We are looking for three Assistant Directors to assist on a professional theatre production in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon.

Production 1 - Rehearsals: w/c 28 November (7.5 weeks) - Stratford upon Avon

Production Period, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Tech From Thursday 19 January 2023

Performances Thursday 26 January - Saturday 4 March 2023

The engagement will run from Monday 28 November 2022 to Saturday 4 March 2023. During this period, you would be contracted exclusively to the RSC on a full-time basis. The terms of the engagement will be covered by the RSC/EQUITY Agreement.

Either the Associate Director or Assistant Director (to be confirmed) will lead on BSL integrated rehearsals, understudy rehearsals (including technical and dress rehearsal) and will maintain the production during the run, which ends 4 March 2023.

Production 2 - Rehearsals: w/c 16 January 2023 (8 weeks)

Weeks 1-6 (London)

Week 7-8 (Stratford-upon-Avon)

Production Period, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Tech From Monday 13 March 2023

Performances Saturday 18 March - Saturday 8 April 2023

Touring Monday 17 April - Saturday 24 June 2023

The engagement will run from Monday 16 January - Saturday 24 June 2023. During this period, you would be contracted exclusively to the RSC on a full-time basis. The terms of the engagement will be covered by the RSC/EQUITY Agreement.

Either the Associate Director or Assistant Director (to be confirmed) will lead on BSL integrated rehearsals, understudy rehearsals (including technical and dress rehearsal) and will maintain the production during the run in Stratford Upon Avon, which ends 8 April 2023.

On tour, the Assistant Director will be responsible for maintaining the standard of the production, leading technical rehearsals in each tour venue (in collaboration with the Associate Director), BSL rehearsals (including technical rehearsals and BSL performances), and leading understudy rehearsals as and when required until the end of the tour period on Saturday 24 June 2023.

Production 3 -Rehearsals: w/c 27 February 2023 (7 weeks)

Weeks 1-6 (London)

Week 7 (Stratford-upon-Avon)

Production Period, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Tech From Monday 17 April 2023

Performances Saturday 22 April - Saturday 27 May 2023

The engagement will run from Monday 27 February to Saturday 27 May 2023. During this period, you would be contracted exclusively to the RSC on a full-time basis. The terms of the engagement will be covered by the RSC/EQUITY Agreement.

The Assistant Director will lead on BSL integrated rehearsals, understudy rehearsals (including technical and dress rehearsal) and will maintain the production during the run, which ends 27 May 2023.

You will:

Play an active part in the creative process, understanding the vision and intention of the production, and identifying opportunities to enrich it as the production is made
Support the Director with research in advance of rehearsals if necessary and respond to research requests as they arise in the rehearsal process
Assist the Director in planning the rehearsal process
Attend all production meetings
Assist the Director as needed. Attend all rehearsals, taking notes and actively watching and listening, representing the audience in the room. Communicate regularly with the Director regarding the progress of the production
Maintain the standard of the production as set by the Director and keep the Director updated
Run special rehearsals such as line-throughs etc.
Make notes for the Director as instructed during rehearsals and tech. Share these notes with the Director
Assist the Casting Department with the final allocation of understudy roles
Rehearse the understudy company and keep a rehearsal 'book' and understudy cards to cover every possible understudy situation
Be a point of contact between assisted performances freelancers (Audio Describers, Captioners, BSL Interpreters) and the production and lead on rehearsals for Relaxed Performances
Support the well-being and morale of the acting company and share any concerns directly with the Director, Producer and Stage Manager as they arise
Take a lead in rehearsals when the Director or Associate Director is not available
Support any press and marketing requests
Take part in additional activity which could include but are not limited to; Insight Sessions, Unwrapped Sessions, Post Show Talks, Trailers, Student Conferences, Workshops, one-off Concerts.
We will:

Embed you within the wider RSC team giving you experience of working within a large organisation
Help develop your professional development plan and offer development opportunities where needed for the production. This may also include wider projects such as play readings, script workshops and literary projects
Facilitate introductions to key industry contacts as appropriate
Ensure you have regular catch ups with the Producer
Give you the opportunity to learn about our work Nationally with schools, teachers and young people
Provide an opportunity to work on, and gain a greater insight into, Assisted Performances which could include Audio Described, Captioned, Relaxed and performances with an integrated BSL Interpreter
Sign post any suitable external opportunities
Provide opportunities to participate in and/or lead additional activities in order to gain valuable experience of working with our audiences and young people.

What will the hiring process be?
Application form and CV
Online interview
Possible second round of interviews, TBC