Blue Elephant Theatre, Camberwell

Elephantology is Blue Elephant Theatre’s Festival for recent graduates/those who are just entering the performing arts industry. We created our Elephantology Festival to offer showcase opportunities as a supportive step into the arts industry. With the support of the Idlewild Trust, this year’s Elephantology offer is a little different, including workshops, mentorships and showcase opportunities. As part of Elephantology, we can offer four “graduate companies” (or equivalent) support to workshop or re-rehearse an original short play – potentially one which had to be abandoned previously – and present a showcase of the work.

The offer is:

⦁ A minimum of three days space at Blue Elephant Theatre in September 2021 (generally weekdays, 10am-6pm)
⦁ £300 bursary towards the expenses of those taking part
⦁ Artistic, marketing, press and fundraising mentoring
⦁ Some technical support and the opportunity to present a showcase in our professional theatre, either live or filmed

What you should know before applying:

⦁ We are looking to support those who have entered the performing arts industry in the last eighteen months or will be shortly; if you finished or are finishing training in 2020 or 2021 for instance.
⦁ The pieces should be original pieces and not a remounting of a script by an established writer.
⦁ All collaborators must be over 18 and based in the UK, ideally London.
⦁ For more technical information about Blue Elephant Theatre, please see here: http://blueelephanttheatre.co.uk/companies
⦁ Our stage is 7.5m x 5.5m and we only have one (small) dressing-room so we are limiting this opportunity to pieces with four cast members or less.
⦁ Please note that the Blue Elephant’s theatre space is on the ground floor and accessible to those in wheelchairs but its upstairs bar area is not.
⦁ We will work with you to make this as rewarding an experience as possible, bespoke to you.
⦁ We are committed to working safely and so may have to change arrangements if Covid restrictions change or if our planned ventilation works are further delayed.
⦁ Blue Elephant Theatre is committed to widening access to the arts and we particularly strive to work with people who reflect our local communities and audiences in Southwark and make work that is relevant to contemporary multi-cultural London. We particularly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented in the arts and/or face discrimination, including people who experience racism, identify as working class, identify as having a disability or are from the LGBTQ+ community.

To apply, please complete the application form here by noon on July 20th. Alternatively, you can record your answers as video or audio files and share those with us at submissions@blueelephanttheatre.co.uk. After you submit your application, we may get in touch with you to ask for more information or to clarify anything we are unsure of. If you would like an application form posted to you, rather than use the survey tool, or to access it in a different format or have any questions, please contact us on Niamh@blueelephanttheatre.co.uk or 02077010100.