The New Vic Theatre, based in Staffordshire, is offering three companies the opportunity to be an Associate Artist at the theatre-in-the-round for one year from September 2021, as part of Kiln Associates, their artist development scheme.
The successful candidates will each receive an investment of £5,000 from the theatre as part of the scheme, to help support the artists develop ideas and practice across the course of the year.
Designed to nurture the development of independent companies with the aim of building a richer and more dynamic arts sector locally and nationally, the New Vic are inviting companies to apply for the scheme who feel that they can both benefit from, and actively contribute to, a relationship with the New Vic and the creative ecology in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. Open to local, regional and national companies, successful applicants will have access to development space within the theatre building during the year, advice and support from New Vic staff and opportunities to observe work/rehearsals at the theatre, in addition to the investment of £5,000 for each company.
New Vic Associate Director, Vicki Amedume, who will be leading the scheme, said: “The Kiln Associates programme offers an opportunity for companies spanning all types of performance. We are keen that the scheme represents the range of artists in the UK and are encouraging applications from those who are currently underrepresented in the performing arts sector. We’re offering an investment of £5,000 for successful applicants, not as a commission, but because we wanted the scheme to offer space for companies to spend time building artistic ideas or developing practice in a creative space. We hope this will help allow companies to develop themselves, and as a result, our sector, after a challenging period of time.”
New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins said: “We originally launched the Kiln Associates programme in 2016 and have worked with a number of companies since to support their development, sharing expertise, experience and resources. This year, we felt strongly that we wanted to open up our associates programme further afield, continuing to offer local artists the opportunity to work with us, but also to invite companies from across our region and nationally to work with us. Our location gives us a strong sense of place and increasingly, our theatremaking has a national and an international dimension and we feel that this is an exciting opportunity for us to help make a meaningful contribution to the recovery of our sector after such an intense year.”
Alongside the Kiln Associates scheme, the New Vic will also launch the Kiln Network; a new programme offering talks, advice, inspiration and in-person and virtual gathering places for local performance-based creatives and industry professionals. Open to performing arts professionals based in the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent area, the network will be launched in May.
For more details on the Kiln Associates programme, including how to apply, visit newvictheatre.org.uk
