Belgrade Theatre Coventry Reveals Midlands Based Companies For 2024 Springboard Artist Development Programme

Creative director Corey Campbell, CEO Laura Elliott and the whole team at the Belgrade theatre have announced the three companies selected for the 2024 Springboard Programme, a scheme which aims to support early career artists and/or new companies based in the West Midlands.

Launched in 2015, Springboard is a development programme that helps early career companies or and artists to scale ideas, consider capital, fundraise, and create a business plan, as well as creating and developing projects.

Over the next three years, the Belgrade Theatre will support the following companies and help them take the next steps in their journey:

Blindspot Theatre

Blindspot Theatre was created to lift working & under-class theatre makers out of our collective blind spot. They create opportunities to test, explore, and support brand new theatre & performance from Coventry and the wider Midlands region. They offer radical support for artists and approachable events for audiences, because they want to make sure they explicitly help artists move forward in their careers and help as many people as possible feel that making and seeing theatre is for them.

Blindspot Producer Georgia Kelly (They/She) said “Having this support and the infrastructure of the Belgrade behind it and all those opportunities, having access to professional development and learning, not just in a “oh okay, drop in when you feel like it” but they're so active about it. We already feel so integrated into the building and that's so wonderful, we feel part of the Belgrade for the long run, we feel part of the community, part of its outcomes, its aims and objectives. As a community hub, a part of Cov and of course The National Theatre sector. Pun obviously intended… But it feels like such a Springboard into everything that all of us are here to do… so it would have been daft not to apply!”

www.blindspotnights.co.uk

Dauntless Evolution

A Midlands based Physical Theatre company that use fluid movement, dynamic imagery and an ensemble first approach to bring a sense of spectacle to the stories they choose to tell. Their work celebrates humanity, finding joy in their shared experiences. They believe in being bold and ambitious and They use their eclectic style to make theatre that reflects this. They are constantly looking for new ways to tell stories and connect with audiences, they endeavour to make each show an experience never to forget.

www.dauntlessevolution.co.uk

They said “Springboard represents a massive step forward for us as a company, to be working alongside the team at The Belgrade and the other Springboard companies will be an invaluable learning experience. We are so grateful to have been selected and can't wait to bring some new projects to life."

That's A Rap

That's A Rap are a 2 strand company with a core focus on the representation and inclusion of working class young people in the theatre and beyond. Through the means of storytelling through rap music - Rap Theatre, That's A Rap create shows and deliver collaborative extended projects with community groups and educational institutions, aiming to change the landscape brick by brick.

www.thatsarap.co.uk

That's A Rap have said “Springboard is an invaluable opportunity that we at That's A Rap feel truly honoured and humbled to have been afforded. The resources that we will now have access to will speed up our growth and development immensely so we can maximise the positive impact our work has on the world. The Belgrade is a theatre truly for the people and to be supported by them in an industry where it's such a challenge to find those we morally align with is a blessing that is impossible to put into words. What we can put in to words however, is that we're ready to work and can't wait for the seeds we've planted to flourish under the Belgrade's wing.”

Springboard Companies are able to access:

• Selected performance slots in the Belgrade season and free rehearsal space for Research and Development.
• Designated office space at the theatre
• An opportunity to register company addresses at the Belgrade Theatre,
• Monthly one-to-one meetings with the Creative Director,
• Tailored one-to-one meetings and support from the wider Belgrade team, across departments such as production, finance, fundraising and marketing (including applying to the Arts Council),
• Support from the Belgrade's marketing team for shows being performed at the Belgrade Theatre.

Director of Producing and Co-Creation Adel Al-Salloum said “We are thrilled to have these brilliant companies on board and look forward to supporting their development over the next few years.

We've primarily chosen them because we want to invest in, and connect with, companies that have social action at the heart of their work, whether through performance or the activities they engage with.  This sits really well with our own vision as a co created theatre. We are already collaborating closely with That's a Rap on our production of Romeo and Juliet, for example.

As a theatre, we see this programme as a game changer - not just for the companies involved but more widely for the arts sector. It's a crucible of talent, where the next Creative Director of a major theatre could spring from – as with our own Corey Campbell, who started his journey with the Belgrade with his company Strictly Arts as a Springboard company in 2018.”

Associate Director Jay Zorenti-Nakhid said “As we go into the new year we are delighted to welcome three new springboard companies onto the programme. We are looking forward to collaborating and supporting the companies on their journeys over the next 3 years. As an organisation Springboard has been one of the pillars of our commitment to supporting the local theatre ecology. Supporting artists to have space to grow is a beautiful process to be a part of and I am excited about the mutual learning for us and the companies that will happen over the next 3 years.”

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