It's become increasingly normal, as an artist in in the UK, You not only have to be top of the field making engaging, novelle art, but you also have to be your own tour booker, social media mogul, accountant and producer all rolled into one. I wish I could tell you it didn't have to be that way, but while it does, maybe I can help.
Hi I'm Owen, an actor and producer, I graduated from Lecoq back in 2021 and for the past 5 years I've been running a theatre company, it grew from rehearsals in a living room, to runs at Jackson Lane and The Southwark playhouse and touring internationally, all with minimal funding to start off with. I devised and co-created award winning plays, learned the business side of the acting business and landed touring contracts that at the start of this journey would of seemed impossible. The secret ingredient, I had an amazing group of people to do it along side, and when we made mistakes, and with all the success, there were a number of mistakes, we learned from them. If you want to go far go together, as the old proverb goes, so whether you are part of a collective, or a solo artist making your way in the world, maybe together, we can get you that bit further!
It's best to do the job you want to do least, first in the morning, but sometimes ALL of the jobs are the one you want to do least. And so often when we first started out, there are job we don't even know we need to do. How often have I heard people say "I went to drama school, how am I supposed to know how to file a tax return or make a budget" I get it, honestly I have been there and in many ways, I felt pretty betrayed by the institutions that took my money, taught me how to act, but never came close to how to be an actor.
Well I can help, here are just some of the things that i had to learn the hard way, so you don't have too:
You have a play or piece of theatre, but what do you want to do with it? Have you got your sights of the west end? Maybe you want to tour it nationally or even internationally, all this is achievable, I've done it! Let's sit down and work backwards from our goal, and figure exact, executable steps AND a concrete time line to achieve them in,.
Let's come up with some plans to get you paid, we will look into different funding applications whether its through ACE or funding internationally. If you're reading this and saying, Owen my ADHD or Dyslexia makes funding applications impossible, I can introduce you to people who can your applications done with you, no cost to you, I should know, they helped me!
Once you have your money, how are you going to spend it? This is so important for so many reasons:
And maybe most importantly
Ok so we have a budget but how do we book a tour? Yet another monumental task that we never really get taught, and as it's all about connections, how do I even begin to book my first tour? We can make a plan of action, start with some local reviews, do a fringe and then we can send off hundreds of emails to venues across the country. I'll take you through
the due process of contacting venues,
how to find technicians if you don't already have one.
pre tour reports so your designers can be kept up to date with each other progress and figuring out how your lighting and sound will plug and play in different venues.
At first this will be overwhelming, that's alright, as it all comes together it gets clearer.
Another huge part of momentum is press and industry seeing your shows. Getting the ball rolling on both of these early doors is essential, I'll take you through the timeline of when to start sending messages to people, and how to find contacts of people you want to message. Also how to think outside the box when it comes to press.
Industry is another ball game, lets figure out who would be good to see your show, which big institutions share similar artistic values to you, which ones inspire you and how do we foster relationships with them. Is it just London based ones, or are we thinking nationally or indeed, internationally.
How do we use social media to stay relevant, this in itself can feel like a full time job, and often it is, what can we do to make sure that you are still posting when you are performing, but it isn't taking over too much headspace, the importance of planning ahead with this one is crucial, what kind of stuff can we post when we have a run, but also during our downtime, what does a social media strategy look like then.
So many theatre companies are created by friends with friends. And when things are going well it's the best feeling in the world, but as stress mounts, and batteries start to run low, how do you navigate hard convocations, let's talk about different ways you and the network of people you work with creatively can hold each other accountable for action or indeed inactions while still being able to leave the workspace, and remain friends.
We've got the show on the road, but how do we ensure we knock it out of the park, what is expected of a tour manager, not only do you have to make sure you get from A to B but know who's driving what, who's buying the food when, who's letting the lighting designer know if there's a problem. There's a million and one jobs on tour, but together we can make an action of plan of how and when to do them, and sure, if you want to make God laugh, tell her your plans, but even in the ever shifting world of tour life, preparation is truly the key.
50 minute coaching sessions - one-to-one over zoom. Practical exercises and techniques direct from the top drama schools.
None of this is necessarily straight forward or easy, but together we can make sure all of this goes as smoothly as possible so you can get to enjoy the part you love, the art.
So book in for a free intro call, let's talk about your needs off the stage, and maybe you can learn from the mistakes I made, so you don't have too!
Any artist who needs help navigating the tricky concept of producing.
Maybe you're theatre company is just starting out, perhaps your a solo artist who just needs another pair of eyes on your situation or maybe like me, you had been in the industry for a while but never had the chance to upgrade this skill gap.
Even in this area its good to get practical early. There's allot of leg work to get through, so lets get the ball rolling. weather we are creating your 3 year plan, making a budget or planning your net tour, we will be working side by side during the sessions so that you can get off on the right foot.
A much richer understanding of what is needed behind the scenes to make art grow and flourish. Confidence in the next steps you are taking but also access to my network, and insights of what could be over the horizon so you can have a better idea of what is out there for you to explore.
Sessions are over Zoom for the most part, Happy to do them one-to-one or with a group, each session can be completely dictated by you and your needs, or if you need more general advice we can start at the beginning and make our way through.
£75 (50 min sessions)
Fees include:
