Take The Right Direction At The Dukes

The Dukes is offering people from all walks of life a chance to learn about theatre directing this summer.

The Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme(RTYDS) takes place at the Lancaster theatre from August 12 – and it’s free.

One of the course leaders will be The Dukes new Artistic Director, Sarah Punshon who trained under the scheme at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Sarah’s extensive freelance theatre experience includes directing new writing and contemporary classics and for television, she has directed episodes of Eastenders, Emmerdale, Shameless and Doctors.
Said Sarah: “The RTYDS scheme changed my life. It’s great to be able to offer a chance for people here in the North West to learn about the craft of directing, with particular reference to The Dukes incredible outdoor show in Williamson Park – a unique directing challenge I’ll be facing myself next year!”
Also leading the course will be Alex Summers, The Dukes Associate Director and head of its Centre for Creative Learning, which is devoted to creative industry training, education and outreach work.

The course starts and ends with an intensive full Saturday session with eight Saturday afternoon sessions in between. 

It begins during the run of Treasure Island in Williamson Park with the chance to see the show for free and then walk the route with awardwinning Director, Joe Sumsion and discuss the challenges of this unique production.

The course ends in October with an opportunity for the budding directors to work with Sarah to explore next year’s park show and how it might be staged, based on their new knowledge.

In between, they’ll explore the actor-director relationship, discover how directors collaborate with playwrights, designers and composers, and discuss the challenges of participatory theatre making, focussing on the creation of Blackout, The Dukes autumn production, including a ringside seat at the technical rehearsal.

Complimentary tickets to Treasure Island, Blackout and The Suitcase will be provided as part of the course.

The Dukes is keen to attract a diverse range of participants aged 18 plus but places are limited and the deadline for applications is July 20. For more information and to apply, visit www.dukes-lancaster.org/about-us/artists-hub