Since 2013, the Birmingham Rep’s Foundry – The Rep’s highly acclaimed artist development programme, has supported West Midlands artists and creatives from a wide range of artistic disciplines and backgrounds to grow their careers, and today, The Rep has announced their 2024 cohort.
This year seven applicants: Adjei Sun, Dan Walsh, Imaani Phillips, Jenny Escott, Rachel Baker, Robert George-Lane, and Sarah Cole have been selected to make up the 2024 cohort, who will be taking part in an intensive 8-month programme of paid training.
This training includes facilitation practice, coaching, workshops and masterclasses, focused on allowing the cohort a chance to build their networks beyond The Rep, and to design and develop their practice into becoming community facilitators. These facilitators will then move on to a placement in one of the seven community-based creative projects that The Rep are partnering with, these being Birmingham Settlement, Thimblemill Library in Smethwick, Big Local Welsh House Farm, Erdington Mind, Red Earth, Severn Arts and the Birmingham Institute for the Deaf (BID Services), andwill then deliver a 12-week programme alongside a mentor, who is an experienced professional co-facilitator.
Michael Southan, Foundry alumni and commissioned playwright said, “The Rep’s Foundry programme gave me the confidence to walk into rooms and say ‘I’m a playwright’. I think that’s really invaluable and put me in good stead for the future. I use it as my calling card in the industry.”
Many of The Rep’s Foundry alumni have been employed by The Rep as professional facilitators and have gone on to work across the UK at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Leeds Playhouse, Royal Court Theatre, Soho Playhouse, National Theatre, Bristol Old Vic and many more.
Later this year, another Foundry Alumni, Rae Mainwaring will be returning to The Rep as the writer of Bright Places (Thu 24 Oct–Sat 2 Nov), an honest, funny and autobiographical story about growing up in the shadow of chronic illness.
For more information on The Foundry, please visit:
Introducing The 2024 Foundry Cohort | Birmingham Rep (birmingham-rep.co.uk)