Cardiff's Pub Theatre The Other Room Announces Professional Pathways Programme

Cardiff's pub theatre The Other Room, winner of The Stage's Fringe Theatre of the Year Award 2016, today announced the pilot of the Professional Pathways Programme, a year-long creative development scheme for Welsh, Wales-based and / or Wales-trained directors and producers that offers a genuine route into the industry.

In partnership with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) and Theatr Clwyd and supported by Creu Cymru, the programme will provide work-based development for producers and directors in the form of four remunerated roles and mentorship support for the current Executive team at The Other Room. Each of the four roles (of Associate Director, Associate Producer, Trainee Director and Trainee Producer) has a specifically tailored set of responsibilities and opportunities designed to provide them with rigorous and targeted professional development.

Authentic and genuine development of artists, particularly directors and producers, in Wales is increasingly recognised as a problem for the sector. By building on The Other Room's former Trainee Executive Director scheme (2016 - 2017) and inspired by the professional pathway of the current Executive team of Dan Jones and Bizzy Day, the Professional Pathway Programme will seek to address this issue by developing early-career artists to that of a comparable level as elsewhere in the UK.

The Other Room's Executive Director and co-founder Bizzy Day comments:

"We're incredibly proud to be launching the Professional Pathways Programme. The scheme consolidates the development opportunities the theatre offers into a single pipeline - the very professional journey new Artistic Director Dan Jones took through The Other Room - and, with a pathway for Producers as well as Directors, is a clear signifier of our commitment to develop cultural leadership teams of the future. The Other Room is no longer just the place where artists in Wales might have their first show: it's the place where they might run their first building.

Liam Evans-Ford, Executive Director at Theatr Clwyd comments:

"Tamara and I place huge importance in developing Welsh talent. A major part of this is working towards ensuring that executive teams running major Welsh cultural venues are from Wales. A scheme like this offers a brilliant opportunity to work with individuals who are working in their first executive roles within Wales, and developing individuals who show an interest in taking on such roles in the future. This scheme also builds on our partnership work with The Other Room who have achieved brilliant things over their first four years of existence."

Dave Bond, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama's Head of Actor Training comments:

"Our relationship to professional theatre is vital to us and The Other Room has seen many of our graduates return as writers, directors, actors, designers and stage managers - to a venue which has quickly established itself as a crucible for new and developing talent. We are very pleased to be part of a scheme that is in line with own commitment to give opportunities to Welsh directors of exceptional promise."

Applications for The Other Room's Professional Pathways Programme are now open - for details please visit www.otherroomtheatre.com To keep updated with The Other Room, follow the team on Twitter @TORtheatre and Facebook www.facebook.com/otherroomtheatre

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