Join award-winning puppetry company Talk to the Hand Puppets, the puppetry directors from Avenue Q, to explore the world of puppetry for the stage. Try your hand at bringing Avenue Q style puppets to life. Then join co founders Iestyn Evans and Andy Heath to discuss the different uses of puppetry in live performance, and the different career paths within theatre puppetry. Andy and Iestyn will be sharing insights from their 28 years in the industry from Doctor Dolittle to Avenue Q, via Star Wars.
This session will be hosted by Iestyn Events & Andy Heath – Co-founders of Talk to the Hand Puppets
Key Information:
How to Book:
Bookings open at 12pm on Monday 19 October.
To find out how to book, sign up to the TheatreCraft 2026 mailing list using the ‘Stay up to date’ pop-up in the bottom-left corner of this page.
Subscribers will receive booking information and instructions on Friday 16 October, followed by the link to book when bookings open at 12pm on Monday 19 October.
Already signed up? You don’t need to do anything – we’ll email you everything you need to know.
In-Person Waiting List:
If you aren’t able to book a place in advance, you can join the ‘on the day’ waiting list at the workshop venue. This is for any places that become available due to last-minute cancellations or no-shows.
Simply come to the specified venue and a volunteer will direct you to the waiting list queue. Places will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and joining the waiting list does not guarantee entry.
For more information and to sign up to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Join award-winning producer, writer and co-founder of the Women's Prize for Playwriting, Ellie Keel, as she offers insights into how to enjoy a successful career in theatre, even in a cultural climate where artistic opportunities can seem fewer in number and more competitive when they do exist.
In a world where artists need to be entrepreneurs as well as creatives, we'll explore how to maintain vision and volition, through a mix of identifying gaps in the market, creating opportunities, building relationships, and taking strategic risks with the reward of making the work you want to make.
This Masterclass will reveal how to start new ways of working, how to sustain yourself both commercially and creatively, and how to find the support you need to make things happen. Ellie will share her experiences of engaging and retaining stakeholders, garnering support, and – whether staging a play or starting a prize competition which evolves into a registered charity – learning the skill of effective fundraising.
This Masterclass, aimed at early- to mid-career theatre-makers, will equip participants with practical tools, fresh insights and clearer ideas about what they will make next.
Key Information:
For more information and to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Please note: This event has been fully booked. Join the waitlist for the chance to secure a place!
Have an exciting idea, a new project, or a show you'd love to develop? Looking for time, space, and support to help bring your work to life? ORIGIN 8 supports artists and companies at different stages of their creative journey!
Providing tailored guidance, development opportunities and practical support to help transform ideas into the next stage of their life. Whether you’re nurturing the seed of a new idea, developing an existing project, preparing for funding applications, or looking for support to take your work further, we’d love to hear from you.
ORIGIN8 offers support in three stages:
These are all tailored specifically for each artist and company we work with depending on their needs!
Following completion of the programme, artists and companies become part of the ORIGIN8 Alumni Community, with opportunities to stay connected and continue engaging with our creative network.
Key Information:
For more information and to apply, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Aged 13-25 and live or learn in Hammersmith & Fulham?
This October, Youth Arts Festival is giving you the opportunity to get involved with creative experiences and training – and it’s all absolutely free.
The lineup includes 70 interactive workshops, exciting live performances, industry panels, and short courses for you to mix and match.
You could ask your questions about careers on stage and screen with the star of Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, India Amarteifio, learn how to become a session musician from an MD who has worked with Dua Lipa, Dermot Kennedy, and Jess Glynne, or have a West-End experience with Disney’s The Lion King.
You can also have some relaxed fun at our Paint and Smoothie Sip workshop, transform your friends in a Special Effects Prosthetics Makeup session, or finally learn how to crochet or play guitar in a beginner friendly class.
And if you just want to let loose over the holidays, make sure to join us on Thursday 29th October for a DJ Set from Bimini – drag icon, breakout star of Drag Race UK, a music artist who has supported international legends like Lady Gaga and Fatboy Slim.
For more information and to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Planning your next steps in performing arts training?
The Stage's annual How to Choose Your Drama School guide is here to help!
Curated using insights from more than 1,000 respondents to our 2026 drama school survey, the guide brings together practical advice and expert guidance to help aspiring performers make informed decisions about their training and future careers. Now its own standalone supplement, this is the perfect comprehensive guide to share with your students and wider networks.
To read the guide, click the Opportunity Info link below.
All cultures have at some stage developed and some still conserve, forms of theatre that involves puppets and masks. This workshop investigates the mysterious relationship between the mask and life. Its purpose is not to teach how to play a theatrical mask, but to discover what occurs when we put one on. At first, the mask feels like a strange object that bothers us. Gradually however we begin to feel hidden, and we start to do things that we would never ordinarily do. We discover a new freedom that is greater than the naked face. Detached from our own face and words that we use in social contexts something emerges that is greater than ourselves, something more powerful, more visceral, more confident, more honest and we have the whole body to express it.
We will be using half masks: talking masks from the tradition of Italian commedia dell’arte.
