In addition to workshops, networking and development opportunities, our National Programme also offers Assistant Director bursaries – giving one member of each of the groups the chance to work as an assistant director on a production at their local venue.
We are grateful to the Leverhulme Trust Arts Scholarships Fund, The Carne Trust (Sherman Cymru) and the family of Bob Carlton (Birmingham Rep) for supporting this work. We have awarded 55 bursaries so far:
Stephanie Kempson, Bristol Old Vic, assisted Sally Cookson on Jane Eyre
Ben Mills, Salisbury Playhouse, assisted Ed Dick on Gaslight
Caroline Wilkes, Birmingham Rep, assisted Tessa Walker on The Mother
Maria Crocker, Northern Stage, assisted Rachel Chavkin on Catch 22
Yusra Warsama, HOME, assisted Walter Meierjohann on Romeo and Juliet
Joe Mellor, Bolton Octagon, assisted David Thacker on A View from the Bridge
Miriam Battye, Bristol Old Vic, assisted Michael Oakley on The Life and Times of Fanny Hill
Dan Hutton, Royal & Derngate Northampton, assisted James Dacre on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Rob Jones, Traverse Theatre, assisted Rachel O’Riordan on Unfaithful
Oliver O’Shea, WYP (now Leeds Playhouse), assisted Mark Rosenblatt on Untold Stories
Katherine Nesbitt, Traverse Theatre, assisted Orla O’Loughlin on Swallow
David Crowley, Leeds Playhouse, associate director on Beryl
Jac Moore, Sherman Theatre Cardiff, assisted Rachel O’Riordan on A Dolls House
Christa Harris, Birmingham Rep, assisted Tessa Walker on The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Tom Guest, Northern Stage, assisted Annie Rigby on Up and Out Christmas Sprout
Alex Rex, Royal & Derngate Northampton, assisted Gary Sefton on The Snow Queen
Rosanna Purdie, Nuffield Southampton Theatres, assisted Liam Steel on Merlin
Miriam Higgins, Salisbury Playhouse, assisted Adam Penford on Deathtrap
Anna Ryder, Northern Stage, assisted Lorne Campbell on Get Carter
Jo Gleave, Birmingham Rep, assisted Tessa Walker on Folk
Alasdair Pidsley, Leeds Playhouse, assisted Kate Wasserberg on Barnbow Canaries
Michael White, HOME Manchester, assisted Louise Lowe on On Corporation Street
Amy Gilmartin, Traverse Theatre Edinburgh, assisted Orla O’Loughlin on Milk
Ed Madden, Bristol Old Vic, assisted Dominic Hill on The Rivals
Jon Luke McKie, Northern Stage, assisted Katie Posner on The Season Ticket
Chelsey Gillard, Sherman Theatre, assisted Rachel O’Riordan on The Weir
Leigh Toney, Royal & Derngate Northampton, assisted Luke Sheppard on Peter and the Star Catcher
Piers Black, HOME Manchester, assisted Leo Warner on City of Glass
Joe Hancock, Birmingham Rep, assisted Roxana Silbert on Amédée
Flora Longley-Cook, Salisbury Playhouse, assisted Ryan McBryde on Before the Party
Nikki Kalkman, Traverse Theatre Edinburgh, assisted Orla O’Loughlin on Girl in the Machine
Sophie Jacobs-Wyburn, Bristol Old Vic, assisted George Mann on Medea
Gitika Buttoo, Leeds Playhouse, assisted James Brining on Ode to Leeds
Chino Odimba, Bristol Old Vic, assisted Christopher Haydon on The Caretaker
Chloe Masterton, Tobacco Factory Theatres, assisted Mark Rosenblatt on Waiting for Godot
Paul Jenkins, Sherman Theatre, assisted Rachel O’Riordan on The Cherry Orchard
Zoe Murtagh, Northern Stage, assisted Mark Calvert on Alice in Wonderland
Finley-Rose Townsend, Birmingham Rep, assisted Tessa Walker on 101 Dalmatians
Gemma Aked-Priestly, Nuffield Southampton Theatres, assisted Sam Hodges on The Shadow Factory
Charlotte Marigot, Tobacco Factory Theatres, assisted Adele Thomas on Macbeth
Holly Gallagher, Northern Stage, assisted Mark Calvert on Frankie & Johnny in the Clair du Lune
Scott Hurran, Nuffield Southampton Theatres, assisted Blanche McIntyre on Women in Power
Alice Wordsworth, Salisbury Playhouse, assisted Ryan McBryde on Love on the Links
Kolbrun Sigfusdottir, Traverse Theatre, assisted Gareth Nicholls on Ulster American
Lucy Bird, Birmingham Rep, assisted Melly Still on The Lovely Bones
Heather Carroll, HOME Manchester, assisted Unlimited and Rash Dash on Future Bodies
Evan Lordan, Bristol Old Vic, assisted Tom Morris on Touching the Void
Sameena Hussain, Leeds Playhouse, assisted on three productions as part of a larger Trainee Director role: Road (directed by Amy Leach), Europe (directed by James Brining) and A Christmas Carol (directed by Amy Leach)
Nyasha Gudo, Reading Rep and touring, assisted JMK Award winner Roy Alexander Weise on The Mountaintop
Marcus Bazley, Wiltshire Creative, assisted Ryan McBryde on Beauty and the Beast
Karen Traynor, Northern Stage, assisted Mark Calvert on A Christmas Carol
Will Ashford, Birmingham Rep, assisted Roxana Silbert on A Thousand Splendid Suns
Georgia Tillery, Royal & Derngate Northampton, is assisting Wardrobe Ensemble on The Last of the Pelican Daughters
Shilpa T-Hyland, Traverse Theatre, is assisting Gareth Nicholls on Crocodile Fever
Kayleigh Hawkins, HOME Manchester, is assisting Javaad Alipoor on Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran
Find Out More:
JMK Assistant Director bursary recipients discuss their experiences in our Blog, and this section also lists upcoming opportunities.
You can also find blogs by JMK bursary recipients on our partner venue’s websites:
Kolbrun Bjort Sigfusdottir describes preparing for rehearsals for Ulster American
Alice Wordsworth lets you in to rehearsal week 1, week 2 and week 3 for Love on the Links
Charlotte Marigot gives an inside look into the week 1, week 2 and week 3 of rehearsals for Macbeth
Paul Jenkins describes working on The Cherry Orchard in this blog
Here’s Nikki Kalkman’s blog about working on Girl in the Machine with Orla O’Loughlin
Here is a blog on Katherine Nesbitt’s experience of working on Swallow week 1 and week 2
