Creative Access is looking for someone to join its team on a 12 month paid traineeship in the Thrive team.
The trainee will learn about and get experience in all the different areas of the Thrive team including career support programmes, mentoring and employer training as well as the wider Creative Access organisation.
Through hands-on experience in our friendly and collaborative team, you'll gain valuable insight and skills related to organising events, managing programme delivery and setting up training sessions.
The Work in Theatre course at Theatre Royal Brighton will take place Monday 7 – Friday 11 April 2025, 10.30am – 4pm each day.
This course is a hands-on work experience course for young people aged 14 – 17 years to find out about a wide range of careers within the theatre industry. The course will take the form of workshops, talks and demonstrations as well as specific guidance on routes into the industry for different roles. Participants will find out about and experience Marketing and Communications, Front of House and Customer Service, Stage and Technical including lighting, sound and wardrobe, Theatre Management, and Creative Learning. The week also includes watching a matinee performance of The Shark is Broken.
We have 16 places available for this course. The fee is £150 per person. The Work in Theatre programme is designed to help improve equal access to the industry for young people who are disadvantaged by their socio-economic background, additional needs, Black, Asian and ethnic backgrounds and those in care or previously in care and we are able to offer a limited number of free and subsidised places.
Any questions or queries please contact the email address below.
Don’t miss out on this unique day of inspiration and advice about creative industry careers!
Creative Access is excited to announce Making It: Creative Futures Festival in collaboration with Tate.
Event date: 12 April 2025 at 11.00–18.00
Join us for a day filled with career talks, hands-on workshops, and one-to-one mentoring with industry pros across the art world, TV & film, journalism, publishing, theatre and beyond. There’ll be live DJs, art installations, networking, and the chance to check out Tate Britain’s permanent art collection.
Get top tips from creative professionals, have your CV or portfolio looked at by experts, level up your networking game and much more. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take the next step in your career in the creative industries, this event is for you…
The whole day is free to attend but some sessions will be ticketed. Click the Apply button to read the full programme and book your place at ticketed sessions.
Sessions include:
Talks
Mentoring
CV Surgeries
Workshops
Join Gayathiri Kamalakanthan for a Word-Benders poetry workshop on Tuesday 26 March, 6-7.30pm.
If you are aged 18 - 30 and interested in learning how to write and create short digital plays designed for social media platforms, we want to hear from you
Applications are open for National Young Writers 2025, a free online course delivered by Pentabus, the nation's rural touring theatre company, and award-winning production company Rural Media. Through collaborative and dynamic online learning, young writers explore how to write and produce brilliant short plays for digital platforms.
During the course, you will:
By the end of the course, you will have written and produced 3 short films that appeal to wide digital audiences and showcase your creativity. These films will be released across Pentabus' and Rural Media's digital platforms as part of a celebration of young people's writing in October 2025.
The aim of this fund is to support individual artists and organisations who have experienced barriers to accessing our funding. Creative Steps aims to address this by supporting artists and organisations throughout their journey, helping them with their professional, business and organisational development.
We believe it is crucial to support these individuals and organisations because it is a priority for us to increase the diversity of work being created, funded and celebrated in Wales.
Creative Steps for Individuals is focused on supporting your professional development. It is not about supporting the creation of new work or the delivery of an artistic or creative project. We want artists to identify exactly what they need to progress and professionalise their artistry, and to remain open to exploring different ways of doing this with us.
We recognise that everybody’s needs are different and that professional development varies from individual to individual. However, these are some of the things that your proposal could include:
You can also include the following:
The Women's Prize for Playwriting was founded in 2019 to discover bold, expansive and beautifully crafted plays by women and non-binary writers in the UK and Ireland.
Submitted scripts must:
Submitted scripts may be:
Free space to share film and digital projects.
Applications for Delivision are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Theatre Deli is inviting artists to project work onto the screen in the communal area of their Leadenhall Street venue. This is an unpaid opportunity, offering artists a platform to share their work with other creatives.
Your work can be on any theme or subject.
See our Accessibility Guide for information about access in our venue.
We particularly welcome applications from marginalised and underrepresented groups. We welcome applications from artists based in the UK and abroad.
When starting my training, back in 2019, I was yet to come out as trans. I was proudly a part of the queer community but hadn’t come to terms with my gender. Growing up in Somerset, my childhood wasn’t one that was surrounded by queer people; that really changed overnight when I moved to London at 19. It felt as though there were more queer people than not. Not long into my 2nd year during theatre training, I began using they/them pronouns - this was the start of my gender journey.
Throughout my time at drama school, I believe I stood as someone who really advocated for positive change in all areas of the training, so when I started to come out, I made sure to continue to do so. Things were inclusive at the school I trained in but, like most places, they still had work to do. Dance classes, historically, have been routed in ‘boys do this’ and ‘girls do that’ - so when you’re going through the process of working out who you are, hearing phrases that instantly whack you in a box that you don’t want to be in can be really hard.
Starting conversations and asking questions is a great place to start. Gendered toilets, wording in emails, dance uniforms - small things that can make a big difference. I was lucky enough to have constant open dialogue with the head of the drama school I went to - she always listened and sometimes ran things by me. Change usually happens when a majority disagree with something. If there are things that you don’t like or don’t agree with, speak to your peers. The more voices you have, the better. When it came to the 2nd Year musical, I wrote to the head of the school and said that I’d like to be given the chance to audition for one of the male leads - I was listened to, given the opportunity, and was cast in the role. People aren’t always reluctant to change, some just aren’t aware that it needs to happen!
