The Watermill Theatre & Wildcard launch new artist development programme for emerging theatre companies
Photo credit: Philip Tull
A new artist development programme is in the works, which will support emerging theatre companies on their first endeavours into the industry. LAUNCHPAD will be partnered by The Watermill Theatre and Associate Company, Wildcard, in providing four companies with mentorship, professional support and free rehearsal space.
The successful companies will also receive a cash investment of up to £2000 to develop a new piece of work. They will be offered the opportunity to have a week’s worth of rehearsal space at either Wildcard Studios in London or The Watermill Theatre for free between May and June 2021 and undertake research/development under mentorship.
Associate Director (New Work and Artist Development) for The Watermill, Abigail Pickard Price, said: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Associate Company Wildcard on LAUNCHPAD. Several years ago, a young theatre company, Wildcard spent a week in The Watermill rehearsal room developing their ingenious ELECTROLYTE. Since then, they have gone on to take the industry by storm with this piece and continue to move from strength to strength. To now working together to help develop the work of four new companies feels like the perfect partnership. Now more than ever we need to be providing opportunities for wealth of new voices to enter the industry; we hope that LAUNCHPAD will provide valuable support both financially but also through mentorship and space for four new companies to take flight into the industry. We can’t wait to meet the new artists who will come through our doors.”
Having come from a similar programme, Wildcard have put teams together both at Wildcard Studios and at The Watermill Theatre who will, through LAUNCHPAD, offer artistic guidance where needed, along with support in production and providing networking opportunities that will hopefully help to establish future opportunities for the works that they produce.
Applications for LAUNCHPAD are open until 1 April. Full information and application details available here.
