Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation awards local arts

The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation has announced six new grants to apprenticeship programmes offering opportunities for young people to gain training and work experience within professional arts organisations – including the Royal Exchange in Manchester.

Since the Foundation was re-launched in 2011, it has donated over £8.5million to more than 120 projects providing high-quality training, career development, professional guidance, apprenticeship and work placement schemes across the arts. All programmes have demonstrated their ability to make a real difference to improve the quality of life both for individuals and within local communities.

Madeleine Lloyd Webber, Trustee for the Foundation, says: “I’m delighted to announce the Foundation’s support of these projects which give young people valuable experience within professional arts organisations. We often forget about the talented individuals working behind the scenes, but it is equally important to provide training for the skills as it is for performers, so the arts across the UK can continue to produce to the highest standards.”

The six organisations to receive funding include:

Shared Experience – £105,000 over 3 years to support one trainee director and producer per year for three years via six month paid apprenticeships at the Theatre Company. Apprentices will assist on the full production process through shadowing and training as well as learning crucial skills in the legal, financial, logistical and operational challenges of professional theatre.

Tangled Feet Theatre Company – £14,000 over 2 years to towards the continuation of their participation programme for 20 individuals, aged 16 to 24, to learn theatre skills over a course of intensive rehearsals, evening classes and internships. The company offers careers guidance throughout and will provide long-term support after the project has finished.

Royal Exchange Theatre’s Young Company – £10,000 to Manchester that provides professional training and mentoring to young people aged 14-21 from diverse backgrounds in performance, writing, technical design, public speaking, marketing and production. The Young Company is designed to encourage participants to feel the theatre is their ‘creative home’.

Chickenshed – £15,000 to , towards their inclusive Young Creators Programme enabling 165 young people from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds to gain creative skills and practical work experience in 10 different disciplines relating to behind the scenes areas of performing arts.

Icon Theatre, Medway – £9,000 to to fund their “Theatre Industries Pathways” programme offering professional training, mentoring and careers guidance in a range of theatre production roles for 20 young people in the Medway.

Lake District International Summer Music Festival 2014 – £10,000 to , to fund 10 bursaries at an intensive 12 day residential programme of training for post-grad musicians, to include one to one tuition, master classes and ensemble performances with professional musicians.