Breaking into the industry as a graduate is hard. By the time I had done my first professional job, I was out as gender queer, but was still on a journey of self-discovery. I carried my attitude from drama school into the professional world; I wanted to be a part of the small group of trans people who were slowly changing and challenging the industry. I was lucky enough to sign with a wonderful agent who made it clear from our first conversation that they would be 100% up for supporting my journey as a performer and as a human being. Since signing with them I have been seen for roles that I never even thought I’d get in the room for, purely down to our working relationship. I am always honest with them if I feel something isn’t right for me and I always tell them when I think I’m right for something!
One thing that I always stand by is that being your authentic self only aids your performance ability. Easier said than done. When you walk into an audition knowing exactly who you are, it reads. When you are comfortable in yourself, you are your most relaxed. In my experience, this can lead to your best work!
I often reflect on how lucky I am to be in arguably the most accepting and inclusive industry when it comes to difference. It is far from perfect, but the majority of the industry is moving in a positive direction. I think that the acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ community within the performance industry has aided the speed of my coming out process. I am lucky to currently be in a job that celebrates differences. The cast of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory are incredible and I’m grateful to be spending the next year and a half with them while we tour! We are a massively diverse group of humans who all celebrate each other. I feel very safe at work. I feel allowed to be authentically myself without fear of backlash or hate. I feel comfortable to be a proud trans man. As much as this should be the norm, I recognise that I am very privileged to feel this way!
Here are some of my top tips for fellow trans people who might be worried about training:
Find more theatre careers advice here
Published: 07/12/2022
Where do you start when you are looking for a career in the theatre industry? It’s challenging getting a job in any industry and the competitive nature of the theatre industry is often seen as a barrier. If you follow our top 10 tips, you will definitely be in a better position to not only get a job in the theatre industry but also be a success in your chosen field.
Having goals is something that will help you in the long run as it will give you something to work towards. But don’t forget, the journey to any career is never a straight, easy path - especially in theatre. There will be things that take you in all different directions and this is normal. As long as you don’t lose sight of what you want to gain and what you want your end goal to be, you will find the right career in theatre for you.
Not everyone wants to study and that’s fine because that’s not the only way to begin your theatre career or be successful within the theatre industry. There are so many ways to do this so you must do your research to find out what these ways are. We’ve made it easy for you because we’ve put all this information in one place. It’s good to have a rough idea of what job role you would like to pursue within the theatre industry. If you’re not sure what job in theatre you are best suited to, don’t worry. Our handy blogs describing different jobs within theatre will help give you an insight to the many different roles available and what you need to do to get there.
Take a look at our job descriptions here.
It will benefit you so much to have as much experience within your chosen area of theatre as possible, especially if you don’t want to study. If you don’t have a formal qualification (for example, a degree), having experience is what is going to make you stand out to potential employers when applying for jobs. Experience comes in many different forms but the three main forms are work experience, apprenticeships and internships. You can find information about all three of these experience opportunities here.
This is always a good suggestion because let’s face it, who doesn’t want to go to the theatre? Not only that but seeing a variety of different theatre shows will help you if you’re interested in a particular area of theatre e.g. if you’re interested in lighting you can take notes of lighting designs which peak your interest or are particularly inventive. Some theatre tickets can be a little expensive but don’t worry we’ve got that covered too. You can find a number of different ticket schemes where you can get discounted theatre tickets right here.
This is the 21st century and almost everything is on social media. Try and be as active as you can without becoming anti-social. It’s a great tool to keep up-to-date with industry news, shows and upcoming theatremakers. It may sound obvious but never post any offensive or discriminating posts on any of your social media channels. Some employers like to view their employees social media pages and you don’t want something inappropriate to pop up that you wrote 10 years ago!
This can be daunting but once you get into the flow of it, it can be really fun and so invaluable to you in the future. You should network every chance you get and this doesn’t always have to be at a networking event; it may be a fellow Performer you met at an audition or your best friends cousin who is the Head of Lighting behind Wicked the musical. There are also loads of networking events available for young theatremakers which you can find here.
It may be difficult at times to remain positive when starting out in a new career in theatre but it is really important to approach everything with positivity, especially when you’re going for interviews/auditions. If you’re an Actor auditioning can be constant throughout your career and you must always go into your auditions thinking that anything is possible. This is the same with any interviews for offstage roles too. If you go in with a negative attitude it will only go downhill from there.
When you’re new in the industry (even when you are more established) you’re likely to make mistakes. Of course you are, you’re only human and this is totally natural. Accept you have made a mistake but always make sure you have learnt from the experience and then move on to the next thing. There is no need to lose sleep over a little mistake because this may affect your ability to complete other tasks and could lead you to make more mistakes. Accept it, learn from it and move on to the next thing.
When you’re at the very beginning of your career in theatre, it’s wise to be realistic about what you want to achieve as well as what you are able to achieve. If you begin with an unrealistic goal it is unlikely you will get there at the beginning of your career and this can knock your confidence. Remember, every little step counts and these things take time.
Fringe Theatres and Festivals are a popular way to get a new piece of theatre noticed and produced. It can also be a great way to kick start your theatre career. Fringe venues are all over the country and features every type of theatre you can imagine. Most shows are brand new that no one has ever seen before. One of the more well-known fringe festivals is Edinburgh Fringe. The TV show Fleabag started as a one woman show at the Festival. It was later adapted into an internationally famous award-winning TV show that we all know. Fringe theatre is a great opportunity to learn, get tips and ideas on theatre, performance, comedy and more, the sky's the limit. Remember to always make sure you are paid fairly when working on the fringe.
https://www.ypia.co.uk/posts/10-tips-for-getting-into-theatre
https://targetcareers.co.uk/career-sectors/arts-and-creative/1015387-careers-in-theatre
