman are backing #BreaktheGlass, a campaign to help marginalised young people break into the arts. The campaign was launched by charity Arts Emergency, which provides guidance and opportunities to help under-represented young people get into creative careers. Festivals Edinburgh, the umbrella body for the city’s festivals, has announced plans to help the city achieve its goal of reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2030. It has published Taking Action on Climate Change, which outlines how the 11 festivals are collectively accelerating their responses to climate change. Campaigners fighting to save Dudley Hippodrome have called on housing and communities secretary Michael Gove, to intervene over plans to demolish the building. Its owner, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, submitted a planning application earlier this year to demolish the theatre. ALSO ONLINE appointments Plans to relocate Derby Theatre to a purpose-built facility on the site of the former Assembly Rooms are being considered by the local council. Derby City Council and the University of Derby, which owns Derby Theatre, are currently looking at options to move the organisation. Nina Millns has won the ETPEP Award 2021 for new UK playwrights who have worked in the theatre industry. The actor and writer won for her play Service, and will receive a prize of £6,000, a rehearsal workshop, dramaturgy support from the Finborough Theatre – which runs the award – and a staged reading of the play. Julia Samuels, the co-artistic director and chief executive of 20 Stories High, is to step down after 15 years. Salisbury-based Wiltshire Creative has become an associate partner of theatre network Ramps on the Moon. Jane Spiers is to step down from her role as chief executive of Aberdeen Performing Arts in 2022, after 10 years in the post.
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October 21 2021 5 thestage.co.uk/news Theatremaker launches talent agency dedicated to neurodivergent artists Giverny Masso A talent agency for neurodivergent actors and creatives is being launched, with the aim of improving visibility and negotiating better working agreements for the artists on its books. Writer, director, sound designer and performer Adam Welsh is behind Divergent Talent Group, which he believes is the first talent agency in the UK dedicated exclusively to representing neurodivergent practitioners across theatre, TV and film. Welsh, who has ADHD, decided to set up the agency after experiencing his own difficulties working in the industry. “I was a theatremaker, creating and producing work, and I could no longer survive as a creative in an industry that wasn’t built for me,” Welsh told The Stage. “I want to do this because I feel energised to address some of the issues I faced when I was an actor and a creative.” He said he had heard “horror stories” about the way neurodivergent artists had been treated. These include contracts that did not protect the specific needs of neurodivergent artists and production companies withdrawing job offers because the cost of hiring creative enablers to support neurodivergent artists was considered too expensive. Divergent Talent Group hopes to protect the needs of artists by ensuring that adjustments for neurodivergent performers and creatives are written into contracts from the beginning. Adjustments could include ensuring a performer has their own dressing room to avoid overstimulation or hiring a creative enabler to support a neurodivergent artist. Welsh is in talks with other agencies and is also fundraising for the start-up costs of the business. He added: “The creative industries can’t survive without neurodiversity. Neurodivergent talent needs representation in both senses of the word: authentic and fair representation on stage, screen and in literary works; and to be represented by agents who understand our specific needs, who will champion and advocate and fight for neurodiversity within the creative space.” In August, a guide to supporting neurodiversity in the arts was published by new Manchester-based organisation Every Brain. The guide aims to raise awareness about neurodiversity and provide practical ideas on how organisations can support people who are neurodivergent. Neurodiversity refers to variations in the brain, and types of neurodivergence include autistic-spectrum conditions, learning disabilities, Tourette’s, ADHD, personality disorders and trauma-related mental illness. Adam Welsh Mental health peer-support platform launched Imagine Theatre launches staff well-being scheme Giverny Masso An online peer-support platform to help performers maintain good mental health and well-being has been launched. Samwell – which stands for Supporting Artist Mental Wellbeing – will enable members to create profiles, connect with each other and join and create peer support groups, with a targeted online course available on how to manage a peer-support group. The not-for-profit initiative will also offer members access to online events, talks, courses, articles by experts and educational resources. Performer Helen Jeffery and business consultant Andy Thomas launched Samwell after commissioning a survey during lockdown to see what support female performers felt they most needed. Peer support was the top answer, identified by 58% of the 219 respondents to the survey. The poll also found that 92% had struggled with anxiety, 80% had faced depression and 12% had experienced suicidal thoughts. Performers were invited to test the platform from July, with Samwell officially launching to the public this month. Jeffery, who is co-founding director of Samwell, told The Stage: “In a nutshell, it’s an online platform where there will be events, articles, courses, opportunities to meet other performers, connect with people, access resources and education all about the common things that cause poor mental well-being in actors. “Let’s not wait for somebody to have a breakdown, let’s address what some of the issues are.” Jeffery said that the platform aims to help actors with issues including building resilience, coping with rejection, dealing with finances, body image and knowing their rights and responsibilities. Some of the experts who have contributed to Samwell so far include director Jude Kelly, intimacy expert Vanessa Coffey, psychotherapist Thomas Midgley and psychologist and mental-health consultant Sarah Feltham. On joining Samwell, members will be directed to a group for either female, male or gender non-conforming performers, each of which has a community manager who works for Samwell. Anyone who identifies as a performer, including actors and comedians, can join the platform. Membership of Samwell is free for the first month, followed by a £4.99 monthly subscription fee that will be reinvested into the platform. Andy Thomas and Helen Jeffery angus matheson Matthew Hemley Pantomime producer Imagine Theatre has launched a well-being programme to support more than 500 employees, including performers and backstage staff, as they return to work over the Christmas period. Imagine Cares comprises free-to-access podcasts and webinars aimed at helping employees across its 18 pantomimes this year, as they adjust to working life again following the lockdowns of the pandemic. Imagine Theatre business and marketing manager Sarah Boden said: : “We wanted our staff to know that we’re thinking about them, they are supported and we care about their welfare and well-being. “The objective of the programme is not to provide solutions, but to empower the listener/watcher to have permission to think, to give them time to reflect on themselves, to recognise signs in themselves of how they may be feeling and most importantly to know that we understand how hard this has been. It’s okay to not be okay – because at Imagine head office we feel exactly the same. We’ve been through it, and it’s affected us all too. It’s been incredibly tough on us all in different ways.” Boden told The Stage that Imagine Theatre wanted to acknowledge that some people would find returning to work difficult. “It might not be on day one of rehearsals, it might hit people on day three, or it might hit people as we go into tech or as we open, and that is fine as we are all going through it,” she said. Boden said the company wanted to encourage people to talk to each other, and share if and when they were feeling bad, so that it could be acknowledged. She said the company would encourage lunchtime walks, or a company ‘car park’ where problems can be shared and ‘parked’ each morning. In addition, there will be a pre-recorded podcast led by creative coach and consultant Auriel Majumdar, who also hosts a webinar, aimed at helping people ease back into working life. A third webinar will equip particular members of staff with the skills needed to support others and guide them to appropriate support. Majumar said: “The pandemic has been an intense experience for everyone and, of course, has hit the UK theatre [industry] especially hard. As we emerge after being isolated for so long, it’s no wonder that people have mixed feelings about getting back to work – part excitement and part uncertainty and trepidation. “As a creative coach, it’s my job to help people talk about these mixed feelings so they can be free to create and make the brilliant pantomimes we all enjoy.”

