NatWest Back Her Business has provided £5,000 of match funding
Unite Theatre Projects
Chester, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Unite Theatre Projects aims to improve accessibility and inclusivity in the arts in regional areas.
OVERVIEW
Unite Theatre Projects aims to improve inclusivity and accessibility to the arts in regional areas.
In a recent survey we conducted, 1 in 6 regional born performers who are now living in London said that they moved because they felt they “had no choice” and of those still living in the regions, more than 5 out of 6 said they have felt that they should move to London at some point.
We want to help change this and encourage performers and artists to make work where they want to make work, not where they feel they should. By focussing all of our efforts on London, we are depriving the rest of the UK of the incredible things that a thriving arts scene can bring to a community.
Unite Theatre Projects will be launching in January. While the primary focus initially will be on the North West and North Wales as that’s where the company will be based, our long term goal is to expand and help bring people together to celebrate regional theatre from all over the UK.
ABOUT UNITE THEATRE PROJECTS
We believe everyone, regardless of their cultural, social or economic background, should have the opportunity to enjoy, learn and benefit from the performing arts, whether through performing in or watching live theatre.
Unite Theatre Projects will run several programmes in order to help make theatre and the arts accessible to all. Information on these programmes is below.
Supporting professional regional based performers is a huge priority for us, and we want to engage in conversations with regional theatres to understand the challenges and setbacks they face, and to encourage the involvement of professional local talent. We also plan to offer free advice sessions for performers seeking help with any aspect of their career, and particularly want to encourage the creation of a performers' own work and the formation of regional based theatre companies.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to improve inclusivity within the arts to regional based performers and theatre-goers.
We believe that regional theatre is best served by those who live and work in the regions.
We aim to engage local people with local art, both in the performance and attendance of it.
We serve anyone who wishes to be part of the regional arts scene.
OUR AIMS
- To provide continual training and development for regional based performers
- To work collaboratively with other arts and education organisations and theatres
- To support aspiring performers seeking help and advice for pursuing further education
- To encourage the formation of regional theatre companies
- To provide access to a resource of play texts where these can be difficult to source
- To improve accessibility to regional theatre through discounted theatre events
HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
UNITE THEATRE CLUB
Our Theatre Club will offer discounted tickets for members and will organise event nights which will bring the entire membership base together to watch some of the best regional theatre around. We also hope to organise Q&A sessions after our event nights which will enable our membership base to gain a greater understanding of theatre-making.
WORKSHOPS
Our professional development workshops will enable performers to continue training in their local areas and will be led by industry members who can provide real insight into the working world. We understand that continuing training can be expensive, so we will be offering one fully subsidised place on each workshop to ensure that nobody is unable to attend based on cost.
THE LIBRARY
Many actors have difficulty sourcing monologues for auditions both post-training and in order to gain admission to drama school, often leaving them with little choice but to purchase a play off the internet with no idea whether it will even have a suitable monologue inside, or to reuse the same monologue time and time again. We plan to house a collection of plays for performers to browse, borrow and if they wish, purchase, in order to encourage wider reading and discovery of new material.
This will initially be based in the North West, though we are looking into the possibility of creating an environmentally-friendly mobile library for these plays which would travel up and down the UK in order to bring these plays to the places that need them the most.
In addition to raising funds for the company, we are also in need of donations of play texts, so if you happen to have any plays gathering dust on your shelf, please get in touch for further information on how to donate them to our project, or visit www.unitetheatreprojects.com/donate
UNITE THEATRE COMPANY
The Unite Theatre Company will produce paid, professional work for local performers.
Our recent survey showed that over 80% of performers, both those based in London and those in the regions, agreed that local theatre companies producing paid professional work would improve the arts scene in their local area.
This is also why we plan to support the formation of new regional based theatre companies through free mentoring and advice sessions, and in the future, through grants, sponsorship and investment.
HOW WILL THE FUNDS BE USED?
We’re a social enterprise which means all of our profits are reinvested into improving the lives of the community that we serve.
We will be using funds raised from this campaign to help get Unite Theatre Projects off the ground. We will use the funds for a number of things including marketing and publicity, subsidising places on our workshops, funding any additional resources we need for the library, and helping with the ticket costs of our first theatre events.
Longer term goals which will also require funding include finding suitable office/workshop space, and creating our mobile library.
For more information, please visit our website:
https://www.unitetheatreprojects.com or email us: [email protected]
You can also follow us on social media:
Facebook: @unitetheatreprojects
Instagram: @unitetheatreprojects
Twitter: @unitetheatre
This project successfully funded on 31st December 2019