Join us this summer to create a brand-new piece of theatre at Tobacco Factory Theatres.
Designed for people aged 11–13,, this exciting week-long course invites young creatives to collaborate, experiment and bring their ideas to life.
Working with a friendly team of experienced theatre practitioners, young people will spend five days developing an original performance from scratch. Together we’ll devise scenes, create characters, write scripts, design sets and build props — all while developing performance skills through games and practical exercises.
The week will culminate in a performance in our professional Factory Theatre on Friday 21 August 2026 at 4pm.
This is a brilliant opportunity for young people interested in drama and theatre-making to get creative, have fun and collaborate on a performance.
Whether you’re a theatre fanatic or interested in trying something new, we’d love to welcome you to Summer School 2026!
WHAT TO EXPECT
Working with a professional creative team, you will rehearse here at the theatre each day. The sessions will be full of creative games, practical exercises, and theatre-making activities, where you will work as an ensemble to create a new piece of theatre. Bring your ideas, enthusiasm, and energy!
The Summer School will include:
Join us this summer to create a brand-new piece of theatre at Tobacco Factory Theatres.
Designed for people aged 14–18, this exciting week-long course invites young creatives to collaborate, experiment and bring their ideas to life.
Working with a friendly team of experienced theatre practitioners, young people will spend five days developing an original performance from scratch. Together we’ll devise scenes, create characters, write scripts, design sets and build props — all while developing performance skills through games and practical exercises.
The week will culminate in a performance in our professional Factory Theatre on Friday 21 August 2026 at 4pm.
This is a brilliant opportunity for young people interested in drama and theatre-making to get creative, have fun and collaborate on a performance.
Whether you’re a theatre fanatic or interested in trying something new, we’d love to welcome you to Summer School 2026!
WHAT TO EXPECT
Working with a professional creative team, you will rehearse here at the theatre each day. The sessions will be full of creative games, practical exercises, and theatre-making activities, where you will work as an ensemble to create a new piece of theatre. Bring your ideas, enthusiasm, and energy!
The Summer School will include:
Join us for a week of drama games, storytelling and prop-making at Tobacco Factory Theatres!
Designed for children aged 8-10, this exciting week-long course invites young people to develop their drama skills through games, imaginative play, role-play, and storytelling.
Guided by a friendly creative team of experienced theatre practitioners, children will work together to invent their own characters, create scenes, explore imaginary worlds and design their own props and costumes.
The days will be fun, playful and imaginative, with a range of creative, physical and craft activities.
Join us on the final day, Friday 14th August at 3.30pm for an informal performance of what we’ve explored throughout the week.
WHAT TO EXPECT
As it’s summer, we will also take a daily trip to the local park for fresh air and outdoor games!
Join us for a week of drama games, storytelling and prop-making at Tobacco Factory Theatres!
Designed for children aged 5-7, this exciting week-long course invites young people to develop their drama skills through games, imaginative play, role-play, and storytelling.
Guided by a friendly creative team of experienced theatre practitioners, children will work together to invent their own characters, create scenes, explore imaginary worlds and design their own props and costumes.
The days will be fun, playful and imaginative, with a range of creative, physical and craft activities.
Join us on the final day, Friday 14th August at 3.30pm for an informal performance of what we’ve explored throughout the week.
WHAT TO EXPECT
As it’s summer, we will also take a daily trip to the local park for fresh air and outdoor games!
Test Org
Elevate is a free nine-month development programme for socially engaged theatre-makers and artists interested in working creatively with communities.
Designed for people with some experience of community-based creative practice, the programme brings together a cohort of ten participants for monthly workshops, practice exchanges and peer support sessions. Participants will explore participatory theatre methods, develop their own ideas, build professional networks and learn from experienced practitioners.
The programme also offers mentoring, access to creative space, social enterprise training and opportunities for future collaboration and employment.
Applicants can apply in writing, audio or video format, outlining their experience, what they hope to gain from the programme, and the communities or ideas they are interested in exploring.
Please send your application to oliver@acta-bristol.com by Monday 13th July 10am.
Please email any queries regarding the scheme or application process to oliver@acta-bristol.com
We are a fearless collective of disabled and non-disabled musicians: a platform that pushes the boundaries of music-making to create art with passion and purpose.
