We believe that theatre is for everyone. You don’t have to be studying drama to become, or develop as a performer, actor, director, producer or technician!
Here’s where Homegrown steps in.
Homegrown is the Lakeside Theatre’s talent development programme for theatre makers at the University of Essex. Students, researchers, staff and alumni of the university can join the programme at any stage in their journey for support, guidance and opportunity to become a performing arts professional.
Homegrown has three stages to the programme:
You don’t have to have completed any stage to progress onto another and any stage can be accessed throughout any part of your Essex journey as a student or alumni. Read on to find out more.
First Steps is designed to support those who want to take their first steps into the performing arts and provides students and alumni the opportunity to try out their ideas on our studio stage.
If you have a piece of new writing, an idea for a show or a show that you are developing, First Steps is perfect as an opportunity to workshop and try out your piece in front of a live audience. Ideal for current students and recent graduates working on the first pieces, you will be mentored by the Lakeside Theatre team and supported with a small budget to help bring your ideas to the stage.
Even very experienced theatre makers can still apply for First Steps though! Particularly if they are looking to R&D, get feedback on or workshop new writing!
First Steps studio slots are awarded throughout the academic year, with a focus on the Spring Term for performance dates. We will consider dates in the Autumn and Summer terms though!
Apply through the usual Homegrown application process and select First Steps as your performance/experience level.
Past First Steps productions include:
Real Housewives of Bible, by Saadiya Ali (MA Acting International, 2022)
Next Level is designed to provide a bigger platform for more established student and alumni productions, with the aim of allowing students and alumni to bring a well developed and more professional production to our mighty main stage!
Next Level productions will receive the same guidance and mentorship from the Lakeside Theatre team, but you will be expected to have an established team, production or theatre company and have ideas about artistry, marketing and performance.
Next Level productions will be able to apply for a greater budget than First Steps due to the scale of the expected productions.
A great way to take your show to a big stage and kick-start a tour, Homegrown Next Steps aims to support the professionalism of student and alumni theatre makers and provide you with a big stage to help launch your career or a production.
Next Level performance slots are awarded throughout the academic year, with a focus on the Autumn and Spring Term for performance dates.
Apply through the usual Homegrown application process and select Next Level as your performance/experience level.
Next Level is a new part of the Homegrown programme for 2024-25, but past productions which would have been considered Next Level include:
Develop is our workshop series which aims to develop Essex students as theatre makers.
These workshops run throughout the academic year, are free and are open to everyone at Essex! You don’t have to be putting on a show at the Lakeside Theatre to attend our Homegrown workshops.
Workshops will cover technical aspects of theatre, skills development sessions and sessions on how to develop as a theatre company and market a show.
Find out more about our free workshops.
The application process is pretty straightforward: complete the application form, tell us about your show and which level you are applying for and we’ll get back to you with feedback and a decision.
Applications are open year round and we do our best to look at all applications within a month of submission and respond to applicants within five weeks. The response time will be shorter during focus periods where we are actively promoting that the call for applications is open.
