Press Contact: Natalie Thomas
18 March 2024
To coincide with a nationwide BBC campaign to champion careers in the arts, Theatre Royal Plymouth (TRP) will be hosting a one-off careers discussion panel to support those looking to enter the arts and creative profession.
BBC’s Bring the Drama Festival is the first festival of its kind – a six-week programme of events taking place across the UK that is opening the doors to the next generation of behind-the-scenes talent in TV, film and theatre. The events accompany a six-part BBC Two series hosted by Bill Bailey exploring behind the scenes. TRP will be among the UK’s leading creative organisations that are backing the campaign and running bespoke activity to offer unique insights.
TRP kicked off its events at its TR2 site in Cattedown, running free tours on 02 March offering a behind the scenes insight into the workshop, wardrobe and rehearsal spaces. TR2 is a globally recognised hub for scenic design and construction, having provided sets to renowned producers for over 20 years. It offers a centralised platform for all production activities, including set, costume, and prop manufacturing, in addition to rehearsal, education, and communal spaces.
TRP is now preparing to present a ‘Careers In Theatre Panel Discussion’ on 22 March made up of staff members from various departments who will speak about their experience and offer tips to hopefuls looking for a route into the industry.
Brendan Cusack, Head of Workshop at Theatre Royal Plymouth, said: “Bring the Drama is an indispensable campaign that supports anyone thinking about a career in theatre and is unsure what it entails or how to get a foot in the door. We’re inviting people to an evening of discussion about the various departments and roles available and will be joined by a panel of TRP staff members from across our organisation talking about their personal journeys into the industry. Guests will have the opportunity to connect with fellow theatre enthusiasts, professionals, and artists and be able to ask any questions about the industry.”
Bring the Drama comes at a time when the creative industry faces a sector-wide skills shortage and work is being done to create a long-term skills strategy to encourage talent, both new and old, into the industry.
Brendan continued: “Sadly, the sector lost a lot of highly skilled personnel during the pandemic that haven’t come back. Understandably, they moved to jobs that offered more stability in what was an extremely concerning time. We now need to come together as an industry to safeguard our current and future workforce and Bring the Drama is an excellent tool to do that.”
Suzy Klein, Head of Arts TV at the BBC, said: “We have created the Bring the Drama Festival so that anyone who wants to get into the many offscreen roles in theatre, film and TV can find an event near them, to introduce them to the magical world of working in the creative industries. There is so much talent across Britain and making world-class movies, TV shows and theatre is one of our greatest global exports – working with more than 150 partner organisations, the Festival promises to lure in the next generation of brilliant creatives.”
BBC Bring the Drama – Careers In Theatre Panel Discussion 22 March, 4:30pm, The Lab
Tickets: FREE
Running time:1 hour 30 mins
Age guideline: 14+
Keep up to date with all Theatre Royal Plymouth latest news here theatreroyal.com/press.