Trainee Assistant Director Program: Further Than the Furthest Thing by Zinnie Harris directed by Jennifer Tang

 

Trainee Assistant Director Program

Part of the Young Vic’s Jerwood Artist Development Pathway

Further Than the Furthest Thing by Zinnie Harris directed by Jennifer Tang

The Trainee Assistant Director role provides an opportunity for a director or theatre maker to gain experience working on a show at the Young Vic.  The opportunity is to support the assistant director in rehearsals, previews and run of a show will provide the trainee assistant director experience of the workings of the rehearsal room, the relationships between the creative team, the craft of the actor and the process of making a show from first day of rehearsals through to opening night. They will have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in a supported environment working alongside an assistant director and director on a professional production. 

We hope the chance to observe a rehearsal and production process of a show will give the trainee the confidence to apply for assistant director roles, either at the Young Vic or elsewhere

We are looking for a Trainee Assistant Director to work on a Further Than the Furthest Thing by Zinnie Harris directed by Jennifer Tang.   The play premiered in 2000, co-produced by the National Theatre and The Tron Glasgow, and won an Edinburgh Fringe First Award, Peggy Ramsay Award and John Whiting Award and was shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Based on real events on the island of Tristan da Cunha, the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, director Jennifer Tang’s new, visionary interpretation will explore the text through a modern lens of capitalism, colonialism and the climate emergency, as the story follows a community haunted by its past and under threat from a modern world in crisis.

KEY DATES 

Rehearsals from                   Monday 30 January 2023                                           

Technical Rehearsals           Wednesday 1 March 2023

First Preview                         Thursday 9 March 2023

Press Performances             Thursday 16 March 2023              

Final Performance                Saturday 29 April 2023 2023    

      

You will need to be available full-time for rehearsals (10am – 6pm, Monday to Saturday) from Monday 30 January to the press night on Thursday 16 March 2023.   Post press night week there is an option to see the show during the run and observe the assistant director but there is no expectation that you will be free to do this. If you have any regular or prior commitments, please let us know and we will try and accommodate these as much as we can.  

 

FEE

There is a fee of £3,000 to cover the rehearsals through to press night.  If you live outside of London travel and accommodation expenses can be provided.  Please mention this in your covering letter.

 

IS THIS FOR YOU?

We accept that it is hard for all directors to secure paid assisting work and we aim to provide opportunities on all our shows through a variety of schemes and programmes. This observational role is particularly aimed at new directors and theatre makers who have had limited access to making work or assisting.

There is an opportunity to work as an Assistant Director on the show and if you are unsure which role would best suit your experience and skills please get in touch with us on creatorsprogram@youngvic.org.  Alternatively, we will meet everyone who expresses an interest and can talk then about which role might be most appropriate.

We actively work to create a team at the Young Vic that is made up of people from a variety of backgrounds with different experiences, skills, and stories to join us and influence and develop our working practice.

It is important to us that the lived experience of our team accurately and fairly represents the participants, audiences, and communities we serve.  We specifically welcome applications from candidates from the following groups, which we believe are under-represented in our workforce and in theatre more widely:

• Black and Global Majority
• Deaf and or disabled
• Neurodivergent
• Working, benefit, criminal class
• LGBTQIA+

We are committed to inclusive working practices and ensuring access. We will ask you about any access requirements you might have at each stage of the process. The pack is available in a range of formats, and we welcome written, audio, video applications (please see below for more detail).

 

ESSENTIAL

• Have less than two years’ experience of working professionally* in theatre as a director or theatre maker but can demonstrate a commitment to a career as a theatre director
• Interest in collaborative process 
• Have not assisted at a theatre equivalent to the scale and reputation of the Young Vic 
• Have not studied to MA level or above in a theatre related subject
• You are resident in the UK at point of application

 

* We would define professional, as: making work with a cast and creative team who have or hope to have theatre as their main career focus and source of income. It does not include shows made at university or whilst training at drama school.

You do not have to be a member of the Young Vic’s Genesis Network, but we would encourage you to join so you can continue to find out about events, workshops and opportunities. All our activities are free, and it is where we advertise our paid opportunities.   You can sign up HERE    

HOW TO APPLY

If you would like to apply, please send a CV (no more than one A4 page) and either:

• a letter (approximately 200 words),
• video file (approximately two minutes)
• audio file (approximately two minutes)

We are interested to find out about:

• Three things you would specifically like to learn from this opportunity
• Why you are interested in working as a Trainee Assistant on Further Than the Furthest Thing

 

Please also complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form and the Access Rider or provide your own if needed.

