The Mercury Theatre in Colchester has announced the initial cohort of mentees for the return of their acclaimed mentoring programme Mercury Creatives, funded by Arts Council England, Essex County Council and Tendring District Council for the next three years. The theatre will also continue to welcome applications to the cohort throughout the programme.
The Mercury Creatives Mentoring Programme is a one-of-a-kind, free business support and mentoring programme for early career creative businesses and arts freelancers working in the arts and creative industries across Colchester, Harlow, Tendring and Chelmsford and the wider Essex and Eastern Region who are experiencing barriers in skills development or looking to progress their career to the next stage.
The 57 mentees that form the initial cohort announced today are The Actors Training Academy, Amanda Alexander, Emily Alice Ambrose, Hayley Anderson, Jess Ashley, Chloe Atkinson, Kate Austin, Zara Ball, Be More Dandelion CIC, Esme Bennett, Ian Britten-Hull, Katryn Patricia Cain, Kate Cavill, Giulia Cipriani, Andrew (AJ) Deane, Ryan Denton, Katie Deverell, Joanna Dodd, Laura Edwards, Ellen Francis, Elsa Habben, Jack Hadden, Shannon Hannah, Tilly Hawkins, Ignition Arts Theatre Company CIC, Peter Imms, Clare James, Namoo Chae Lee, Craig Mather, Elliott McMillan, Maria Messias Mendes, Mercy Theatre Collective CIC, Joss-Paul Miller, Mark Milligan, Page to Panto Ltd, Emma Pallett, Julia Pargin, Play Make Theatre, Mark Potter, Natasha Richards-Crisp, Charlotte Roche, Ben Scott, Megan Sharman, Rebecca Skingley, SPIT Theatre Company, Deanna Strasse, Talkshow CIC, Reuben van Tankeren, Alex Terry, Darcey Thacker, Gurpreet Tumber, Emma Vieceli, Nikki Watts, Caleb White, Wise Ram Theatre CIC, Wilfred Wong and Kim Wright.
The initial mentees cohort are from across the region with 30% from areas of low engagement, and 21% of the cohort identify as disabled. Support will include business and finance planning, pitching, investment and fundraising training and guidance and networking and masterclasses from industry leaders.
The programme has a mentor cohort of 44 established performers, producers, directors, playwrights, dramaturgs, investment and fundraising experts, access specialists, Executives, and CEOs from across the industry. 18% of the mentoring cohort identify as disabled.
Mercury Creatives will be coordinated from a central hub at the Mercury Theatre with partner hubs at Harlow Playhouse, Princes Theatre Clacton and Chelmsford Theatre.
The economic contribution of the UK creative industries grew by 6.8% last year to reach £124.6bn with an increase of 15% in employment since Covid. The creative industries are one of the most successful parts of our economy however business development support is often hard to come by for freelancers and SME’s.
Mercury Creatives returns following the 2020-23 pilot programme funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with additional funding support from Arts Council England (ACE) and Colchester Borough Council. The pilot programme welcomed 112 beneficiaries and created 124 new jobs and brought over £2.2 million of new investment into the region as a direct result of support from the programme.
Antony Stuart-Hicks, Senior Producer at Mercury Theatre, said, “Mercury Creatives strives to be its own network of peers who critique, inspire and challenge one another to be the best they can, whilst collaborating and developing exciting new work that brings people together to create life-changing creative experiences. Skills development will be tiered to allow the widest access with some only wanting to attend events, masterclasses and conferences whilst others who are looking for or need the more structured format of mentoring or skills workshops can apply for mentoring support.”
Steve Mannix, Executive Director & CEO of Mercury Theatre, said, “We are thrilled to be able to continue Mercury Creatives. We identified the need within Essex and chose to work with trusted local partners who are as committed to growing local talent as we are. With the ongoing issues of skills shortages in the industry we want to make Essex a thriving hub for the arts and show people that opportunity and success can be had in the county – Mercury Creatives will enable and support early careers creatives to develop sustainable businesses, gain funding and thrive in our industry.”
Ivan Henderson, Tendring District Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism, said: “We are excited to support the Mercury Creatives Programme in Tendring, which will see the Princes Theatre, which is run by TDC, work in partnership with the Mercury Theatre. This project will help to create opportunities for people to develop their skills, raise aspirations and boost the creative and cultural economy in Tendring. I’m really looking forward to seeing the development of those who take part in the programme.”
