Kiln Theatre and Mountview today announce a new joint scholarship that will provide access for a talented Theatre Production and Scenic Arts participant from Kiln Theatre’s Production Arts training programme. The scholarship is aimed at young people from backgrounds underrepresented in our industry. The inaugural recipient is Mikayla Moxam, who has been awarded a full two-year scholarship to study Scenic Art and Prop Making.
Kiln Theatre’s ‘Act One Beginners’ Production Arts Course took place in May – August 2019 and covered an introduction to theatre lighting, sound and stage management, resulting in some participants being offered summer work placements at the Edinburgh Fringe and White Light Ltd; this scholarship follows Mountview’s and other organisations’ workshops and mentorships as part of the wider course. It provided invaluable hands-on opportunities to young people aged 16-25 interested in starting a backstage career, and the two institutions are now collaborating to award Mikayla a fully-funded place at Mountview. This year’s scholarship covers all tuition fees, alongside an additional contribution towards living expenses from a private donor.
Receiving her scholarship, Mikayla Moxam said, “I feel that Mountview is an environment I will thrive in and I am excited to be around like-minded young people with the same aspirations. I am looking forward to building amazing sets and props to be used in live theatre shows, which is very exciting, and to working alongside industry professionals who I can learn the ropes from and make priceless connections with – who knows who I’ll meet?! Kiln Theatre is a great place for young people who are looking to get into the industry and offers a very judgement-free and supportive safe space to learn and grow as an individual. I owe many thanks to the Kiln, as without doing the Stage Management course last year I would not be on my current journey in technical backstage theatre, and for that I am very grateful. It is a great course that exposed me to careers I would never have come across in school and university.”
Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre Indhu Rubasingham added, “Four years ago Stephen Jameson and I were discussing the routes into backstage careers in theatre and the lack of diversity in both the industry and the students. How could we address this? Stephen kindly offered a scholarship to a young person we could identify at Kiln; we obviously leapt at this opportunity. Thanks to the brilliant generosity of a private donor we were able to introduce a number of young people to backstage areas in Lighting, Sound, Design and Stage Management. I am really proud of what we have been able to achieve in our debut year of Production Arts and hope that the programme will continue to contribute to, and encourage, better representation behind the scenes for future generations of theatremakers.”
Mountview’s Artistic Director and Principal Stephen Jameson commented, “We are so excited to welcome Mikayla, and can’t wait to see what incredible work she will do as a creative practitioner.”
Executive Director Sarah Preece added “Mountview is committed to making drama training accessible to everyone, and this new joint scholarship with Kiln Theatre is a brilliant chance to give talented Production and Scenic Arts students a start in the industry.”