These masks only come alive in situations of great urgency. They require a high level of playing and a rigorous physical discipline. They propose a theatre of immediate reaction. Driven by fundamental motors of the human condition, the playing is governed by the need to survive, physically and socially, in situations of hunger, fear, poverty, jealousy, vanity, pride… The universal passions and desires that lie under the thin veneer of education and manners.
This short workshop offers an opportunity to go deep down in our bodies and find in ourselves new, surprising gestures and voices. Together we will explore humanity’s tragic and comic contradictions though pure joy of movement and play.
Key Information:
For more information and to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN
Applications for the 10,000 Black Interns Programme - Summer 2027 are officially open!
About the Foundation:
The 10,000 Interns Foundation is a leading UK charity creating access to the world of work for underrepresented students and graduates through internships, training and mentoring - working with employers to expand the definition of opportunity.
Launched in 2020 as the 100 Black Interns project, the initiative grew into The 10,000 Interns Foundation. By 2025, it had created more than 10,000 paid internship opportunities for young Black talent across 35+ sectors, working with 1,300+ organisations.
Today, the Foundation is transforming life-changing access into long-term success, nurturing future leaders through its alumni programme, expanding its training programme and working closely with partners to ensure merit is measured by ability, not access to systems built unequally.
About the Programme:
The 10,000 Black Interns programme works alongside employers' existing recruitment routes to create access to paid internship opportunities for Black students and graduates.
For Summer 2027, applicants can explore:
Applicants also have access to training and development throughout the journey, including pre-application support, interview preparation and pre-internship training.
Industry-specific sessions provide further insight into different sectors, roles and career pathways. Applicants can access many of these opportunities whether or not they ultimately secure an internship.
Deadline: Applications close 1 November 2026.
For more information and to apply, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Join a backstage tour of the iconic Lyceum Theatre, home to Disney’s The Lion King. See where the costumes are maintained, where the masks and puppets are created, and explore what it takes to bring this award-winning musical to life on stage.
This session will be hosted by Nancy Shakerley, Education & Audience Engagement Manager at the Lyceum Theatre.
Key Information:
How to Book:
Bookings open at 12pm on Monday 19 October.
To find out how to book, sign up to the TheatreCraft 2026 mailing list using the ‘Stay up to date’ pop-up in the bottom-left corner of this page.
Subscribers will receive booking information and instructions on Friday 16 October, followed by the link to book when bookings open at 12pm on Monday 19 October.
Already signed up? You don’t need to do anything – we’ll email you everything you need to know.
In-Person Waiting List:
If you aren’t able to book a place in advance, you can join the ‘on the day’ waiting list at the workshop venue. This is for any places that become available due to last-minute cancellations or no-shows.
Simply come to the specified venue and a volunteer will direct you to the waiting list queue. Places will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and joining the waiting list does not guarantee entry.
For more information and to sign up to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Curious about careers available in theatre? Meet industry professionals from various departments over tea or coffee to get real insights into their day-to-day work. Whether you’re interested in production, marketing, ticketing, technical, or any other field, ask your questions directly and learn how to kickstart or develop your career. While we will contact bookers to ascertain your specific area of interest and do our best to involve someone from your preferred department, we cannot guarantee this due to staff availability.
This session is hosted by the team at Jamie Wilson Productions.
Key Information:
How to Book:
Bookings open at 12pm on Monday 19 October.
To find out how to book, sign up to the TheatreCraft 2026 mailing list using the ‘Stay up to date’ pop-up in the bottom-left corner of this page.
Subscribers will receive booking information and instructions on Friday 16 October, followed by the link to book when bookings open at 12pm on Monday 19 October.
Already signed up? You don’t need to do anything – we’ll email you everything you need to know.
In-Person Waiting List:
If you aren’t able to book a place in advance, you can join the ‘on the day’ waiting list at the workshop venue. This is for any places that become available due to last-minute cancellations or no-shows.
Simply come to the specified venue and a volunteer will direct you to the waiting list queue. Places will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and joining the waiting list does not guarantee entry.
For more information and to sign up to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
Join the Opera Stage Management Team in the rehearsal room during a break in the Ariodante Rehearsals. You will find out just what goes on in the rehearsal room for an Opera and how the Stage Management Team organise, run and record rehearsals so they can move straight to the stage.
This session is hosted by the Stage Management team at the Royal Ballet & Opera.
Key Information:
How to Book:
Bookings open at 12pm on Monday 19 October.
To find out how to book, sign up to the TheatreCraft 2026 mailing list using the ‘Stay up to date’ pop-up in the bottom-left corner of this page.
Subscribers will receive booking information and instructions on Friday 16 October, followed by the link to book when bookings open at 12pm on Monday 19 October.
Already signed up? You don’t need to do anything – we’ll email you everything you need to know.
In-Person Waiting List:
If you aren’t able to book a place in advance, you can join the ‘on the day’ waiting list at the workshop venue. This is for any places that become available due to last-minute cancellations or no-shows.
Simply come to the specified venue and a volunteer will direct you to the waiting list queue. Places will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and joining the waiting list does not guarantee entry.
For more information and to sign up to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!
