Transporter, a Creative Takeover for Teesside creatives, runs at Middlesbrough Theatre from 21 till 25 September.
It is a week for local creatives to "let out their fire, expand and celebrate their identity as artists" and offers participants the opportunity to hone their acting, directing, movement, playwriting and musical theatre skills with practising arts professionals from Teesside.
The Programme
Monday 21 September – Freelancers Make Theatre Work Workshops at 11:00, 1:00 & 3:00
A chance to meet other people who work within theatre—come along and discuss what you have been working on and meet new people. Open to actors, writers, directors, designers, technicians, costume, etc.
Tuesday 22 September – Ready A Play All Day Workshop – 10:00 Start
An opportunity for local writers to hear some of their early draft work read aloud by local actors. This is a chance for actors to be in a rehearsal room together and do what they do best: bring some new text alive.
The day will be led by Maria Crocker, and will include a facilitated discussion tailored to each play. Bring lunch and a digital device. PDF to be e-mailed in advance.
Wednesday 23 September – Directors Workshop Workshop 1:00 to 2:30
In this 2-hour workshop, director Jake Smith will lead some set exercises designed to help emerging directors articulate their intuition drawing on his experience and career working with the National Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre, Almeida Theatre, Hull Truck Theatre, Northern Stage, Curve Leicester and the West End.
This session will also look at exercises that can creatively unlock the actors intuition in a COVID rehearsal scenario and conclude with a Q&A where Jake can shed a light on the process of leaving education and becoming a director.
This workshop will require you to bring a printed excerpt of text or have it on a digital device.
Wednesday 23 September – Actors Workshop 5:30 to 7:00
The Actors Workshop will draw on Jake's experience as an acting coach. The workshop will last 1 hour and 30 mins and is designed to suit the needs of all disciplines and the actor’s need for consistency to try new things and improve their craft and stamina.
This workshop will require you to bring a printed excerpt of a text or have it with you on a digital device.
The session will conclude with a Q&A where Jake will answer questions relating to the industry for North East actors.
Thursday 24 September – La Llorona Movement Workshop at 1:00
La Llorona is a choreographic exploration of femininity, internalised emotion, and cycles of joy and violence through the juxtaposition of a Colombian oral tale of a woman who is abandoned and in her grief drowns her child and contrasted with lived experience as an Anglo-Colombian woman.
The workshop will be using movement as a way of exploring autobiography and creating material for solo performance.
During this session you will create a starting point where you will physically inhabit character moving onto movement improvisation and free writing culminating in playing with piecing this material together into short performances to share back to the group.
Thursday 24 September – Writers Roundtable Workshop at 6:00
A chat with Ishy Din, Elijah Young, Louise Powell and David Tuffnell about their careers.
The chance to ask questions, guidance and advice from these local writers about future steps in your own career.
Friday 25 September – Audition Prep Workshop Workshop at 1:00
An audition preparation workshop with Jess Daley, looking at preparing for auditions in the current climate & beyond. A mixture of support, advice & well-being.
Each session can be booked on the Middlesbrough Theatre web site.