PROFESSIONAL APPROACH DEVELOPMENT

Critical examination of methodology and approach to practice

  1. Evolution of Thought

  2. Techniques + Processes: forming/informing my professional identity

  3. Influences + Analysis

1: Evolution of Thought

Before starting at Mountview, most of my producing work was grounded in participation, events, and festivals. As much as I love working in this way (helping up skill people, working across multidisciplinary practices, and engaging with all sorts of people), one of my primary goals for the year was to develop a practice for producing PLAYS. Given theatre is the art form I always come back to, and where my career aspirations lie - I wanted to come away from this MA with not only an understanding of HOW to produce a play, but the kind of work I WANT to make, and an idea of the spaces I want to work within.

Throughout the year I have been building my own Producing Handbook - collecting resources from visiting producers and course leaders, to create my own templates and processes to set myself up post-graduation. In its current form, my handbook has budgets, schedules, production trackers, call sheets, contracts/agreements, invoices, and more. Going forward, I have a base for any project I want to produce, allowing me to work in ways and within systems I have practiced and refined for myself.

How my interests in producing theatre have developed over the year…

SEMESTER ONE

Focus on: subsidised theatre, education, participation, community work.

Goals: working in a learning or participation TEAM in a subsidised venue.

I came onto the course wanting to work in a venue - somewhere that produces its OWN work, and has an active role in increasing participation in the arts. I was also interested in commercial theatre from a musical theatre perspective - thinking about General Management and using producing skills to maintain a long running show, rather than developing new work.

I saw subsidised spaces as the space for creation - projects being supported by a core team and structure.

SEMESTER TWO

Focus on: subsidised theatre, development, charity, ED/governance.

Goals: in-house at a venue, working with funders/donors/trusts+foundations, etc.

I was initially planning for my dissertation to be an exploration of how subsidised venues deal with the politics/ethics of corporate sponsorship… I was interested in WHERE funding for the arts comes from, and how we draw the ethical line.

Working on my commercial pitch, I really started thinking about the development of new work straight to the commercial stage. Given my love of new, contemporary writing, I pitched a new play - and unlocked new ways of thinking about producing. Whilst new writing doesn’t always have a commercial appeal - I thought of the ways other elements can bring it; a star cast, a well-known writer/director, even an adaptation of existing IP (albeit not NEW writing, but a development of new work nonetheless).

SEMESTER THREE

Focus on: producing commercial transfers, working between subsidised + commercial, developing new writing and supporting artists.

Goals: assisting in a commercial production company, producing transfers, producing in-house at a new-writing focused venue.

Going back to early thoughts about producing on a large scale - I would now like to produce internationally, working on tours and transfers. As commercial work operates from a framework of private funding, there is more financial risk but arguably more artistic freedom.

My practice and thoughts have evolved to bring initial interest in learning/partnerships within subsidised work into a commercial setting. I’m interested in the work we can do BEYOND the stage, and the social impact we can produce.

What theatre means to me, and why I want to produce it:

  • SOCIAL power - bringing people together

Kate is a 2025 Creative Producing graduate from RCSSD, who I connected with on LinkedIn and initially reached out to by asking for guidance in landing a placement, as she did one with Improbable and another with the London Theatre Company last year, before starting her Stage One placement with Runaway Entertainment.

We later met for coffee, and given it was still early in the course, her help really allowed me to start thinking about the potential of working in the commercial sector. We spoke a lot about Stage One, and her working within a production company and everything it entails. I learnt a lot from her about the power of just asking - of having the confidence to ask for a conversation over coffee, and how to use/extend your existing network.

After our conversation, I started researching more production companies, getting to know their work, and where I would like to sit within them. I also started reaching out to more people on LinkedIn, following Kate’s advice that no-one is too junior, and every connection is worthwhile.

Kate Caspari

After graduating from Mountview two years ago, Jamie has been working at SFP. Our conversation opened my eyes to the appeal of working for a production company being the SLATES of theatre that are constantly being produced. From Joe’s teaching on commercial work, I began to think about the layers of risk associated with producing in a non-subsidised environment - and now thinking about companies as having a variety of productions on the go to somewhat mitigate this intrigued me. From my experience of producing festivals and events, I have an understanding of how audiences and popularity aren’t always predictable, and some events will inevitably be more populated that others - therefore I started thinking about producing PLAYS in this way, and having a selection of projects to balance workload and range, as well as audience appeal.

Kate is a Development producer - from a musical theatre background, pivoting into now producing NEW musicals specifically. She works on Two Strangers Carry A Cake Across New York - which is now playing on Broadway after transferring from the West End. In our conversation, she spoke again about the importance of connections, but this time in person ones. About how she is working now for a company set up by someone she had a brief meeting with in a social setting, where she was speaking passionately about a field she loves - developing new work. The conversation inspired me, but also made me realise that as much as I love musicals, developing them as she does isn’t necessarily the path I want to pursue right now - rather plays are.

I asked her a lot about her experiences on Broadway in comparison with the West End - as one of my biggest producing goals has always been to work internationally, particularly transatlantically. She spoke about the differences in costings, of course, but also in investors and what they want from producers, ie the stress on awards and acclaim such as the Tonys, where investors will often back a project from a place of wanting ties with such successes.

Kate McKeown

Jamie Holland

Professional Development: In Conversation