With a diverse ensemble led by the remarkable vision of our artistic director Charles Hazlewood, our performances are a fusion of emotion, innovation, and intrepid artistry. Behind the scenes, we focus on developing careers, building confidence, and fostering collaboration to inspire a fierce ambition and excellence that matches our artistic programme.
About Play with Paraorchestra
Play with Paraorchestra is an opportunity for young musicians, who identify as disabled, have special educational needs, or have access requirements to experience playing on a Paraorchestra project. Over the course of a two-day workshop in October 2026 a small group of young musicians will explore a range of musical styles, with a blend of acoustic and electronic sound worlds, working alongside professional Paraorchestra musicians.
Play with Paraorchestra is a creatively ambitious project for young musicians. It offers the same exciting, collaborative, person-centred way of working as on all Paraorchestra shows, this time for young musicians aged 12 - 17 who are considering a career in music.
All participants on the project must attend with a parent, guardian or carer.
Are you, or is someone you know, a talented, adventurous young musician who wants to experience playing with Paraorchestra? We are looking for six young musicians who either identify as disabled, have special educational needs, or access requirements, and can thrive working in a collaborative environment. They must demonstrate a creative spark, a passion and commitment to playing live music.
You don’t need to formally identify as disabled, for example you might be Deaf or have a hearing impairment, or you might be Autistic or be neurodivergent. At Paraorchestra we don’t work with musicians on the basis of a formal diagnosis, we use the Social Model of Disability to guide our work.
If you are a musician aged 12 - 17, considering a career in the music sector, who has access requirements or works best in an environment with additional support in place then Play with Paraorchestra is for you.
Young musicians applying for this opportunity should be playing at a Grade 5 standard (or equivalent) in musical ability, theoretical understanding, and technical capability. Participants do not need to have achieved a formal Grade 5 qualification to apply for Play with Paraorchestra. We are using the Grade 5 level of musicianship as a guide for young musicians to emphasise the level of musical skill we are looking for from the participants taking part in this project.
Play with Paraorchestra is our version of a ‘side-by-side’ project, where participants will have the opportunity to sit next to professional Paraorchestra musicians and work through set repertoire in a workshop format. The activity itself will be led by Paraorchestra Assistant Music Directors Siobhan Clough and Rylan Gleave. Paraorchestra Artistic Director Charles Hazlewood will lead a session during the two days. The project will culminate in a sharing on the second day for a small invited audience.
This will be an opportunity for young musicians to experience Paraorchestra’s creatively ambitious work and person-centred approach to access, exploring new commissions alongside pre-existing repertoire. The chosen pieces will be arranged in an open score format, meaning that whatever instrument you might play, whether that be an acoustic orchestral instrument or a more modern electronic instrument, there will be a part that works for you and the level that you are playing at.
Over the course of the two days, we will explore a commission written by Liam Taylor-West, a reimagined version of Straylight by Rylan Gleave (first performed by Paraorchestra during The Anatomy of the Orchestra - Drone Refractions, 2024) and some warm up pieces from the CoMA open score repertoire list. All parts will range in difficulty, with some parts being easier to play than others. Part selection and distribution will be made by our Assistant Music Directors to suit the musicians selected with their instrument and musical capabilities in mind.
Successful candidates invited to take part in Play with Paraorchestra will be asked to:
During the Play with Paraorchestra in-person workshops each day will involve:
To apply to take part in Play with Paraorchestra you will need to complete a short application form. This can either be typed or answered with recorded or filmed responses. The application form questions are listed below so you can plan your answers. Each answer has a suggested word limit of 300 words or 2.5 minutes speaking time.
The Play with Paraorchestra application form can be found here.
If you are applying with a video application, please fill out your main details on the application form (https://forms.gle/hVmrJA2SSKrdyiddA) and include a link to your video application in the space provided.
You can share your video in any of the following ways:
We will then shortlist the applications and invite a small number of young musicians to take part in Play with Paraorchestra with us.
Please note the capacity for participants on this project is small, six young musicians, this is to ensure we can deliver this creatively ambitious project with the level of access and person-centred support that is central to our way of working on all Paraorchestra projects. We anticipate we will get more applications that we have spaces for and so unfortunately not everyone who applies will be offered a place on the project. We recognise this can be disheartening, but where possible we will try and provide some feedback on applications and signpost you to alternative opportunities for young musicians.
For years, the idea of “making it” in theatre has followed a familiar script: go to university or attend drama school, earn a degree and then maybe you’ll land a job.
