Producing : An Imposter's Guide
Poppy Keeling, Daniel Kok (Royal Court Theatre),
Dina Mousawi (Good Chance Theatre),
Ros Brooke-Taylor (Sonia Friedman Productions), Simon Baker (Wise Children Digital) & Reena Kalsi (Artsadmin)
23rd March – 27th April
Most theatre producers have little or no formal training: we learn on the job, make it up as we go along, and – on many occasions – have to wing it. This can be exciting, but it can also be a barrier to personal and professional progression. How can you keep moving forwards if you don’t have a guide?
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In the Imposter’s Guide, Wise Children’s Executive Producer is joined each week by a guest representing a different area of the sector: festivals, receiving houses, commercial theatre, international touring, independent producing and participation. They’ll discuss their own routes into the industry, and look in depth at stages of the production process, demystifying and debunking as they go.
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The course is aimed at people who have done some producing already and want to fill gaps in their knowledge, as well as broaden their horizons.
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To apply, complete the application form and answer a few short questions online or via video upload. For help recording your video click here.
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If you have any questions about the course, contact helen@wisechildren.co.uk
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Dates - 23rd March - 27th April
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The course will involve 12 hours contact time online.
Price - £135 (includes membership to the Wise Children Club) with free places available
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As a course student you will automatically receive a free ticket to your subject’s Workroom Talk. If you buy a ticket before receiving your place, this can be refunded.
About the course leaders
Poppy Keeling, Executive Producer
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Poppy is Wise Children's Executive Producer and has been with the company since its launch.
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Before Wise Children, Poppy spent nearly ten years at Complicité, as a Producer and as the Director of the company's award-winning Creative Learning Programme.
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As a producer, shows include; Grief is the Thing with Feathers, The Encounter, A Pacifist’s Guide to the War On Cancer and Lionboy. Creative Learning work includes participatory projects Like Mother, Like Daughter for mothers and daughters from different religious groups; the Ensemble Maths Project; Seen and Not Heard with Kirsty Housley; and Tea with Geraldine Pilgrim.
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Daniel Kok, International Producer
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Daniel Kok is the International Producer at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The Royal Court is a leading force in world theatre for energetically cultivating writers – undiscovered, emerging and established. Through the writers, the Royal Court is at the forefront of creating restless, alert, provocative theatre about now. In this role, he seeks out international partners to develop and collaborate with international writers.
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Previously, Daniel worked as a programmer and producer at different venues such as Cambridge Junction, the Barbican, artsdepot and Battersea Arts Centre. He is a member of Bootworks Theatre Company who are a group of artists who work in a range of disciplines and contexts making a varied spectrum of work including devised performance, live art, and children’s shows.
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Daniel is a trustee of the international theatre company Forced Entertainment.
Dina Mousawi, Creative Producer
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Dina’s role as an actor merged into theatre-maker, producing her own work both in the UK and internationally. Her work as Producer and Director include Terrestrial Journeys, a theatre project with Syrian women living in Beirut’s refugee camps; Intezaar (The Wait) that examined testimonies from prisoners on death row; Antigone of Syria with Syrian women in Beirut; and as Writer and Producer Return, a semi-autobiographical piece about the occupation in Iraq.
She worked as Project Coordinator and Creative Learning Producer at Complicité before joining Good Chance (The Jungle) as Creative Producer where she now works full time.
She is also the co-author of critically acclaimed cookbook Syria Recipes from Home.
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Ros Brooke-Taylor, Senior Associate Producer
Ros is the Senior Associate Producer at Sonia Friedman Productions, a West End and Broadway production company responsible for some of the most successful theatre productions in London and New York. Ros trained in Stage Management and Technical Theatre at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama and worked as a stage manager in several theatres before moving into producing. Prior to joining SFP, Ros has been General Manager at the Almeida Theatre, The Old Vic and Associate Producer at the National Theatre.
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Reena Kalsi
Having been a freelance artist for many years and then a Producer, Reena understands both sides of making work. Much of her time as a Producer at Battersea Arts Centre, was spent programming, hosting national and international residencies and supporting artists on their creative journeys. Her work was centred around accessibility and transparency; interested in who is engaging and who isn’t, and most importantly why. Reena was also an instrumental part of BAC’s Change Maker programme, working with renowned theatre company Touretteshero, to launch BAC as the first Relaxed Venue.
Now at Artsadmin, Reena’s work is concentrated on support for artists; creating projects, free opportunities, and holding space for underrepresented groups.
*The School for Wise Children is committed to making theatrical training accessible and offers at least 50% of our places for free to those who would not be able to train otherwise. Due to our funding, we are unable to offer free places to those outside the UK. You need to be aged 18 or older to participate in a School for Wise Children course.