October 21 2021

5

thestage.co.uk/news

Theatremaker launches talent agency dedicated to neurodivergent artists

Giverny Masso

A talent agency for neurodivergent actors and creatives is being launched, with the aim of improving visibility and negotiating better working agreements for the artists on its books.

Writer, director, sound designer and performer Adam Welsh is behind Divergent Talent Group, which he believes is the first talent agency in the UK dedicated exclusively to representing neurodivergent practitioners across theatre, TV and film. Welsh, who has ADHD, decided to set up the agency after experiencing his own difficulties working in the industry.

“I was a theatremaker, creating and producing work, and I could no longer survive as a creative in an industry that wasn’t built for me,” Welsh told The Stage. “I want to do this because I feel energised to address some of the issues I faced when I was an actor and a creative.”

He said he had heard “horror stories” about the way neurodivergent artists had been treated. These include contracts that did not protect the specific needs of neurodivergent artists and production companies withdrawing job offers because the cost of hiring creative enablers to support neurodivergent artists was considered too expensive.

Divergent Talent Group hopes to protect the needs of artists by ensuring that adjustments for neurodivergent performers and creatives are written into contracts from the beginning. Adjustments could include ensuring a performer has their own dressing room to avoid overstimulation or hiring a creative enabler to support a neurodivergent artist. Welsh is in talks with other agencies and is also fundraising for the start-up costs of the business.

He added: “The creative industries can’t survive without neurodiversity. Neurodivergent talent needs representation in both senses of the word: authentic and fair representation on stage, screen and in literary works; and to be represented by agents who understand our specific needs, who will champion and advocate and fight for neurodiversity within the creative space.”

