7th – 8th August 2026
Upgrade Yourself Festival is back with two FREE days of connecting you with cultural changemakers and creative visionaries.
This year's edition of the festival will be an upgrade in itself. We’re going beyond your traditional careers festival to explore and celebrate creativity as a tool for self-expression, creative growth, and collective imagination.
Curated for creatives aged 16–30, expect two days of dreaming, reflecting, imagining and testing new ideas. Empowering you to express yourself, build your community, and experiment boldly.
Whether you’re just starting out or ready to take your next step, come get inspired, make new connections and celebrate the future of creativity. We can't wait to see everyone there!
Back for its second year, the Young Associates programme is an exciting opportunity for emerging performers aged 18–26 to explore a broad range of creative roles across theatre and live events.
From September 2026 – May 2027, the programme connects young creatives with industry professionals to develop skills in creative management, writing, directing, production, and collaborative projects, while offering mentorship from peer mentors.
As part of the application process, auditions will be led by acclaimed theatre director Philip J Morris, giving applicants the opportunity to showcase their creativity in front of an experienced industry professional.
Start date: Thursday 24 September 2026
Sessions: Thursdays, 7pm – 9pm
Term 1 (Sept–Dec): Curating Your Own Work
Term 2 (Jan–Feb): Creative Management
Term 3 (Mar–May): Showcasing Skills
Young Associates get free tickets to shows at Brixton House, weekly mentorship and industry insight, workshops and masterclasses, and hands-on experience in festivals and events.
Creating equitable access to the industry is a core Donmar value. CATALYST is a professional development programme for those who have been historically underrepresented at the Donmar and within the sector. We are interested in supporting artists who identify as being a part of the global majority, trans, non-binary, D/deaf or disabled, neurodivergent or from a lower socio-economic background. The programme provides key professional development for these artists to catapult their careers to the next level, preparing them to thrive and lead in the theatre sector.
About the role:
As a part of the Donmar’s CATALYST professional development training programme, the role is an opportunity for outstanding, early-career artists to receive bespoke training, both practical and observational, by assisting the Sound Designer to realise the sound design for a Donmar production. The goal is to gain insight into a high-level production process while developing and strengthening your skills and artistic voice.
Key Responsibilities:
As part of the training programme, you will receive:
This is a paid opportunity. Fixed Term Freelance Contract, 25-27 days between 31st August & 20th October 2026 at £135 per day (+ 1.5 day rate during tech week)
We are excited to launch the Joy Artist Development Programme, a new development opportunity for disabled artists as part of Joy Festival 2026.
The Joy Artist Development Programme will support four emerging disabled artists in developing their professional artistic career and practice. The programme will offer 4 artists a programme of 1:1 mentoring, networking, professional seminars with leading disability arts organisations, plus rehearsal time culminating in a performance slot during the Joy Festival Studio performance week in October.
Please read the full information on the programme before applying. All the information can be found on our website including the information pack (full PDF, word & BSL versions)
Key information
Applications open: Friday 17th July, 10am
Applications close: Monday 17th August, 10am
Informal chats/interviews: w/c 17th August, by arrangement*
Programme start date: 4th September 2026
*Please note we will offer to have short, informal conversations with candidates whose applications we would like to know more about. You may be accepted onto the programme without a chat with the team, or we may invite you to talk to us about your idea if we feel we need further clarification.
How to apply
You can apply to the Artist Development Programme via our online application, or submit a word document via email.
Lighting Esesntials is an in-person training event from ETC, a leading manufacturer of professional lighting control systems, fixtures, networking solutions, and rigging technology for the entertainment industry. Designed for anyone who is passionate about working in lighting and lighting design, or who wants to learn more about the art and craft of stage lighting, this course provides an accessible introduction to the industry.
Whether you are new to the industry or just curious about what the ‘lampies’ actually do, this session is for you.
We cover a broad range of topics including stage lighting principles, fundamentals of design, colour theory, lighting fixtures and much more. There is also the opportunity to get hands-on with ETC's latest products.
Course date: 18 September 2026
Lighting Essentials is an in-person training event from ETC, a leading manufacturer of professional lighting control systems, fixtures, networking solutions, and rigging technology for the entertainment industry. Designed for anyone who is passionate about working in lighting and lighting design, or who wants to learn more about the art and craft of stage lighting, this course provides an accessible introduction to the industry
Whether you are new to the industry or just curious about what the ‘lampies’ actually do, this session is for you.
We cover a broad range of topics including stage lighting principles, fundamentals of design, colour theory, lighting fixtures and much more. There is also the opportunity to get hands-on with ETC's latest products.
Course date: 27 August 2026
Project 39 is a celebration of the work of William Shakespeare. The Base set themselves the task of filming a speech from all 39 of Shakespeare’s plays.
The aim is to recognise the centrality of Shakespeare in our culture. They offer stripped-back, passionate and vital performances of the text to put audiences in touch with the power of Shakespeare’s language.
Ready to build your skills and take the next step in your career?
ETC is a leading manufacturer of professional lighting control systems, fixtures, networking solutions, and rigging technology for the entertainment industry. Whether you're just starting out in stage lighting, looking to develop your Eos or Hog console programming skills, or wanting to gain a better understanding of entertainment networking and show control, our hands-on training courses are designed to help you grow with confidence.
Led by ETC's experienced Training and Outreach team, our sessions combine practical learning with real-world workflows and access to the latest technology. We also offer bespoke training programmes for venues, production companies, education providers, and larger teams.
Visit our website to explore upcoming course dates, find the right training for your experience level, and book your place. Training courses are held regularly at our London office, with additional sessions at other locations across the UK offered throughout the year.
ETC’s Eos family of lighting consoles delivers powerful and flexible control for theatre, live events, broadcast, and production environments. Eos Essentials is a free, two-day introductory training course designed to build a strong foundation in programming for the Eos platform.
This hands-on session covers core and advanced features, helping you develop practical programming skills and confidence across the full Eos family, including ETCnomad, Element, Element 2, Ion, Ion Xe, Gio @5, Gio, Eos Ti, and Apex.
Training courses are held regularly at our London office, with additional sessions offered at locations across the UK throughout the year.
Sessions are available on various dates from 27/07/2026 - 25/09/2026.
Youth Advisory Board Members - Chichester Festival Theatre
We believe positive change can be ignited by young people. We endeavour to create an atmosphere where debate and collaboration is celebrated, where young people’s voices are heard and where there is the space and opportunity to think boldly and dynamically about how best to drive Chichester Festival Theatre towards a diverse, inspiring and exciting future.
We are looking for four innovative and driven young people between the ages of 16-25 to join our current members of the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) and help think creatively about how the Theatre can work to welcome diverse and dynamic audiences. It doesn’t matter whether you have previously engaged with the Theatre or not, we want to hear from people with a variety of interests, which may include the arts.
The YAB will have the opportunity to collaborate with the Festival Theatre’s Board of Trustees, taking part in a two-way conversation on how best to make the Theatre a more inviting and exciting place for young people.
Sound like something you would like to get involved in? Please visit our website for full details and the application form to apply https://www.cft.org.uk/jobs/yab
