Applications are now open for the Genesis Future Directors Award 2018, and this year we are specifically looking to strengthen our commitment to diversity by calling for applications from D/deaf or disabled emerging directors, and emerging directors who want to work with a cast that includes D/deaf or disabled actors. If you're interested in applying please read on for guidelines and a step by step overview of the application process! 

The Genesis Future Directors Award at the Young Vic 2018

The close relationship between the Genesis Foundation and the Young Vic dates back over more than 10 years. The generous support we have received has been crucial to establishing and maintaining our work with directors which is at the heart of everything we do.

The Genesis Future Directors Award enables us to identify, support and nurture a director to explore their craft and stage a production in the Clare Theatre. The Award is aimed at young and / or emerging directors who have demonstrated a talent for, and commitment to, directing but have had limited opportunity to make work.

THE AWARD

The Young Vic has a deep commitment to diversity. This is seen in the shows we create and present, as well as in the people we work with. We know that UK theatres have a long way to go to engage with and speak to the full range of experience of the people living in this country. We want to do what we can to change that.

To help us be as inclusive as possible, our programming aims to embrace diversity, difference, ambition and excellence. In 2018, the Genesis Future Directors Award will be an opportunity for the Young Vic to meet and work with D/deaf and disabled directors, designer and / or actors.

We would like to receive proposals from:

• D/deaf or disabled emerging directors
• Emerging directors who want to work with a cast that includes D/deaf or disabled actors

Non-disabled directors should be able to demonstrate a commitment to diversity and access in their previous work, even if they have not yet directed a piece of fully integrated theatre.

The selected director will have the opportunity to rehearse for four weeks on a play for the Clare Theatre. The production will be part of the Young Vic’s programme and will be fully supported by the Young Vic’s creative, administrative and production teams. The director will receive a fee and the actors will be paid a Young Vic company wage. The award will conclude with 12 performances to a paying audience in spring 2018.

The director will be supported by a full creative team including producer, designer, lighting designer, sound designer and stage management team, as well as a casting director. They will also be mentored through the full preparation and rehearsal process by the core creative team at the Young Vic, as well as an external mentor.

Where appropriate, directors should consider creative approaches to making the show accessible.

The emerging director (whether D/deaf, disabled or non-disabled) should:

• Have already demonstrated a talent for and a commitment to directing
• Have directed at least one professional production but are at an early stage of their development as a director
• Demonstrated a commitment to originality and a desire to expand their understanding of theatre practice
• Be fascinated by the actor’s process and the director’s role in it
• Be resident in the UK
• Be available to direct the production in spring 2018

You do not have to be a member of the Young Vic Genesis Directors Network to apply but we encourage you to join.  You can find more information on the Directors Program at the Young Vic here.

HOW TO APPLY

STAGE ONE

Please choose a play and provide a single A4 page that covers the following:

• Your initial ideas for a production of the play
• Your ideas for your creative team and how they would help deliver your vision

The play should be an existing text with a production history. It should not be a new play, an adaptation or a play that needs dramaturgical work. You will need to achieve your production with a maximum of three actors. The production should not require supernumeraries, a community chorus or equivalent.

We are most interested in your initial ideas for the production – please feel free to express your ideas in notes, bullet points, diagrams, stream of consciousness etc. We encourage you to use whichever form best suits your ideas and approach.

Please also send CV (see below for format).

The deadline for applications is noon on Monday 12 June 2017.

If you have any availability issues please let us know at this stage and we can do our best to accommodate your needs.

Please send your application addressed to Sue Emmas at directorsprogram@youngvic.org with THE GENESIS FUTURE DIRECTORS AWARD in the subject box.

STAGE TWO

Directors are invited to present a Lightning Talk; this is a presentation that gives each director 10 powerpoint slides for 15 seconds each with accompanying commentary.

The Lightning Talk should give a flavour of:

• Your past work
• Your response to, and initial ideas for, your chosen play

If you are D/deaf or disabled and a Lightning Talk is not a format that will best communicate your ideas please let us know and we will discuss with you the most effective way for us to find out about your proposed play.

Also let us know if there are adjustments we should consider making. This might include: hearing loop, BSL interpreter, quiet environment, longer presentation time, for example.

We will confirm time slots for Lightning Talks on Wednesday 14 June.

The Lightning Talks will take place between 10am and 5pm on Friday 7 July. If you have specific availability issues please let us know in your Stage One application.

You will need to submit your Lightning Talk by midday on Monday 3 July. This should be sent to Kirsten Adam at directorsprogram@youngvic.org.

You will also need to send an electronic copy of the script and ideally, you should know that the rights for the play are available in principle.

STAGE THREE

Following the Lightning Talks a small group of directors will then be invited to meet with David Lan, Sue Emmas and other members of the Young Vic team on afternoon of Thursday 20 July.

If you have any questions or queries please contact Kirsten Adam on directorsprogram@youngvic.org or Textphone 020 7922 2805. 

We are very happy to talk through the process and if you would like to discuss the format or the timeframe of the application process please get in touch. 

If you would like the guidelines in a different format please let us know.

About the Genesis Foundation

The Genesis Foundation has supported the Young Vic for nearly 15 years, including the Young Vic’s director’s program since its inception. The Genesis Foundation is pleased to fund the Genesis Fellow and Genesis Fellow Production Fund, the Genesis Future Directors Awards and the Genesis Directors Network at the Young Vic.

Established by John Studzinski in 2001, the Genesis Foundation works in partnership with the leaders of prestigious UK arts organisations such as LAMDA, the National Theatre, Royal Court, The Sixteen and the Young Vic.  Its largest funding commitment is to programmes that support directors, playwrights, actors and musicians in the early stages of their professional lives.

The theme of art and faith increasingly characterises aspects of the Foundation’s work with choral commissions including James MacMillan’s Stabat mater.

 

 

 

About the Young Vic

The Young Vic based in Waterloo in London produces classics, new plays, forgotten works, musicals and opera, and tours widely in the UK and internationally. It has deep roots in its neighbourhood and extensive co-producing relationships with leading theatres all over the world. The Young Vic’s Directors Program provides support for professional directors at the early stages of their career.  It offers free skills workshops and peer-led projects, paid assistant directing roles through the Jerwood Assistant Director Program and Boris Karloff Trainee Assistant Director Program on Young Vic productions, and our online network, the Genesis Directors Network.