Young Theatremakers Begin Year-Long Residency as Bristol Old Vic's 12th 'Made In Bristol' Company

Now in it's 12th year, Made In Bristol is a scheme created by Bristol Old Vic which, this year, brings nine emerging theatre-makers together to become residents in the building for a year.

During their time, the group of 18-25 year-olds train as workshop leaders, assistants and theatre-makers, participating in classes that allow them to develop their skills and form a unique style of work as a company. The group's work leads up to creating their own theatre company and working towards an inaugural production at the end of the year.

The participants this year are: Weronika Dwornik, Claudi Kurucz, Lydia Lakin, Rosie Mullaney, Ben Notice, Sophie Oriogun-Williams, Andy Simpson, Alyssa Thomas and Sol Woodroffe.

The scheme originally began as a way for Bristol Old Vic's Young Company members to develop their passion into a professional career path when they may not have felt a traditional drama school or higher education pathway was right for them. It quickly developed to also include applications from youth community members across the region, university placements and this year also a member of Bristol Old Vic's new Young Company City group.

Hattie De Santis, Engagement Producer at Bristol Old Vic said:
"This is a really exciting day for us as the group of young people meet each other for the first time, taking those first steps towards becoming a company of theatre-makers.
Over the last twelve years, Made in Bristol has shown itself to be a really successful scheme. We've worked with over 145 individuals and over 90% of our "graduates" are working in theatre today. It's also completely free for the participants to learn and train in this way."

One of the most well-known groups to emerge through Made in Bristol is The Wardrobe Ensemble who have been making work as a company for over 10 years. Over that time they have had huge success across the UK and in the west end, with shows such as Education Education Education, Riot and The Last of the Pelican Daughters, most recently presenting an entire festival -Theatre on the Downs - this summer. Their next project is a co-production with Bristol Old Vic at Christmas with a major new work for families - Robin Hood: Legend of The Forgotten Forest.

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