RSC Open Stages opportunity

Open Stages 2013-16: Work with the RSC to produce your own Shakespeare production

The RSC is looking for 100 amateur companies across the UK to produce a Shakespeare or Shakespeare-themed production in their own venue, hired hall or outdoor site.

Working with professional partner theatres, this new phase of the RSC Open Stages project will focus on learning, with each amateur company receiving training, director mentoring, feedback and support.
Amateur companies from across the UK submit their application to be an RSC Open Stages Company by pitching us their production and explaining why they want to take part and what they want to learn.

Open Stages shares the RSC's rich resources of expertise, ideas and experience beyond its audience to those millions of ordinary people striving to make theatre in church halls, community centres and pubs, grass roots theatre makers outside the subsidised or commercial theatre world.

‘Amateur theatre’s long-standing disconnection from the professional mainstream has been both its greatest strength and its greatest challenge. The closure of town repertory theatres, replaced by larger regional theatres, meant less room for local non-professional theatre. Amateur theatre has developed as a robust, self-reliant, popular theatre scene unmoved by the politics and fleeting fashions of subsidised funding. A theatre that is connected closely to the audience from which it’s members are drawn. Amateur theatre is a theatre for the people, by the people.’ RSC

RSC Open Stages is open to any amateur or community group to take part in. 'Amateur' and 'community' group is defined for the purposes of this project as a group run by volunteers, and whose participants are volunteers.
It does not include commercial youth theatres, youth theatre franchises, professional led/run community groups or professional led/run youth theatres, or school groups. If the group is led or run by someone who is paid to do so you are not eligible to take part.

Locally Centre Stage Theatre of Langholm was part of the first Open Stages project in 2011/2012 and was partnered with The National Theatre of Scotland. Members of Centre Stage attended workshop sessions at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and residential workshops at The National Theatre of Scotland.  A number of Centre Stage members have gone on to art degree courses to pursue a career in the arts. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2KiXCvwt7Q&feature=player_embedded
http://www.rsc.org.uk/explore/projects/open-stages/