The REP and the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme (RTYDS) have today launched an Introduction to Directing course for West Midlands based new and emerging D/deaf and disabled directors in autumn 2017. The course will offer an amazing opportunity for anyone that has considered a career in directing or already has some experience but has faced barriers from pursuing it further.

The course will include weekly workshops with professional theatre directors and practitioners from both The REP and beyond focussing on the skills and resources individuals need to take work from the page to the stage and to continue to develop their craft.

The first workshop will begin on the evening of Wednesday 13 September 2017 and will run every week for 10 weeks culminating in a sharing of participants work to an invited audience.

Tessa Walker, Associate Director at Birmingham Repertory Theatre said: “I am delighted that The REP and RTYDS are able to offer this unique opportunity to D/deaf and disabled directors from the region. To be able to welcome new directors into The REP and nurture and support them in the early stages of their directing life is a privilege and further strengthens our commitment to representing the diversity of our region in our theatre, in our stories and on our stages”.

Sue Emmas, Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme said: “Theatre needs to change.  We need to create an artistic democracy where the society around us is represented both on and off stage.  Directors can have the biggest impact.  They choose the stories to tell and the collaborators they work with to tell those stories. This is the first time the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme has run an Introduction to Directing for D/deaf and disabled new directors.  Be one of the artists who changes UK theatre.”

Priya Dosanjh, a previous participant on the RTYDS Introduction to Directing scheme at The REP also said: “The Introduction to Directing course was a fantastic springboard for a career in theatre. Beyond the provision of a practical foundation in directing, it led to the ongoing support and mentorship of industry professionals. Within a year after concluding the course, I was assisting on a main house production – an opportunity that I was afforded as a direct consequence of my participation on the course. It’s an invaluable program for anybody in the foundling stages of their career.