This role is reserved for a person from the global majority
Fee: £150/day – estimated 15 full days or equivalent hours where 1 day is equivalent to 8 hours
Contract: Freelance/self-employed
Location: Pre-show meetings virtual/hybrid, rehearsals London/Manchester (in-person attendance required). Where in-person work is required, we will cover hotels, travel and per diems for people outside a reasonable/accessible commute.
Key dates (provisional):
Pre show meetings: (2 days):
- w/c 11 September: Initial ideas meeting, online (0.25 day)
- 16 November: Script review with Director, online (1 day)
- w/c 7 December: Paper Tech, online (0.75 day)
Rehearsals: (6 days):
- 27 – 29 Feb (10am-6pm) London, (location TBC)(3 days)
- 4 – 8 March (10am-6pm) Manchester (location TBC) (3 days)
Show week: (7 days):
- Monday 11 March, 10am-6pm
- Tuesday 12 March, 10am-6pm
- Wednesday 13 March, 10am-6pm
- Thursday 14 March, 10am-6pm
- Friday 15 March, 10am-6pm, 7pm-10.30pm
- Saturday 16 March, 10am-6pm, 7pm-10.30pm
The Production
The production (name TBD) comprises 4x 30 minute mono/dialogues by disabled performers with integrated access elements. They explore themes of relationships, culture, dis/connection, intimacy and identity. It is the culmination of our Launchpad disabled artist development programme. Please read more about the pieces here [LINK].
The Role
We are looking either for an Assistant Director or a Trainee Assistant Director to work with our director, Jamie Hale. With either role, we are looking to support someone in developing their skills and expertise and helping them develop their career in the wider theatre industry. We will work to shape the role around the person we appoint, including their pre-existing experience and skills.
This role is specifically reserved for a disabled person from the global majority. Three of the four artists performing are from the global majority, while the director is not. The rest of the creative team has not yet been chosen.
For the Assistant Director role we are looking for someone who has worked as an Assistant Director previously, but who identifies themselves as early in their career and who can see how this role would support them in developing their career as an Assistant Director on other shows.
For the Trainee Assistant Director role we are looking for someone who has worked (either paid or unpaid) on at least one theatre production, and who wants to move into working as an Assistant Director, but who has no previous experience working as an Assistant Director on a paid production.
We will only be able to appoint one of these roles, so please indicate which you are applying for. Regardless of which role we appoint to, you will be credited as Assistant Director on the show at HOME Manchester. When we are appointing to the role, we will be looking for candidates who can demonstrate that they would be able to bring a strong, positive vision to the showcase, and either have the skills or be able to develop the skills to take on the below tasks, but will not necessarily appoint the most experienced candidate. This is because we want to ensure that whoever is appointed is taking on a role that will work as a stepping stone for them in their future careers.
Where tasks are new to the Assistant Director or Trainee Assistant Director, we will work with them to ensure that they’re supported in understanding how to carry out the role:
As Trainee Assistant Director / Assistant Director, you may be asked to:
Practical tasks
- Attend meetings before, during, and after the production
- Attend rehearsals and performances
- Be on top of the rehearsal schedule, as the first person people will ask about the schedule, and communicate any changes to this between the Director, the Lead Producer, and the cast and crew
- Make sure that everyone is at the rehearsals on time and ready to work
- Make sure that everything is set up in the rehearsal room each day
- Be a point of connection between the performers, the crew, and the venue staff
- Work with the venue to help stage manage the show as required
Creative tasks
- Give the director your thoughts about each piece to support them in making sure that the narrative of each piece comes through clearly (known as ‘dramaturgy’)
- Help the director work out where performers should be on stage and how they should move (known as ‘movement and blocking’)
- Give the director your observations on how performers are delivering their lines
- Take notes from the director for the actors (e.g. about their acting choices, adjustments, and corrections) and give those notes to the actors
- Lead rehearsals with individual performers or full rehearsals if the director is absent
If you need access support with any of the tasks involved in this role, we will work with you to ensure you have the necessary support in place and may be able to fund this.
To Apply
All applicants must be people from the global majority and/or people who have experienced racism or racist barriers in building their careers, and must also be disabled (to see what that means to CRIPtic, click here).
To apply, please send an email to team@cripticarts.org. This should contain:
- A one-page CV (up to a 4 min video in BSL or up to one page in written English). Your CV doesn’t need to only contain theatre work if you have less experience in theatre, as there are a number of transferable skills.
- A cover letter (up to a 4 min video in BSL or up to one page in written English)
- Answers to the below questions. Please answer each of them in 250 words at most, or a 2.5 minute video in English or BSL.
- CRIPtic 2023 is a showcase celebrating the art of disabled artists. Why do you want to be Assistant Director on this programme, and what do you think you can bring?
- Thinking of a play you’ve watched online or in person, tell us a bit about your thoughts on how it was directed and what you would do differently
- What qualities do you think you bring to this role and why are they important to you as an Assistant Director?
The deadline for applications is 5pm on 28th June.
We are interviewing for this position on a rolling basis. We may hold interviews and appoint the role before the application deadline. We therefore advise you to apply quickly. We will update the CRIPtic Arts website if we fill this position before the application deadline.
We are also particularly keen to hear from applicants who cannot work without wheelchair access, BSL interpreters (when working with non-signers), or 1:1 support, as part of our commitment to ensuring we are creating opportunities for those whose needs may not be met elsewhere.