But that’s only one version of the story.
The truth is, theatre has never had a single entry route. Many people build careers through practical experience, training on the job, and creating their own opportunities, and crucially, this doesn’t just happen in London.
Apprenticeships are one of the most accessible and structured ways to begin a career in theatre. They combine paid work with hands-on training, allowing you to learn directly from industry professionals.
Major organisations like the National Theatre, the Royal Ballet and Opera, and the Royal Shakespeare Company offer established apprenticeship schemes in areas such as technical theatre, stage management, and costume.
Outside of London, opportunities are just as valuable. Theatr Clwyd and Leeds Playhouse, for example, run programmes that focus on developing local talent and opening doors into the industry.
Apprenticeships offer:
Paid internships in theatre do exist, but they can be harder to find and are often highly competitive. They’re usually offered through specific programmes rather than widely advertised roles.
Masterclass, the Birmingham Hippodrome and Creative Access, for instance, partner with producers and theatres to provide internships that give insight into how the industry operates behind the scenes.
While not as accessible as apprenticeships, internships can still:
Not everyone wants, or needs, to commit to full-time training. Short courses offer a flexible way to develop your skills, whether that’s acting, directing, writing, or technical theatre.
Institutions like the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama offer part-time courses, but similar opportunities can often be found at regional theatres and arts centres across the UK.
These courses allow you to:
It’s easy to think of theatre as London-centric, but the UK has a rich network of regional venues creating high-quality work and supporting emerging talent.
Organisations like the Bristol Old Vic, Royal Exchange Theatre, Northern Stage, Birmingham Hippodrome, and the National Theatre of Scotland all offer development programmes, workshops, and early-career opportunities.
Starting outside London can often mean:
One of the most powerful ways into theatre is to stop waiting for permission.
Write a play. Organise a scratch night. Collaborate with other creatives. Platforms like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have launched countless careers built on self-created work.
Creating your own opportunities shows initiative and gives you something tangible to build on.
There’s no single way into theatre, and that’s what makes it such an exciting industry to be part of. Whether you choose an apprenticeship, apply for internships, take short courses, or start creating your own work, each path offers something different.
What matters is finding the route that works for you, your circumstances, your interests, and the way you learn best. Theatre needs a range of voices and experiences, and there’s space for more than one way in.
There isn't one fixed pathway. Find the route that suits you, and start there.
With school holidays offering many young people the opportunity to take part in creative activities, it’s often a time when interests grow, and future ambitions begin to take shape.
Whether a young person is already engaged in the arts or just starting to explore, there are many different pathways into a career in the creative industries. However, for many families, these routes can feel unclear or uncertain.
Recent research from Netflix and the National Youth Theatre found that 89% of parents from working-class backgrounds would be unlikely to encourage their child to pursue a career in the creative industries. Building understanding and confidence among parents and carers is an important step in helping more young people feel supported in exploring these opportunities.
Parents Unscripted is a new series from Discover! Creative Careers, created in collaboration with organisations across the creative industries. The series shares the perspectives of parents whose children now work in the sector, offering honest reflections on their journeys.
We’re proud to have collaborated on one of the films in the series, developed alongside Discover! Creative Careers and the National Theatre. In this film, Angela Jumbo, mother of actor and playwright Cush Jumbo, reflects on her child’s journey into the industry and shares her perspective as a parent.
You can watch the other films in the series here!
We know that when parents and carers feel more confident about creative careers, it can make a real difference to a young person’s ability to pursue them.
By sharing these stories, Parents Unscripted aims to open up conversations, challenge misconceptions, and highlight the many routes available across the creative industries.
We encourage teachers, industry professionals and partners to share these films with their networks, whether through newsletters, social media, or conversations with young people and their families.
Helping more families understand the opportunities available in the creative industries is a vital step in supporting the next generation of talent.
Find out more about Discover! Creative Careers here.
Find out more about the National Theatre Skills Centre here.
Script in hand performances of work from writers based across Dorset. Our regular evenings of 3-4 extracts from scripts currently in development, performed for the first time in our Sherling Studio.
You can expect drama, comedy, experimentation, suspense, emotion and invention – though not necessarily all in the same script.
After the pieces have been performed, there is an opportunity to give feedback to the writers and have a drink. Presented in association with Dorset Scriptwriters. Lighthouse are always on the hunt for new material. If you have a piece that you would like to put forward, please get in touch.
