Out of Joint Theater Launches Director Award

Out of Joint, the new writing theatre company, is launching its Director award, a special opportunity for a director early in their career.

Funded by the Arts Council, the Director Award will provide the winning applicant with an attachment to the company, assisting director Max Stafford-Clark over several months, with a bursary of £8000.

In addition, the director will be able to direct their own production of a new play, receiving Out of Joint's support and expertise, as well as some funding.

The selection process for this scheme will see six finalists take part in a valuable two day workshop on directing new writing, led by Max Stafford-Clark.

Max Stafford-Clark is the UK's pre-eminent director of new writing. He founded Out of Joint in 1993 following his artistic directorship of the Royal Court. He has premiered plays by Caryl Churchill, Sebastian Barry, David Hare and many others, as well as launching the careers of such writers as Andrea Dunbar, Stella Feehily and Mark Ravenhill. Out of Joint's current show is Richard Bean's play The Big Fellah; its most recent plays were Andersen's English by Sebastian Barry and Mixed Up North by Robin Soans.

Stafford-Clark says, "It's difficult for new theatre directors to develop a career, and earn a living, perhaps especially with new plays, without independent financial support. We have created this award as our contribution towards remedying this and look forward to working with an exciting new talent."

The winner of the award will join the company from January 2011. The deadline for applications for the Director Award is 18 October 2010, with details available on Out of Joint's website www.outofjoint.co.uk <http://www.outofjoint.co.uk/>.

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