Being An Old Vic Theatre Maker

As The Old Vic Theatre Makers 2021–22 wrap up their time with us, Agnieszka tells us about her experience of being of being an Old Vic Theatre Maker. 

On Sunday 12th December, a group of people filed in to the Rehearsal Room at The Old Vic in London to watch a scratch performance created in the preceding week. It was the last day of the four-month Old Vic Theatre Makers programme and the second day of an intense devising and rehearsing weekend, and the people performing were those theatre makers.

My name is Agnieszka and I’m a London-based bilingual actress and writer, and now an Old Vic Theatre Maker. Being a part of this programme allowed me to meet early creatives from all over the UK – and even the world – and also showed us the theatre industry wants to expand. It meant being welcomed as someone wanting to enter the industry and getting seen by a big theatre such as The Old Vic. So what was this programme? Old Vic Theatre Makers meant to empower us to create our own art through participating in industry masterclasses designed to introduce us to various roles in theatre, and by helping us apply their skills on a small scale in workshops.

If you’re debating whether or not to apply, look at where you are in your career and what your goals are. If you want to widen your knowledge of the jobs within theatre, if you are thinking of being a multi-hyphenate, if you’re unsure of what your next steps should be, apply. It’s a short video application – take a chance! Some advice that I’m sure we all keep hearing when trying to start a career in the arts is that there is no clear path in and nobody really starts with a specific five year plan – you just have to be proactive and get involved with projects that speak to you, and these thoughts echoed in the room during our Q&As with people working in the industry. We have learnt more specifically what your most valuable skills as a director, a writer or a producer are and that no matter how creative you are everyone needs to be a little organised.

I was asked what the highlights of this project were for me. Getting to go backstage at The Old Vic and tread the stage for a minute were very memorable first moments, as well as rehearsing in the same rehearsal room as the company which was performing on the main stage (not at the same time!) and getting to see their research pinned on the walls. A highlight from our directing workshop was being asked to reimagine the staging of a well-known tale – my group came up with the idea of staging The Little Mermaid in an aquarium. Seeing everyone’s creative approaches and commentary on their tales was one of the best moments from the workshops for me.

I am certain the names of all our industry guests are listed somewhere else, and they were all very passionate and open to our questions (and we received free tickets to see plays – thank you Old Vic!). What I’ll take with me from this programme is to be courageous, to be open with my ideas and to find the right collaborators for you. And it has helped me to not be so nervous about asking for funding.