Apprentice Artistic Director - TD Emerging Talent Program

Company Overview

ABOUT THE GRAND

The Grand Theatre is known for world-class theatre created and built in London, Ontario. As southwest Ontario’s premiere producing theatre and one of the most beautiful theatre spaces in Canada, the company has deep ties to the community and to its artists, artisans, and technicians. 

As a vibrant cultural hub and not-for-profit professional theatre, the Grand serves to gather, inspire, and entertain audiences in London and beyond. At our home in downtown London, we create productions on two stages: the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the Auburn Developments Stage (144 seats). The Grand season of theatrical offerings runs from September to May, and we collaborate with companies and artists across the country through our co-productions that see London-made artistic and creative work travel to audiences nation-wide.

The Grand Theatre is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lnaapéewak and Attawandaron Peoples. We acknowledge with gratitude the significant historical and contemporary contributions of local and regional Indigenous Peoples and of all the Original Peoples of Turtle Island (also known as North America). We are honoured to live, work, and tell stories together on this land. 

OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, DIVERSITY, INCLUSION & RECONCILIATION

The Grand Theatre is committed to creating and practicing a company culture that ensures an accessible, equitable, inclusive, and welcoming space for all.  We encourage applicants to review the Grand’s commitments to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Reconciliation on our website to confirm that your personal and professional values are aligned with this vision, and we invite you to reflect on these commitments in your submission.

Job Description

THE POSITION

The Grand’s 2024-25 Apprentice Artistic Director is intended for an early-career emerging artistic leader or for an artist who is newly transitioning into artistic leadership. The successful candidate will receive a hands-on introduction to the workings of a large, unionized regional theatre, focussing particularly on the role of the Artistic Director and the Artistic Director’s responsibilities and relationships amongst the various administrative and production departments, creative teams, Board of Directors, and the community. 

Under the supervision of Artistic Director Rachel Peake, this program will include an opportunity to observe and participate in activities through the course of a season, including but not limited to:

·        artistic creation, programming, and guidance: assisting in the development of the upcoming season, reading and assessing scripts for consideration, participating in script-development.

·        community stewardship: participating in advocacy, engagement, and outreach work with the Director of Education and Community Engagement.

·        administrative decision-making: learning about policy development, budgeting, grant writing, scheduling, casting, negotiating, contracting, production, and marketing

The Apprentice Artistic Director will also have an opportunity to focus on personal and professional advancement through:

·        weekly mentorship meetings: to set goals, evaluate progress and create a long-term career plan with the Artistic Director.

·        research and explore career opportunities: learning about the regional and national theatre landscape, identifying artistic leaders and best practices

·        building credentials and an artistic resume: evaluating and articulating current skills and artistic accomplishments 

·        networking: meeting a broad spectrum of artists and artistic leaders across the country

 
This will be an eight-month contract position with no option for renewal. 

This role is made possible thanks to TD Bank Group’s generous support through the TD Emerging Artists Program. For more information, please visit www.grandtheatre.com/td-emerging-talent-program

WHO CAN APPLY

The role of Apprentice Artistic Director is open to anyone actively pursuing artistic leadership as a career. Candidates should have 3+ years of theatre experience and be able to demonstrate:

·        Vision

·        Creativity

·        Resourcefulness 

·        Zeal

·        Organizational skills

·        Communication skills

Priority will be given to applicants from communities that have traditionally been underrepresented in Canadian regional theatre. *Please indicate if you self-identify as belonging to any of these priority groups*