Join us for a fantastic evening filled with festive joy, live music and mingling at EXTERIOR: StageBase's Christmas Bash!
Whether you're an actor, crew member, or theatre enthusiast, this is your chance to celebrate the holiday season with mates who share your love for the stage. Whether 2024 was a bumpy ride or an awesome journey for you, it's time to celebrate!
Highlights of the Evening:
đ€ Live Performances
đš Fun activities and great venue
đ· Signature Theatre Cocktails
đș Dance & Mingling
Date:Â December 12 2024, Thursday
Time:Â 7pm - late
Venue: MatreSquared, Regents House, 2 Muirfield Cres, London E14 9SZ
Tickets:Â PWYW*
*If the cost is a barrier to your attendance, please get in touch with us at via the email address listed below and we will do our best to accommodate that. If you need to enquire about a refund, get in touch.
** Entry fee is solely used to cover the venue cost and all remaining money will be invested in our next development programme.
***venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Birmingham is known the world over for its theatre, dance, live music, and performing arts. But behind the scenes, making this happen, are 100s of people working to create wigs & costume, stage-managing, designing sets, running lights & sound, marketing shows, and building audiences.
Even when you already know these roles exist, they can often be seen as ânot for youâ or impossible to break into. We want to make these jobs and experiences more accessible, and to ensure the Backstage becomes as representative as the city of Birmingham itself.
We want to hear from young people who may not yet have considered a career in music, theatre, dance or live events in a non-performance role. You might be into building things, designing clothes, organising people, the tech-y bit of light and sound, or designing and painting sets. Or if you have no idea of what happens backstage, this could be for you!
The Workshops:
We have two consultation workshops on Friday 6 December at Birmingham Hippodrome:
Delivered by Dan Tsu (Lyrix Organix; Rumshack, Glastonbury Festival; Int. Beatboxing Championships), these interactive workshops give you a chance to tell us how to make Backstage roles and technical arts a place where you want to work, learn and create, whilst also learning a bit more about the industry.
We can help with travel expenses and participants will each receive a gift voucher. Plus - we'll make sure there is plenty of pizza, snacks and refreshments.
The consultations are supported by Birmingham Hippodrome, CBSO, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Birmingham Rep.
Are you a final-year music student of colour eager to kickstart your career in the music industry? Or are you a music industry professional wanting to give key support to enthusiastic up and coming music students wanting to progress and learn how to make great headway in their chosen career path?
Look no further! BLiM is thrilled to introduce our empowering mentorship programme launching in January 2025.
Timeline: Mentee/ call out begins now, with a pre-programme event taking place before the programme kicks off in January
Mentorship: Weâll be pairing mentees with you industry professionals for weekly/bi-weekly sessions, including face-to-face meetings and work experience opportunities.
Benefits: Access to career-enhancing activities, vocational opportunities, and more!
Future Growth: Weâre committed to evolving the program to benefit even more students in the future.
Looking to explore an interest in music and start setting yourself goals?
On our free Get Started with Music course, you'll get stuck in to fun activities that will help you build your composition, recording and performance skills. With support from inspirational experts, you'll record and perform a piece of music.
Working with a group of like-minded people, you'll discover your strengths, take on challenges and grow your confidence.
You'll benefit from one-to-one support to decide on next steps towards achieving your goals. And you'll receive up to 3 months' support after the course finishes to help you take those steps!
Dates: 17- 21 February 2025
Looking to explore an interest in music and start setting yourself goals?
On our free Get Started with Music course, you'll get stuck in to fun activities that will help you build your composition, recording and performance skills. With support from inspirational experts, you'll record and perform a piece of music.
Working with a group of like-minded people, you'll discover your strengths, take on challenges and grow your confidence.
You'll benefit from one-to-one support to decide on next steps towards achieving your goals. And you'll receive up to 3 months' support after the course finishes to help you take those steps!
Dates: 3 - 7 February 2025
Company15 is a week-long work experience programme for young people aged 14-17. Designed to inspire a career within the arts, Company15 students will gain an insight into the workings of the largest and most well-attended regional producing theatre in the UK.
