Old Vic Announces Teams For TS ELIOT US/UK EXCHANGE PROGRAM

The Old Vic announced today the final 100 participants selected to take part in The TS Eliot US/UK Exchange, a programme to nurture the best young British and American theatre practitioners. Supported by the T.S. Eliot Estate, and hosted in partnership with The Public Theater, the US/UK Exchange offers 18-30 year old artists with the opportunity to develop their skills by engaging with the theatre communities on the other side of the Atlantic.

BRITISH COMPANY:
Actors: Ian Attard, Calum Callaghan, Okorie Chukwu, Alex Felton, Jack Wharrier, Nico Lennon, Ben Sewell, Gary Trainor, Alistair Cope, Rob Cavazos, Simon Darwen, Scott Hazell, Max Krupski, Phil Matthews, Mark Tintner, Abigail Andjel, Iris Roberts, Sarah Amankwah, Sarah Calver, Katie McGuinness, Emmy Sainsbury, Bronagh Taggart, Joanna Christie, Jane Murphy, Kezia Burrows, Anniwaa Buachie, Antonia Kinlay, Sarah Sweeney, Leah Whitaker. Directors: Simon Evans, Adam Lenson, Gemma Fairlie, Des Kennedy, Teunkie Van Der Sluijs, Caroline Steinsbeis, Stef O'Driscoll. Writers: Duncan MacMillan, David Kantounas, Erin McMahon, Corinne Salisbury, Omar El-Khairy, Sarah Solemani, Tim Cowbury. Producers: Lucy Oliver-Harrison, Hanna Osmolska, Josh Black, Veronica Humphris, Emma Laugier, Rachel Tyson, Tom Atkins.

AMERICAN COMPANY:
Actors: Axel Avin Jr., Benjamin Beckley, Vandit Bhatt, Walker Hare, Carl Howell, Franck Juste, Adam Kern, Stuart Luth, Preston Martin, Daniel Mendoza, Sean O'Hagan, Jacob Pinion, Kane Prestenback, Anthony Souza, Carlton Tanis, Ngozi Anyanwu, Lauren Blumenfield, ElizaBeth Davis, Hannah Gaff, Laura Gourdine, Lauren Hines, Paten Hughes, Adewunmi Ogunfowora, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Christina Pumariega, Bianca Sams, Margo Seibert, Tatiana Suarez-Pico, Tai Verley. Directors: David Chapman, Jessica Chayes, Snehal Desai, Johnson Henshaw, Damon Krometis, Jimmy Maize, Jesca Prudencio Writers: Jesse Cameron Alick, Nikole Beckwith, Darren Canady, Fernanda Coppel, Josh Koenigsberg, Anna Moench, Jerome Parker Producers: Kelcie Beene, Catherine Bencivenga, Gillian Fallon, Alona Fogel, Brandon Huldeen, Stephen Tate, Jennifer Taylor

Applications ran online portal www.ideastap.com and selections were made from over 700 applicants by panels of senior industry practitioners from London and New York. UK panelists included Steve Winter and Rachael Stevens from The Old Vic; casting director Amy Ball; producers Becky Barber and Daniel Sparrow; directors David Grindley, Charlie Westenra and Matt Wilde; playwright Andrew Muir, and Literary Manager Nina Steiger. US panelists included Liz Frankel and Maria Goyanes from The Public Theater; casting directors Will Cantler, Tara Rubin Associates and Daryl Eisenberg; producers Tina Fallon, Erika Feldman and Sam Levy; directors Ari Edelson and John Gould Rubin, and Literary Manager Annie MacRae.

Next month, 50 British actors, writers, directors and producers, will travel from London to New York to engage in a week of cultural activity and artistic development hosted by The Public Theater. Following the NY Exchange, 50 American artists will travel to London in May to take part in a similar program at The Old Vic, the historical home of theatrical legends including Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, and now under the artistic direction of Kevin Spacey.

Kevin Spacey, Artistic Director at The Old Vic said: "The TS Eliot US/UK Exchange shows The Old Vic's dedication to encouraging transatlantic collaboration. These 100 young artists represent the most talented individuals who applied and we hope that they will forge lasting creative partnerships across the Atlantic which will bear fruit for many years to come."

Throughout the week-long Exchange, artists will participate in a challenging mix of masterclasses, networking opportunities, rehearsals, meetings with senior industry representatives and theatre trips, as well as the opportunity to create new work with their peers.

Participants will also be given the opportunity to meet senior representatives from the host city's major producing organizations: American writers will have intimate meetings with literary representatives from London's best new writing theatres, including the National Theatre, Soho Theatre, the Bush Theatre and Hampstead Theatre; whilst British writers will meet the literary managers at MTC, Lincoln Center, MCC and New Dramatists.

Steve Winter, Head of Old Vic New Voices at The Old Vic said: "We are thrilled with the quality of the applicants and had a tough time making the final selection. We think we've come up with the very best young artists who have the creativity and energy to make the most of this amazing opportunity."

Since Kevin Spacey became Artistic Director in 2004, The Old Vic has forged close relationships with the artistic community in New York. In 2010 the theatre has seen the opening of John Guare's Manhattan-set masterpiece Six Degrees of Separation - the first major London revival in 18 years. Later this year, The Old Vic will host the second year of The Bridge Project, which recently concluded its New York run - a co-production with Brooklyn Academy Of Music and Neal Street Productions, directed by Sam Mendes. The Old Vic recently celebrated the first anniversary of the launch of a year-round programme for US-based emerging artists - the New Voices Network New York.

The T.S. Eliot US/UK Exchange represents an expansion of an earlier US/UK Exchange project run by The Old Vic which, since 2002, has taken two directors and two writers across the Atlantic each year.

Dan Herd, a young British director and participant on the previous US/UK Exchange programme said: "The US/UK Exchange gave me the opportunity to discover like-minded and inspiring theatre-makers in an exciting and alien industry.."

David Myers, a young American writer and participant on the previous US/UK Exchange programme said: "The US/UK Exchange introduced me to members of London's theatre industry I would not have otherwise had access to and it made me feel welcome in a city that can often be cripplingly expensive and intimidating."

-50 British artists will travel to New York from 24th April - 2nd May

-50 New York artists will travel to London from 22nd - 30th May.

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