Six half-day masterclasses with our in-house team and freelance practitioners, building professional networks, developing your skills toolkit, and expanding the horizons of your creative ambition.

We’ll pay for a week’s workshop for you and up to 3 actors, plus time with an additional creative, on a project of your choice.

This is designed to help you develop a new project, trial a new rehearsal approach, or both!

You’ll direct staged readings of 4 short plays by the YEP Writers, performed in the Everyman’s studio space (EV1), and run a masterclass for the YEP Actors.

You’ll be invited to observe rehearsals, design presentations, elements of the casting and dramaturgical processes, production meetings, tech and dress rehearsals, and previews – and to join us for Guest Night – for all our in-house productions during the Programme.

Our New Works Associate will train you in the fundamentals of reading and reporting on scripts, with paid work as a reader for our Open Script Submissions window.

In addition to the R&D, you’ll have access to the Playhouse Studio for two additional weeks. This can be used for rehearsals, closed readings or additional workshops.

We’ll take you to see multiple productions at other theatres, give you £5 tickets to all those at the Everyman & Playhouse, and free Guest Night invitations to our in-house productions.

There’s £250 as a contribution towards your own theatre trips, books or additional training opportunities.

Where appropriate, we’ll also signpost you towards other opportunities for paid work or professional development either with E&P or our partners.

We take ‘professional’ to include fringe and profit-share models, or other paid independent productions. It does not include university, scratch and amateur performances.

Your experience may be as a director (inc. assistant or associate), or in another relevant role (e.g. actor, dramaturg) – the important things are that you have experience of the full production process from rehearsal to performance, and of the director’s role within it.

You may have received professional training as a director, but this isn’t a requirement.

You may have experience of running rehearsals, workshops or masterclasses, or another role in which you were responsible for planning a creative process and guiding participants through it to achieve your objectives.

Applicants must be 18+ and based in Liverpool City Region.

Some elements of the Directors’ Programme are paid, including the project R&D, script reading and work with YEP.

Attendance at professional development masterclasses and observation on our in-house productions is not paid.

We expect directors to participate in all 6 professional development masterclasses, the YEP Writers’ Showcase, project R&D and theatre trips.

Observation opportunities across our production processes are an open invitation, and directors will of course learn more the more they’re able to attend – but we understand that paid work will sometimes take precedence, and attendance can be ad hoc.

We want the Programme to be as useful as possible, so will curate masterclasses around the interests and expertise of the directors we select for the Programme.

However, the masterclasses with be with a mixture of freelance practitioners and in-house staff at Everyman & Playhouse.

There are no Assistant roles attached to the Directors’ Programme. Involvement with our in-house productions is as an observer only.

This includes addresses within Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.

As part of our support for the local creative ecology, the Directors’ Programme prioritises artists currently living and making work in Liverpool City Region.