The Stage

TRSE launches Open Stage and gets ready to take it to the streets

Published Tuesday 24 August 2010 at 15:50 by Matthew Hemley

Members of the public are being urged to submit ideas for productions they would like to see staged as part of a six-month season at Theatre Royal Stratford East to run in 2012.

As revealed by The Stage last year, the six-month season is the conclusion of a two-year project being run by Open Stage, a venue which will feature works created from the ideas of members of the public. The season will take place in the theatre’s main stage, studio space and bar from January to June 2012.

TRSE kicked off the first part of Open Stage this week, by calling on people with suggestions to visit the website www.openstage2012.com and complete a questionnaire.

The results of this questionnaire will be used to collate ideas for the 2012 festival, when official planning begins in the autumn of this year.

TRSE also hopes to visit groups to discuss ideas and is looking for volunteers to take to the streets of east London, to quiz residents over what they would like to see on stage in 2012, the year of the Olympics in London.

Head of Open Stage Charlotte Handel said: “With Open Stage we really want to give people the chance to play a part in Theatre Royal Stratford East’s future. We can’t wait to find out what people want on our stage.”

The project has been made possible with funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. The money from this has also funded the appointment of Handel.

Kerry Michael, artistic director of TRSE, has previously said that the venue is trying not to have “preconceived ideas” about what shape the six-month programme will take. Launching the appeal for ideas from the public this week, he said: “We are calling for passionate people to help shape the way the project will work and be rolled out. We are looking for groups and individuals that are interested in sharing their ideas, including regular TRSE attendees, those who have never been to the theatre and those in between.”