Mentoring | Third Angel

MENTORING

What Was It?
Bespoke mentoring for your creative process or specific project from our Artistic Directors Alexander Kelly and Rachael Walton. This might be career development advice, dramaturgy on a particular show, and introduction to our devising processes. Whatever your project needed.

Who Was It For?
Professional artists and theatre makers at any stage of their career.

When Did It Happen?
We were available all year round, depending on what other projects we had running.

What Did It Cost?
It depended on your budget and your schedule - we had a sliding scale that we hoped would make our support accessible to as many artists as possible.

We set up our BOOST Mentoring programme to try to make our support available to a broader cohort of artists and companies.

For over 20 years we mentored young and established artists and companies, including Irna Qureshi, Molly Naylor, Action Hero, Raquel Castro, Faye Draper, Michael Pinchbeck, Hannah Nicklin, RashDash, Daniel Bye, Claire Hind, Flickbook Theatre, The Other Way Works and Unfolding Theatre, to name but a few.

Mentoring was one of the most rewarding strands of our practice; we like to think we were good at it, and contributed something of value to our sector. We worked with artists from half a day’s trouble shooting to a week or more of creative mentoring to dramaturgy and co-creation to ongoing career-planning relationships. Read on for specific examples. We had a sliding scale of fees depending on how well funded the company, artist or project is. Usually artists would build some of our time into their funding applications, or were supported by a venue or commissioning scheme.

As with all our creative learning work, the mentoring we offered was bespoke and collaborative, responding to the particular needs of the artist/company, and the specifics of the project.

This approach meant that mentoring could be career advice, conversation, full and part time collaboration, directing, designing, running devising workshops, feedback sessions, production support – whatever the artists/project needed at the time. Sometimes we were able to offer workshop and rehearsal space with our partners in Sheffield Theatres, or help artists begin conversations with other supportive venues such as Theatre Delicatessen, ARC in Stockton and Bradford’s Theatre in the Mill.

Faye Draper: Tea is an Evening Meal

Faye approached us to mentor her show Tea Is An Evening Meal, commissioned by Northern Stage for their Northern Stages season. We were able to support her with rehearsal space for the making process. Alex joined her part time as a co-devisor, offering making processes, structures and techniques to enable Faye to make her first solo show. The premiere in Newcastle was followed by a national tour and short run at Northern Stage at St Stephen’s at the Edinburgh Fringe.

“The whole Third Angel team generously supported me throughout the devising, rehearsal & performance stages of ‘Tea’. They offered masses of time, space & advice & acted as a sounding board for both creative & practical decision making. Alex joined me up in Newcastle & Edinburgh as well as for parts of the tour ensuring I never freaked out & helped the piece to continue to grow & improve. I’ll always be grateful.”

Faye Draper

“Without Third Angel’s hugely generous and thoughtful mentoring support Action Hero would not exist. At many key points in our formation and development as a collaboration their brilliantly incisive advice has played a crucial role in the decisions we’ve made. Their continuing support is one of our most valued professional relationships.”

Action Hero

Action Hero

Since 2005 we have worked with Action Hero (pictured, top), giving career development advice. Whilst this has naturally included discussion of their work, these conversations have focused on professional development, company identity and business planning. The focus and content of these discussions has evolved from more general “running a company” advice to more specific developmental issues as their profile and success has grown.

actionhero.org.uk

Unfolding Theatre: Best in the World

Alex spent a number of days visiting the making process for Best in the World, throughout the life of the project in 2011/12. He gave feedback and advice on the developing work, and, at the invitation of the team, joined in the devising process of the show when we were in the room. In addition to this was an ongoing conversation, by phone and in person, with director Annie Rigby about making and touring theatre in general and Best in the World in particular. See full length case study

“[Alex] was a mentor who reminded me how good the show was when I was losing the faith, and a mentor who asked the questions that gently got to the nub of what wasn’t working.”

Annie Rigby

www.unfoldingtheatre.co.uk

“My time being mentored by Alex has been an immensely valuable space to think deeply and carefully and what I do, and how and why I do it. Alex is infinitely patient and infinitely wise and invariably guides me towards a deepened clarity about my work, my ambitions for it. Without him I’d just be flailing around half the time.”

Daniel Bye

Daniel Bye

Our work with Daniel (pictured, below) is an ongoing series of conversations about project and career development, from making processes and touring logistics, from international touring to audience collaboration. This follows Daniel’s move from several years of ‘directing for hire’ into creating more of his own work, such as The Price of Everything and Going Viral.

www.danielbye.co.uk