Over the course of a 5-day week, Company15 students will work with staff across the organisation at both the Theatre Royal Plymouth and our Production and Learning Centre, TR2 in Cattedown. Formulated especially for those who are interested in or studying Theatre, Design, Technical Theatre, Stage Management or Arts related subjects, the group will take part in creative workshops, talks and watch a show in one of our performance spaces. Team members from different departments will share their skills, expertise and routes into the industry.
Company15 2025 will take place on Monday 14 July â Friday 18 July 2025.
Work experience will consist of 5 days between the dates stated. Exact timings will be confirmed closer to the time.
For the most part, the work experience is wheelchair accessible. However, Company15 includes a tour of Theatre Royal Plymouth and there may be some parts of the theatre building that arenât wheelchair accessible backstage.
Applications for Company15 2025 are now open!
If you have been working professionally within the theatre industry for at least two years and are looking to take your career in a new direction or to the next level, we want to hear from you
Established in 2016 by director Michael Grandage, the MGCfutures Bursary Programme aims to support the many varied careers within theatre. Over the past seven years it has helped more than 140 recipients across the industry.
What makes the annual bursary programme unique is the sheer range and scope of the recipients, and the fact that it is open to applicants of any age throughout the UK. Those applying are predominantly in the 18 to 30 age group, but older applicants seeking a step-change in their career have also been supported.
The Bursaries help people who often fall outside traditional funding channels, providing vital bridging support for theatre makers at a pivotal point in their professional development.
A focused, tailored intervention designed to accelerate the development and professional progression of early-career visual artists of Bradford
Selected artists will work with Yorkshire Contemporary and Bradford Producing Hub to develop their practice, through peer group and one-to-one development sessions, access to mentoring and skills workshops, and support to create a body of work for exhibition in Bradford city centre in September 2025.
Each artist will receive:
We encourage applications from artists who identify as D/deaf, disabled or neurodivergent, come from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds and/or are of the Global Majority.
Need some support finding your footing as a freelance creative?
This free, online workshop will explore tried-and-tested approaches to managing your creative career and how to find a comfortable work-life balance.
Where? Online
When? Tuesday 10 December, 6pm to 8pm
Sophia Harari is Storyteller, Poet, Curator, and Musician. They work across the disciplines of theatre, publishing, the visual arts and music. Through these mediums, stories of yearning, metamorphosis, desire and clarity are uncovered.
Are you interested in lighting, sound, video and automation? Are you aged between 13â19? Then our technical theatre workshops could be for you!
The Nationwide Young Technicians offers an exciting opportunity to develop your skills and learn all about a variety of backstage and off-stage roles from top industry professionals.
This FREE course will take place in two parts:
To take part, you must be able to commit to all the dates in the programme from February â April 2025.
Nationwide Young Technicians Project - Online Course Dates 2025
(these sessions will take place on Zoom)
Tuesday 4 February 5-7pm
Tuesday 11 February 5-7pm
Tuesday 18 February 5-7pm
Tuesday 25 February 5-7pm
Tuesday 4 March 5-7pm
Tuesday 11 March 5-7pm
Tuesday 18 March 5-7pm
Tuesday 25 March 5-7pm
Tuesday 1 April 5-7pm
Tuesday 8 April 5-7pm
Tuesday 15 April 5-7pm
(These sessions will take place on Zoom)
Partner venue dates:
HOME Manchester: TBC
Nottingham Playhouse: Sunday 13 April & Monday 14 April
Theatre Royal Plymouth: TBC
This opportunity is for young people aged 13 â 19. To apply and take part in the hybrid programme opportunity, you must live within Greater Manchester, the East Midlands or South Devon and Cornwall. You must also be able to commit to all the dates in the programme from February â April 2025.
You can apply for the hybrid programme here.
If you do not live in these areas and would like to take part in the programme, you can apply to join the digital sessions only.
You can apply for the digital only sessions here.
We are furthering our commitment to diversity and access by concentrating recruitment in these areas that we recognise are currently underrepresented in the field of technical theatre:
To applyâŻplease complete the relevant application form byâŻ10am, Monday 9th December 2024. This is your chance to tell us about your interest in any element of technical theatre. You can write, record or video your answers (within the word and time limits).âŻ
If you have any further questions, please contact the email address below.
