The Hodgkiss Director Award will provide an exciting and unique opportunity for an emerging Greater Manchester based director to forge a meaningful relationship with the Royal Exchange Theatre.
The aim is that this will provide a uniquely ambitious and life-changing opportunity for a Greater Manchester theatre director to benefit from a home at the Royal Exchange, and a bespoke programme of work which will provide them with comprehensive and wide-ranging insights and embedded knowledge and experience to support them to forge a sustainable career.
We hope to engage people that have a distinctive voice that is currently under-represented, an energy to generate ideas and the drive to tell ambitious stories that connect with a range of people. They have experienced a barrier to pursuing their career ambitions and would tangibly benefit from the opportunity of structured support, a bespoke developmental journey and a sense of home.
Nickie Miles-Wildin, Interim Resident Associate Director at the Royal Exchange, said, “I am extremely excited that we are able to offer this role to an early career director who is based in Greater Manchester. An opportunity to work with an award-winning director and the Exchange team at The Den in Rochdale, our two unique spaces. This will really develop and hone your skills as a director, a theatre maker and fully understand how the North West’s leading producing house fully operates. My career began atthe Royal Exchange on a similar trainee scheme and therefore I truly hope this is the start of a magnificent journey for someone else.”
They will work with award-winning director JOSHUA ROCHE as Assistant Director on the forthcoming production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. They will also have an opportunity to play a role in our Local Exchange work in Rochdale, including the Den Festival to explore ways in which their skills might open opportunities to make work in other ways – through engagement with communities, our Young Company and our Company of Elders.
