Would you like to see your writing performed by professional actors? Are you interested in learning more about writing for stage?
Wac Arts is thrilled to continue their intergenerational series with a free creative writing project exploring how theatre and storytelling can promote positive conversations and relationships across the community.
They are looking for young people aged 16 – 24 with an interest in creative writing and theatre to take part in a series of weekly workshops with members of the University of the Third Age at Wac Arts. Under the guidance of playwright Beth Flintoff, Associate Playwright at The Royal Court, the group will explore key aspects of writing for theatre, receive 1:1 script development support and create a series of pieces that will be performed by professional actors.
Dates: 1 June - 13 July, 16.30pm - 18.30pm
Final Sharing Date: 19 July, 13.00pm - 17.00pm
Location: Wac Arts, 213 Haverstock Hill, London NW3 4QP
Theatre Making: the Designer-Director Collaboration is a one-day workshop aimed at early career theatre designers and directors. This workshop uses practical exercises to interrogate the process of making work collaboratively.
As an early career director, you may have graduated from a related directing course and made work in:
Please note we are only looking for directors as the designer places are now full.
This workshop will take place on Monday 15 June, 10am – 6pm.
This workshop has been developed by long-time collaborators: designer Georgia Lowe and director Anthony Lau. We hope this workshop will be a space for designers and directors to meet and begin new partnerships.
Participants will be asked to read a one act play in advance of the workshop.
There will be optional networking drinks after the workshop from 6pm. There is also an optional breakfast from 9.20am.
This project is free to take part in. We can offer support access support and financial aid for travel bursaries are available to those in the Greater London area.
Are you a playwright based in the UK who would love to work with Middle Child? From next week, for one-week only, we're accepting scripts so that we can get to know writers we may work with in the future.
All of the details, including what we are and are not looking for, and where to send your script, are on our website (link in bio).
Pictured is our 2025 production of Biting Point by Sid Sagar, who participated in our 2020 associate writer programme following an open call out.
In the first week of May, Middle Child will accept submissions of full theatre scripts, for our literary manager to read. All you need to do is send it to scripts@middlechildtheatre.co.uk with your name and a location. Please include page numbers.
We want to read a script that shows off your voice and what you like to write about. We’re interested in untold stories that make sense of the world today. We are also only looking for one script per writer.
This Masters gives you a practical and theoretical engagement with the many forms of writing and production for theatre. Blending practice, theory and history, the programme is designed for those wishing to develop playwriting skills and knowledge of script development and support, opening the way to many theatre roles, including dramaturgy. You will learn about the changing roles of the playwright and dramaturge in contemporary theatre in the UK and elsewhere around the world, and be supported to define your own creative practice while developing valuable transferable skills in research, project management and critical reflection.
WHY THIS PROGRAMME
In this course, you will develop your skills in writing for radio, theatre and screen with an emphasis on your individual voice and style.
You will graduate with a portfolio of pieces and an understanding of how to approach theatres and film and TV production companies and work towards securing commissions as a professional playwright or screenwriter.
The MLitt will provide you with technically-oriented tuition by leading contemporary and award-winning playwrights, with an emphasis on best practice in recent and contemporary writing.
At RADA, you learn by doing. You will engage in creatively rigorous and fulfilling vocational training that immerses you in the world of the professional playwright, ensuring you're artistically and practically equipped for the industry. Through continuous reflective practice you will workshop your writing, gain feedback and develop your creative work.
Teaching will be delivered by seminar (lecture and discussion), masterclasses, one-to-one tutorials, group tutorials and writing workshops.
Throughout your training, you will receive personalised feedback and career guidance to develop your expertise, resilience and leadership. The course will also include theatre trips, and prioritise an understanding of access, diversity, and inclusion.
This MA programme will enhance your creative and collaborative abilities while developing your playwriting craft. You will establish your identity as a creative practitioner with the skills and confidence to take an original idea from conception to production.
You will consider the role of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, and the impact they may have on the writing process and creative practice and industries.
Through this course you will write two plays; a one act play for a showcase reading, and the first draft of a full-length play for submission to professional production companies.
Gain practical skills and critical insight in directing, design, performing, playwriting and more. You'll explore plays and productions covering theatre’s many pasts and presents. Discover the connections between theatre practice and its histories, theories, politics and ethics. Analyse scripts and develop performance, workshop, and rehearsal approaches. Hone your craft through ambitious production and research projects.
Thrive in exceptional facilities. We have two fully-equipped theatres, rehearsal rooms, and set design spaces. You’ll join an inspiring collaborative community of students and staff in music, film and television and creative technologies.
Our academics are leading researchers in theatre practice, history and theory. Many have worked as professional writers, actors, directors and designers.
Gain industry connections and prepare for your career. Engage with contemporary performance practice through theatre trips across Yorkshire. Build connections and get career insights through masterclasses with visiting professionals. You’ll have access to careers support from our in-house employability team.
In this course, we look to the future. Theatre can take place in front of large audiences in dedicated performance venues, but it can also happen all around us – on the street, in community centres, in prisons and schools. When done well, theatre can have a transformative impact on individuals, communities and society. And you can be part of that.
Focussing on the emerging trends and innovations of 21st-century theatre and performance, we will teach you the building blocks of performance making, whilst supporting your ability to develop highly creative, challenging and impactful work.
You will engage in collaborative group performances throughout the course, allowing you to specialise in what you enjoy the most. You might choose to focus on acting, building your confidence on stage, perfecting your characterisation and portraying that character through performance. You could opt to work in pre-production, playwriting or script writing, or even scenography, designing sets and scenes that bring your production to life.
Head to the link to read more!
At Kent, you will develop your individual voice and hone skills to express yourself creatively through performance.
Whether you want to be a stand-up comedian, actor, director, writer, producer, choreographer, or set designer – or even start your own theatre company – you’ll have the opportunity to explore your passions at Kent.
With a wide range of topics including acting, community theatre, musical theatre, puppetry, dance, stand-up comedy, and even alternative cabaret, there are plenty of opportunities to tailor the programme to your interests.
Theatre, drama and performance have the power to connect people, bring communities together and examine big issues. You’ll explore all this when you join our warm and inclusive creative community.
Our strong connections with industry and local arts venues will give you the chance to put your learning and creativity into action through placements, internships and other opportunities.
You can see shows and even take part in them at our fantastic on-campus venue, the Gulbenkian Arts Centre – which puts on an incredible programme of theatre, dance, music and film.
You can also take this course with a year in industry or year abroad.
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.