In August, a guide to supporting neurodiversity in the arts was published by new Manchester-based organisation Every Brain. The guide aims to raise awareness about neurodiversity and provide practical ideas on how organisations can support people who are neurodivergent.

Neurodiversity refers to variations in the brain, and types of neurodivergence include autistic-spectrum conditions, learning disabilities, Tourette’s, ADHD, personality disorders and trauma-related mental illness.

Adam Welsh

Mental health peer-support platform launched

Imagine Theatre launches staff well-being scheme

Giverny Masso

An online peer-support platform to help performers maintain good mental health and well-being has been launched.

Samwell – which stands for Supporting Artist Mental Wellbeing – will enable members to create profiles, connect with each other and join and create peer support groups, with a targeted online course available on how to manage a peer-support group.

The not-for-profit initiative will also offer members access to online events, talks, courses, articles by experts and educational resources.

Performer Helen Jeffery and business consultant Andy Thomas launched Samwell after commissioning a survey during lockdown to see what support female performers felt they most needed. Peer support was the top answer, identified by 58% of the 219 respondents to the survey.

The poll also found that 92% had struggled with anxiety, 80% had faced depression and 12% had experienced suicidal thoughts.

Performers were invited to test the platform from July, with Samwell officially launching to the public this month.

Jeffery, who is co-founding director of Samwell, told The Stage: “In a nutshell, it’s an online platform where there will be events, articles, courses, opportunities to meet other performers, connect with people, access resources and education all about the common things that cause poor mental well-being in actors.

“Let’s not wait for somebody to have a breakdown, let’s address what some of the issues are.”

Jeffery said that the platform aims to help actors with issues including building resilience, coping with rejection, dealing with finances, body image and knowing their rights and responsibilities.

Some of the experts who have contributed to Samwell so far include director Jude Kelly, intimacy expert Vanessa Coffey, psychotherapist Thomas Midgley and psychologist and mental-health consultant Sarah Feltham.

On joining Samwell, members will be directed to a group for either female, male or gender non-conforming performers, each of which has a community manager who works for Samwell. Anyone who identifies as a performer, including actors and comedians, can join the platform. Membership of Samwell is free for the first month, followed by a £4.99 monthly subscription fee that will be reinvested into the platform.

Andy Thomas and

Helen Jeffery angus matheson

Matthew Hemley

Pantomime producer Imagine Theatre has launched a well-being programme to support more than 500 employees, including performers and backstage staff, as they return to work over the Christmas period.

Imagine Cares comprises free-to-access podcasts and webinars aimed at helping employees across its 18 pantomimes this year, as they adjust to working life again following the lockdowns of the pandemic.

Imagine Theatre business and marketing manager Sarah Boden said: : “We wanted our staff to know that we’re thinking about them, they are supported and we care about their welfare and well-being.

“The objective of the programme is not to provide solutions, but to empower the listener/watcher to have permission to think, to give them time to reflect on themselves, to recognise signs in themselves of how they may be feeling and most importantly to know that we understand how hard this has been. It’s okay to not be okay – because at Imagine head office we feel exactly the same. We’ve been through it, and it’s affected us all too. It’s been incredibly tough on us all in different ways.”

Boden told The Stage that Imagine Theatre wanted to acknowledge that some people would find returning to work difficult. “It might not be on day one of rehearsals, it might hit people on day three, or it might hit people as we go into tech or as we open, and that is fine as we are all going through it,” she said.

Boden said the company wanted to encourage people to talk to each other, and share if and when they were feeling bad, so that it could be acknowledged. She said the company would encourage lunchtime walks, or a company ‘car park’ where problems can be shared and ‘parked’ each morning.

In addition, there will be a pre-recorded podcast led by creative coach and consultant Auriel Majumdar, who also hosts a webinar, aimed at helping people ease back into working life.

A third webinar will equip particular members of staff with the skills needed to support others and guide them to appropriate support.

Majumar said: “The pandemic has been an intense experience for everyone and, of course, has hit the UK theatre [industry] especially hard. As we emerge after being isolated for so long, it’s no wonder that people have mixed feelings about getting back to work – part excitement and part uncertainty and trepidation.

“As a creative coach, it’s my job to help people talk about these mixed feelings so they can be free to create and make the brilliant pantomimes we all enjoy.”

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