The Emerging Director position is a brilliant opportunity for new directors to spend some time working side by side with more experienced directors. Right now Gethin Evans is supporting Matthew Dunster on Mametz (have a look at his blog posts here to find out what he’s been getting up to).

The Emerging Director is a full-time role and a key component of the creative team. It requires attendance at all rehearsals, the production week and all performances. There may well be opportunities to be involved in production meetings prior to the official start date of the project.

National Theatre Wales will stage two new site-specific productions later this year and both will have Emerging Director opportunities attached to them. The first is:

THE GATHERING/ YR HELFA. National Theatre Wales with/gyda Migrations & Louise Ann Wilson Company. Created by Louise Ann Wilson and written by Gillian Clarke. This will be a powerful exploration of the annual cycle of sheep-farming and will be a remarkable journey on foot through installations and performances across the foothills of Mount Snowdon, inspired by this iconic location, its history and its people. This production will feature new poetry by Wales’ national poet, Gillian Clarke, sound, film, and movement.

Louise Ann Wilson is a landscape-performance maker whose company (www.louiseannwilson.com) creates site-specific walking-performance in rural locations that seek to articulate, reflect upon, and transform significant life-events. Recent productions include: Ghost Bird (Sept 2012), a silent walk and live-art installation in the Trough of Bowland; Fissure (May 2011), a three day walking-performance in the Yorkshire Dales. Louise is a doctoral researcher in LICA, Lancaster University, and from 1998–2008 she was the Co-Artistic Director of wilson+wilson (www.wilsonandwilson.org.uk).

Writer Gillian Clarke, National Poet for Wales since 2008, was born in Cardiff and lives in Ceredigion, where she and her husband keep a small flock of sheep. She was awarded the Queen’s Gold medal for Poetry in December 2010, the Wilfred Owen Award in 2012. Recent books include A Recipe for Water, and a writer’s journal, At the Source. Her latest collection, Ice, was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Award 2012. She has written for radio, and translated poetry and prose from Welsh.

Dates (The Gathering/ Yr Helfa): 12th-14th September

Rehearsals: From 26th August

Production week: w/c 8th September

The second is...yet to be fully announced, so for now we’ll call it NTW#35

All I can tell you is that it will be a new, immersive piece taking place between Bristol and Newport. Digital will feature heavily as the performance will also have an online gaming element.

For this particular project we are looking for someone with an interest in these areas of performance and experience of working with hard to reach community groups.

Dates (NTW#35):

Rehearsals: w/c 20th October

Production week: w/c 3rd November

Press Night: 5th November

Final performance: 22nd November

NTW is offering a £2000 bursary per position. This should cover any travel, accommodation and subsistence costs incurred as a result of taking on the role. NTW will strive to help find the best solution to travel and accommodation if you are not based locally.

If you would like to apply to be the emerging director on either or both productions, please send a copy of your up to date directing CV, together with a covering letter to emerge@nationaltheatrewales.org

You should include:
CV

• Full contact details and hyperlink to your NTW Community Profile

• details of your directing experience - working with professional and non-professional casts if relevant

• the contact details of two referees who know your work

Cover letter

• a statement about why you think this is the right opportunity to support you and your development at this time

• a statement about your connection to Wales: NTW is focused on the development of theatre and theatre-making in Wales.

• PLEASE make it clear which performance you are interested in. Applicants can apply for either or both performances (but would only be offered one opportunity).

We ask that you keep your cover letter to one side of A4.

Deadlines:

Applications for The Gathering/Yr Helfa: noon 9th July.

Applications for #NTW35: noon 23rd July.