Stage One Announces National Placement Scheme Hosts For 2023-24

Stage One has announced that they are partnering with Bristol Old Vic, Northern Stage, Nottingham Playhouse and Theatre Royal Plymouth to deliver their National Trainee Producer Placement Scheme for 2023.

The Trainee Producer Placements offer aspiring producers a 12-month fixed term contract within an established production company or producing theatre. Stage One launched the National branch of this scheme in 2013 to increase communication and shared knowledge across the subsidised and commercial sectors. The placement not only benefits the producer but also the host theatre/organisation as the producer becomes an additional member of the in-house production team.

Since 2006 Stage One have facilitated:

• 116 paid placements in West End commercial producing offices to 83 producers

• 30 paid placements in Regional houses (launched 2013)

75% of participants in the placement scheme are still actively working in the theatre industry.

"We are proud to be delivering our National Trainee Producer Placement scheme, now in its tenth year. This scheme offers four emerging producers hands-on training in producing in-house productions, commercial tours and transfers, as well as the opportunity to immerse themselves in the daily activity of four busy producing organisations. The aim is for the trainee producer to support the theatres in all areas of producing, from artistic support to reaching new audiences and support them to capitalise on new commercial opportunities."

-Joseph Smith, Chief Executive of Stage One

"Hosting a Trainee Producer is brilliant for so many reasons. Opportunities to have someone work with you for 12-months is a rarity in an industry that is so fast-paced and so often from one project to the next. This gives you an opportunity to support, mentor and develop a brilliant emerging producer across a bespoke programme that suits you both. I never take my position for granted, and love supporting producers because it means I'm more understanding of and able to respond to the current climate across our industry. Emerging producers are our future leaders, game changers and the ones who will be putting on the shows you'll see next - so my advice is to get to know them right away!"

-John Tomlinson, Producer for Sheffield Theatres, 2022 Placement Host

Bristol Old Vic

Built in 1766 as a place where the people of Bristol could come together, Bristol Old Vic is the oldest continuously Working Theatre in the English speaking world.

Having recently undergone a multi-million pound redevelopment, their new building boasts a brand new Studio Theatre, relaxing and fully-accessible front of house space, with a bar and kitchen serving everything from tasty treats with a morning coffee to an evening meal, alongside a new interactive heritage offering - opening up the 250-year-old history of this unique building for everyone to discover and enjoy at their own pace.

Their mission is to create pioneering twenty-first-Century Theatre in partnership with the people of our energetic city; inspired by the history and magical design of the most beautiful playhouse in the country.

They are led by artists who see the world with distinctive clarity and whose ability to articulate what they see allows us to understand and engage with our world afresh, whether that be through their 350-strong Young Company, their many outreach and education projects or helping ascendant artists by nurturing the spark or seed of an idea into something fully-formed.

They are publicly funded by Arts Council England and Bristol City Council, using that investment to support experiment and innovation, to allow access to our programme for people who would not otherwise encounter it or be able to afford it and to keep our extraordinary heritage alive and animated.

Jessica Campbell, Senior Producer for Bristol Old Vic said: "We're delighted to be one of the host venues for this year's Stage One Trainee Producer scheme. It should be a particularly exciting year for the placement to be part of the Bristol Old Vic Producing team as we begin work on NANCY MEDINA's first season as Artistic Director, with a fantastic array of productions on the cards. We're so pleased to be partnering with Stage One on this brilliant opportunity for both venues and early career producers."

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