We hope you are well!

As we see the welcomed news of our theatres beginning to reopen, we wanted to highlight and get your views on some of the casting announcements in West End shows, particularly ‘Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’.

Given the lack of MENA+ creatives involved in this project, and considering the historical origins of this musical, how important do we think that the industry should leave it up to MENA+ creatives to tell this story? If so, what can we be doing as an organisation to address this and encourage further representation of our community on our stages? Email us back and let us know your thoughts!

Sharing Conversations and Opportunities 

• Long Acre Art and creative team Laura Hanna, Jessica Edwards and Isley Lynn are looking for 3 MENA+ professionals to join them for their new play, Revolutions: a Designer, a Visual Effects artist (with experience of projection) and a Stage Manager. These roles would ideally be filled by MENA+ professionals who speak Arabic.

"Set across London and Cairo, Revolutions is a solo piece, telling the story of a British-Egyptian woman, Angele, and her journey through pole dance."

Please get in touch with Laura if you're interested - laurahanna0@gmail.com

• A job opportunity from Liverpool Arab Arts Festival  as a Creative Project Producer: 

"LAAF is looking for a dynamic Creative Project Producer, who identifies as Arab, to drive forward an exciting new international project that will launch at Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 2021. We will invite multidisciplinary artistic responses from Arab artists, activists, and creatives to the climate crisis. Our aim is to establish a creative anthology that reflects the complexities of the issues causing, and associated with, the climate crisis in the MENA region today."

Deadline 21st May. More info: https://www.arabartsfestival.com/work-with-us-two-new-producer-posts/

• One of our members Jenan Younis' Work in Progress Stand Up Show ‘Jenanistan’ will be performed as part of the Vault Fringes Festival on 2nd June at 8:30pm:

"BBC New Voices Winner 2019, Amused Moose Finalist 2020, 99 Comedy Club Bursary Nominee, star of BBC Radio Jenan's Comedy Hour, Jenan brings you a work-in-progress show of what it means to always be the minority. You've heard of Syrians but have you heard of Assyrians? Here is a show that tells you what it's like to be from an ethnicity that's rarer than an unfiltered Kardashian family photo taking in tales of growing up as the only beige kid in a middle class Surrey school, avocado flavoured hummus (or is it humous?) and being trolled by Stacey Dooley fans, all the while navigating the fine line between assimilation and integration."

Tickets can be bought here: https://vaultfestival.com/whats-on/jenanistan-work-in-progress-2/

• A callout from 'The Lion King’ for multiple crew roles:

"Are you interested in working on one of Disney’s most iconic musicals? Disney Theatrical Productions are looking for enthusiastic and committed people who have a passion for storytelling to join the backstage team at The Lion King in the West End of London. The Company are currently recruiting for several backstage roles and are particularly interested in people who may have the skills, even if they haven’t worked in theatre before.Disney are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workforce, and strongly encourage applicants of every ethnicity, belief, gender, sexual identity, disability, age and culture to apply.

Roles available:

STAGE TECHNICIAN

STAGE CREW – SWING TECHNICIAN

MASKS AND PUPPETS ASSISTANT

COMPANY MANAGER

For more information on any of these roles or to apply please contact recruitment@disneytheatrical.co.uk

Please include a covering letter with your CV. Closing date for applications 21 May 2021."

• A callout from English PEN, founding centre of worldwide writers’

association PEN international, for new trustee for Chair and Treasurer posts:

"English PEN is the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers’ association with 145 centres in more than 100 countries. English PEN works to promote literature and the right to freedom of expression through a range of campaigns, events, projects and publications. This year, English PEN marks its centenary with Common Currency, a year-long programme which brings together writers, readers and activists for an ambitious collaboration with partner organisations for events, residencies, campaigns and conversations across the UK and Ireland. We are looking for a new chair of trustees and a treasurer who have a commitment to the vision, mission and values of English PEN."

For more information: https://www.englishpen.org/jobs/

•  Counterpoints Arts and Southbank Centre have an open call for an artist with lived experience of displacement or migration to develop new live work for public spaces. New work will be presented as part of the Southbank Centre outdoor public programme, either in the indoor foyer spaces of the Southbank Centre, or the outdoor areas across its site next to the River Thames.

Timeframe is June 2021 - 2022.

Deadline: 12 May. More details: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/about/what-we-do/associate-artists/counterpoints-arts

• Six The Musical is looking for a new Associate MD for the UK Tour.

Deadline 13th May. For details: https://twitter.com/joebeighton/status/1390688754692759555/photo/1

• Deafinitely Theatre has launched a second round of the Deaf Freelancers Bursary, a special project to support deaf or hard of hearing freelance theatre practitioners and performers during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are offering six bursaries of £1,000 to support freelancers develop their practice in Summer 2021.

For more info and to apply: https://www.deafinitelytheatre.co.uk/deaf-freelancers-bursary

• Vault Festival is offering a free 9 month mentoring programme for early and mid- career live performance makers to help with the next steps of your career. Get monthly sessions, master classes, networking opportunities and a performance slot at the 2022 festival.

Deadline: 11th May. Info: https://vaultfestival.com/vault-five/

•  Creative Future are running a Writing Competition for underrepresented writers with the chance to win cash prizes, mentoring, online masterclasses, coaching with industry professionals and more.

Deadline: 6th June. For more details and how to enter: https://www.creativefuture.org.uk/for-writers/creative-future-writers-award/how-to-enter/

And that’s everything! For the new members, mailout is sent on a fortnightly basis. Please keep sharing and sending me any of your wonderful work or opportunities you want included in the next mailout to this email. Now more than ever lets keep circulating our brilliant stories; whether its past work, articles, videos, or something you think the membership may find interesting, please do drop me an email! Please continue to sign up to our directory, and share our community with your friends in the industry!

Have a great week,

Jessie x

MENA ARTS UK 

Our position on endorsement.

Our main areas of work is to help connect the creative industries with UK MENA+ talent, so we will always share castings, job opportunities, or marketing information. We will track these projects in the hope that they are a great example of how MENA+ talent is used. But by sharing this information, it should not be seen as an endorsement of the project.

We will call out work that is appropriating a MENA+ narrative and does not have MENA+ talent at the heart of the creative process; and we will always champion, front and centre, work that is made for and by MENA+ talent.

MENA ARTS UK