Filling in the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form will help us to be as representative as possible, in the makeup of our creative teams. Our aim is to embrace diversity, ambition, and excellence. To achieve this, it is useful for us to know a certain amount about who you are.

Please address and send your application to Sue Emmas, Associate Artistic Director at opportunitiescreatorsprogram@youngvic.org.  The video or audio file should be submitted via WeTransfer or equivalent.

Please add your name, telephone number and email address to every page you submit.

Please confirm that you are free for the majority of the dates outlined above.  If you know you have any prior commitments during the rehearsal period outlined above, please let us know and we will try to accommodate these as much as we can. 

Please tell us your access requirements so we can get appropriate provision in place as soon as possible.  Send in your access rider or alternatively you can complete the form found on the website.

Please address and send your application to Sue Emmas, Associate Artistic Director at opportunitiesdirectorsprogram@youngvic.org

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Closing date for applications is noon Monday 21 November 2022.

We will contact everyone who expresses an interest and arrange initial 15-minute meetings on Zoom.  These Initial meetings will be held on 23, 24 or 25 November and we will send out a link so you can sign up to a date and time of your choice.   A second stage of meetings be required they will be held between 30 November and 2 December.

If your availability changes, please contact Tia Ali at opportunitiescreatorsprogram@youngvic.org so we can withdraw your application.

 

ABOUT YOUNG VIC

The Young Vic has always been more than a theatre – bigger than a building; it’s a set of values that uphold the conviction that theatre is an indispensable part of civic life.  Whether on our stages at our home on The Cut, touring to schools and community centres across South London, premiering a play in the West End or on Broadway, streaming our work across the country and around the world – we are actively working to be a theatre for everyone.

Our Anti-Racism Commitment 

Our leadership team and staff share a joint commitment to prioritising the wellbeing of Black and Global Majority people at the Young Vic. We are working together to create a culture of care for all,  but especially those with lived experience of racism, and we commit to holding each other accountable for building and maintaining this culture. We believe that making the Young Vic an anti-racist organisation makes the culture better for everyone. 

 

The Language We Use and Why 

We believe that language is important and empowering. Where possible we are specific as possible with our language and avoid defaulting to umbrella terms or making assumptions about people’s identity or experience. 

When we can’t be specific, we say ‘Black and Global Majority’ instead of phrases like 'Person of Colour' and 'BAME'. This is because the term ‘Black and Global Majority’ does not centre whiteness and is also factually true - over 80% of the world’s population make up the Global Majority. 

 

Our Values at the Young Vic

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone is treated with fairness, dignity, respect and importance, and shows respect for themselves, others and our community regardless of seniority or area of work.  Our values are as follows:

We believe theatre is at its best when everyone participates. We begin by asking, who isn’t here that should be? Then we make certain they are. At the Young Vic, everyone belongs, everyone is welcome.

We are driven by relentless curiosity and debate. We believe in the power of stories to help us see the world in new ways. We believe in being a forum for discussion and opposing views, in the possibility of fostering understanding and shifting perspectives.

We believe in pioneering and leading into the unknown. We innovate in how we make work and how we share it. We push against the status quo to challenge whose voices are celebrated, and whose stories are told.

We are led by the creativity of our people and the limitless possibility of imagination.

We believe in pushing limits and reimagining what’s possible. We make space for the unexpected, and we move quickly to make the most of opportunity.

We collaborate: working together to achieve shared goals. We believe our organisation is made stronger by including varied and unique perspectives and talents in every aspect of our work. We are committed to reflecting the great diversity of our city onstage and off.

We prioritise kindness, we lead with heart, with care, and with the wellbeing of our people - our staff, participants, volunteers, theatre makers, civic leaders, advocates, supporters, and audience members.

We are committed to openness rooted in trust. We believe in being held to account - apologising when we’ve not upheld our values or when we’ve caused hurt or confusion and learning from our mistakes.

About the Young Vic’s Jerwood Artist Development Pathway

The Young Vic’s Jerwood Artist Development Pathway is a holistic program of industry entry points and progression routes for early-career artists.  In partnership with Jerwood Arts we offer traineeships, assistantships, opportunities to build creative skills and collaborative networks.  This crucial pathway is generously supported by the Jerwood Arts Developing Artists Fund.