Artist development is at the core of what we do at Theatre in the Mill. Our main focus is on helping artists to develop new work and interrogate their practice. We do this by providing space, finance, support and links to other groups and individual who can positively impact their development.
Theatre in the Mill is a Bradford based performance venue situated on the University of Bradford campus. We are committed to presenting, developing and supporting socially responsible work that represents the environment within which we are situated and work that reflects our three core goals of Representation, Inclusion, and Innovation. We strive to create spaces that promote dialogue and art that represents the narrative of the people, the city and the region. We believe in the need for our audiences to see themselves represented and portrayed in contemporary culture and that we have a responsibility to be a mirror that reflects the lives of those around us. We are also excited about the future and the possibilities inherent within it.
We welcome work that is innovative in form and work that reflects how we communicate ideas in contemporary society. We commission and support work which we think reflects these values and beliefs.
We want to provide artists with the opportunity to access the expertise that is at home at the University of Bradford. We are able to broker relationships with academics and departments where we can see that this engagement will be mutually beneficial.
We visit festivals, listen to recommendations and try and see as many performances as we can.
We prefer to engage with artist early on in the development of a new work or new way of working and we expect all artists to be willing to engage with other artists, our audience and help us to create an ethos of shared learning and resources. Except with rare exceptions we don’t book visiting work that we haven’t had any engagement with.
How we support artists
We don’t have a one size fits all policy and so each relationship we have with an artist is developed around their needs both artistically and emotionally. We provide financial support in the form of commissions which range from £500 to £5,000. We provide space and technical support. We can offer administrative space and advice and will help with individual funding bids where appropriate.
We increasingly will try and provide digital support both in how it is used in practice and in disseminating what artists do. We try to encourage artists to share resources and expertise, we expect all artists we commission to engage with other venue users where appropriate. As well as our main space we have a rehearsal studio and in 2018 will be developing a micro studio primarily used for one on one performances.
Over the next two years we will be developing our digital expertise and we will be offering a variety of opportunities for people to get involved. We are particularly interested in supporting groups and individuals who aren’t often represented.
How far in advance to contact us
We like to start relationships with artists as early as possible. We book are spaces and residencies at least 3 to 6 months in advance. However if space is available last minute we will always offer this up.
We aren’t interested in booking…
Visiting work, work that doesn’t reflect our core goals. (Representation, inclusion and innovation)
We like artists to make initial contact by…
reading our policy and getting in touch with us early on in their idea process. The more information and understanding of what support you think we can help you with the better. Let us know where we can see your work if possible