Department Spotlight: a guest blog post written by Christian Markham from our Producing department.
The Producing team is the beating heart of any theatre, yet alone the Mercury. Our team consists of our Producer, Senior Producer, Production Assistant, Talent and New Work Producer, and me, the one writing this – the Graeae Associate. Hello!
The Mercury is ever-evolving and shifting-shape. Some of the greatest in our industry have passed through our halls. I myself have had the distinct pleasure to take on many roles over my time here – some public-facing, others behind-the-scenes. Since last April, I’ve had the immense privilege of being embedded in the Mercury’s Producing team, without whom, the Mercury couldn’t produce, license, or scout any of the shows you see on our stages, from the award-winning Flumps to the critically-acclaimed The Manningtree Witches.
My role within the Production team, however, has been utterly unique, in that I’ve been shared between the Mercury and another theatre company entirely. The Mercury has a number of associate companies – partner venues with whom we collaborate – including Frantic Assembly, Fuse Theatre, and finally my (other) employer, Graeae (Grey-eye).
Based out of London, Graeae is a radical disability-led theatre company. Through the Mercury and Graeae’s partnership, the two companies set out to do something that has never been done before: build a network of disabled artists across the East of England. Not an easy task, and not necessarily one with an obvious start either. So, the Mercury set me loose upon Essex and waited to see what I could come up with.
Both the Mercury (and Graeae-in-tow) are National Portfolio Organisation’s. We exist to serve the community, socially and artistically. So, Step One? Talk to the public.
I’ve worked closely with the rest of the Production team, to find ways to get new artists into the building as part of the Mercury family. A lot of my job consists of cold emails and invitations to chat over a cup of coffee or tea. A lot of coffee and tea. When you enter our building, the first thing our Artistic Director, Natasha Rickman, ensures is that you know where the coffee and tea are. At the Mercury, we always have our priorities straight.
We devised ‘Pitch N Mix’ (name coined by yours truly) – ‘think speed dating, but for creative businesses and creatives’. We brought this to Chelmsford Theatre and will be extending it to Harlow Playhouse in April.
To focus specifically on the access side, we had Deepa Shastri from Arts Council England, to deliver a masterclass on accessible funding in collaboration with Support Writer and Producer Roxanne Carney.
Through emailing, talking, and caffeinating – I came to find there are a wealth of artists and organisations throughout the East of England who seem to have no idea each other exist. This led to Step Two: building a community. In pursuance of this goal, I have organised a series of events – mainly the East of England Disabled Creatives Meet-up.
As a neurodivergent person myself, I am aware how difficult networking and making connections can be. So the group is intended to provide a relaxed/casual environment to discuss your work, accessibility, or just nerd out about art!
We’ve linked people from this group to various opportunities, from writing competitions, to local organisations we think can aid their journey.
Our Associate Artist, Nicola Werenowska, has even run a group for local disabled and neurodivergent writers, who will be showcasing their work later this year at Graeae’s ‘Crips With Chips’ event.
Also, stay tuned for our yearly Mercury Creatives Festival, a one-day creative takeover at the Mercury Theatre, spotlighting the extraordinary talent and creative businesses emerging from the East of England.
And much more!
If you would like any further information about any of the great work we do in the Production team at the Mercury, please get in touch at [email protected]k
Newer Blog Post Older Blog Post Back to Blog