Nottingham Playhouse seeks artists from the East and West Midlands to take part in this year’s Amplify Festival.
The Amplify Festival is an annual celebration of artists from across the wider Midlands regions and takes place this year from 21 – 26 October at Nottingham Playhouse. The Festival will feature a host of new and exciting work from the region, alongside scratch performances, networking opportunities, workshops and panel discussions. It’s a place for artists and audience to come together to delight and invest in local talent.
Nottingham Playhouse is seeking applications from talented theatre-makers to take part in the Festival. Whether fresh out of education, an early career starter, or someone who has been making professional work for several years, all are welcome. The Festival will be made up of four different strands:
- Amplify Headline – finished pieces of work 50+ minutes
- Amplify WIP – work in progress / scratch performances
- Amplify Connections – artist spaces, social and networking opportunities
- Amplify Development – artist development opportunities
To be eligible, companies or individuals must live in or be connected to the Midlands. Submissions are open for a wide range of work, including physical theatre, spoken word, dance, devised, new writing, circus, clowning, musical theatre and children’s theatre.
Nottingham Playhouse is keen to programme work by Deaf and disabled artists, and work that considers access for audiences and artists in the making of the work. Informal information sessions for potential applicants will be held, which include BSL Interpreted and captioned options.
Beccy D’Souza, Artist Development Producer at Nottingham Playhouse, said:
“The impact of Amplify Festival is growing year on year – it’s really important to be able to offer this opportunity to local artists, from supporting early work to ‘bringing home’ nationally touring shows. We’re aiming to programme a diverse range of innovative and interesting work across the Festival.
“This year we are particularly interested in working with Deaf and disabled artists, building on the access provision that ran through last year’s festival. We’re also excited to continue to work with people from across our Participation groups to programme the festival, creating connections between our community and the artists within it.”
Iza Jem, who took part in the Festival in 2023, said:
“As an emerging artist just graduating away from Nottingham, returning to the Playhouse for Amplify Festival was like being welcomed home. The Festival was a super supportive environment in which we could take risks and share our experimental new creations.
“Amplify was a fantastic learning opportunity and the Playhouse team were indispensable in helping our collective secure our first bid for Arts Council England Funding. Through the networking events I have made many exciting and lasting networks across the Midlands. It was wonderful to experience the large variety of work on show and be surrounded by so many people with a shared passion for connection and the arts.”
To apply to be part of the Festival, visit the website for an information pack and application form. If you’d like to take part in an informal session to talk through the process, these will be held in-person and on-line:
- On-line information session: Mon 13 May, 3.30-5pm (zoom – captioned)
- In-person information session: Wed 22 May, 3.30-4.30pm (BSL interpreted)
Applications close at 12 noon on Monday 10 June.
Amplify is the artist development programme run by Nottingham Playhouse. It is a free resource for professional artists in, from and connected to the Midlands region. Throughout the year, there are opportunities and events which help professional artists develop skills, showcase work and connect with other artists. These include the Amplify Festival, networking events, masterclasses, co-working opportunities and one to one mentoring and guidance sessions.
The full information pack for artists can be found here.
Posted on 10 May 2024
