Paines Plough and Nouveau Riche to Present Five-Part Short Film Series WE RISE

Nouveau Riche and Paines Plough have announced We Rise, a free five-part series of short films shining a light on how to manoeuvre, cope and self-care against racism in the theatre sector. The films will be released weekly and readily available to everyone on Youtube, Instagram and Facebook with the first episode airing on Wednesday 16 November. The trailer can be viewed below!

What are the realities of working in theatre as a person of colour? How do you pitch yourself? And what can theatre-makers of colour do to nurture the next generation of creatives?

Directed by Nick Virk, the films will feature voices from Nouveau Riche sharing their experience and advice on how people of colour can succeed in the industry, tips and tricks on the pathways available to you, pitching new work, touring your work, and what hopes we have for the future.

The films feature Ryan Calais Cameron (Artistic Director of Nouveau Riche), Ewa Dina (Actor and Director), Cal-I Jonel (Actor and Director) and Sarah Jordan Verghese (Producer for Nouveau Riche).

Each episode will focus on a specific element of working in the theatre industry:

Episode 1: The Realities
What is it like being a person of colour in the theatre sector?
What are the realities?
How is the industry embracing people of colour?
Why is now a great time to be making art?

Episode 2: Pitching the work
How to pitch new work
How to pitch yourself as a creative
What are producers looking for?

Episode 3: Storytelling
What stories is the industry looking for?
What to do if you feel your stories are underrepresented.
Telling stories that exist outside of your identity

Episode 4: Sharing the work
What is it like touring?
Why is it important to tour your work?
What is the experience of touring to Edinburgh Fringe?
How to cope with touring for long periods of time.
Why it's important to have diverse teams both on the stage and behind the scenes.

Episode 5: Hopes for the future
What needs to change?
What hopes do you have for the industry?
How can the industry cultivate and nurture theatremakers of colour?
How do we bring audiences of colour to the theatre?
What can theatremakers of colour do to support a new generation of creatives from their communities?

Release Dates

Paines Plough and Nouveau Riche
We Rise
https://bit.ly/we-rise-yt
Episode 1: Wednesday 16 November
Episode 2: Wednesday 23 November
Episode 3: Wednesday 30 November
Episode 4: Wednesday 7 December
Episode 5: Wednesday 14 December

ABOUT NOUVEAU RICHE

Nouveau Riche is a multi award-winning creative movement, making art that has the power and potential to change lives. Our objective is to discover, nurture and produce unique stories with a keen scope on work that is both educational and entertaining. We have set out to create and nurture new writing that is thought provoking, challenging and culturally inclusive. The most common theme in our work is that we tend to depart from traditional Western storytelling, experimenting with fresh, contemporary, and unconventional methods.

We are breaking down barriers for the Black and Global Majority community by forming long-term relationships with game-changing theatre venues, establishing safe and welcoming spaces for our community and supporting our associate artists to develop their own work in the Nouveau Riche style.

Our mission is to programme shows and events of the highest possible quality and to develop new ways of engaging audiences and artists. We aim to entertain, to challenge and to delight; to create lasting memories and to inspire other artistic journeys.

Queens of Sheba received the Off West End Award, 2020 for Best Performance Piece and both the Edinburgh Untapped Award plus The Stage Edinburgh Festival Award in 2018.

ABOUT PAINES PLOUGH

Paines Plough is a touring theatre company dedicated entirely to developing and producing exceptional new writing. The work we create connects with artists and communities across the UK.

Since 1974 Paines Plough has produced more than 200 new productions by world renowned playwrights including Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, Dennis Kelly, Mike Bartlett, Kae Tempest and Vinay Patel and we tour our plays to over 40 places each year. We reach over 30,000 people annually from Cornwall to the Orkney Islands, in village halls, off Broadway and in our own pop-up theatre Roundabout. Furthering our reach beyond theatre walls, our audio app COME TO WHERE I'M FROM hosts 180 original mini plays about home and our digital projects connect with audiences via WhatsApp, phone, email and even by post. Wherever you are you can experience a Paines Plough production.

For more information visit: www.painesplough.com