Hull Truck Theatre present their second annual Grow Festival, from Monday 8 to Friday 12 June. A week of artist development events, workshops, masterclasses, discussions and networking opportunities aimed at nurturing people and ideas. From creative sessions with industry leaders, theatre companies and playwrights to practical workshops that focus on behind the scenes skills, Grow Festival is about inspiring the theatre of the future.
Session leaders include award-winning playwright Roy Williams, ground-breaking physical theatre company Frantic Assembly and Britain’s foremost clowning company Spymonkey. Practical classes include how to take a show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, how to set up a theatre company and how to perfect your company’s branding.
Following Grow Festival, Hull Truck Theatre are showcasing exciting new work in the Studio, welcoming our partner organisations and practitioners from, or with a connection to Hull.
Mark Babych, artistic director at Hull Truck Theatre, said: “Our ambition is for Grow Festival to be the most exciting artist development event in the North of England.”
Martin Green, chief executive of Hull UK City of Culture 2017, added: “There’s already a thriving creative community in Hull. Grow Festival is an opportunity to develop this even further through skills and partnerships.”
The full Grow Festival programme can be found on Hull Truck Theatre's website, but highlights include:
Monday 8 & Tuesday 9 June, 10am–5pm
Get Physical with Frantic Assembly
2-day workshop, Tickets £60
One of the country’s most exciting theatre companies, Frantic Assembly are known for their unique physicality and collaborative devising process. In this creative workshop you’ll learn how to make your own movement work, build physical confidence and learn new techniques.
Wednesday 10 June, 10am–5pm
Release your Inner Clown with Spymonkey
1-day workshop, Tickets £25
Spymonkey are global leaders in clowning and physical comedy. In this workshop they introduce their techniques for actor development and devising. You will look at what makes you uniquely funny, how to take risks and make an audience belly laugh.
Thursday 11 June, 2pm–4pm
Writing Masterclass with Roy Williams
Tickets £15
Award-winning playwright Roy Williams OBE shares his writing skills in this masterclass, where he centres discussions on the three important questions by which he judges theatre.
Thursday 11 June, 2pm–5pm
Truth or Dare – Writing from Real Stories with playwright Amanda Whittington
Tickets £15
Amanda Whittington shares the techniques she uses to put real stories on stage. In this practical workshop, you will learn how to blend truth with imagination and discover your own writing voice.
Friday 12 June, 7pm
A Good Night Out – The 24 Hour Plays by Middle Child Theatre
Tickets are pay what you decide
Four hot-off-the-press plays will be performed all over Hull Truck Theatre by bleary-eyed actors fighting off tiredness to offer a good night out.
Friday 12 June, 10am–5pm
Unlocking the Text with Mark Babych, Artistic Director at Hull Truck Theatre
1 day workshop, Tickets £25
How do you gain a deeper personal connection with a text? Using a variety of techniques, this workshop will challenge pre-conceived ideas and reveal how much you really understand about the words you’re saying. Perfect for drama school graduates and actors in training.
