Get Directing! is a unique scheme that actively explores ways to encourage young people, whatever their background, to see themselves as future directors of theatre, film or virtual forms of story-telling. Exciting opportunities are opening up all the time.

Over the past 2 years we’ve been very successfully in a unique collaboration with our partners at United Learning through a bespoke scheme pairing individual directors with teachers.  

Last year we worked with schools in Barnsley, Accrington, Paddington and Stockport and, this year, we took what we learnt forward into four schools, all in Salford – appropriately close to Media City.  Get Directing! Stage in Schools saw the return of the superb Joe Gilmour-Rees for a second year and welcomed two new directors onto the programme - Alice Christina-Corrigan and Chantell Walker. Read more about our talented Get Directing! Stage in Schools directors here.

This year, in partnership with Into Film four Directors ran film workshops in schools across the four nations.

WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT THE WAY WE WORK?  

We believe that when we inspire and inform teachers, they will in turn inspire and pass knowledge on to their students. 

“Get Directing! has been a fantastic opportunity where collaboration with a professional has supported the shaping and designing of resources for our drama department. It has opened doors to interesting and raw conversations about how we can take different approaches to teaching drama as a subject in secondary school.” Miss Cawley, Albion Academy

FUTURE PLANS

As the scheme grows and we reach more young people, we want to develop our ideas further, researching, finding new ways of working and fund-raising to help us encourage young people who might not otherwise have thought it possible to see directing as a career. We want to excite and nurture the ‘story-tellers of tomorrow’. 

Get Into Film is film education charity Into Film’s youth channel hosted by teenage reporters who interview filmmakers on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter & Facebook. We plan to co-curate some exciting new content with film directors for this influential age group alongside Into Film. Our trustees have held workshops for Get Into Film Young Reporters and members of the Into Film Youth Advisory Council on how to “Get Into The Mind of a Director”, covering how to ask the most insightful questions to directors, skills which they will put to use in upcoming interviews and Q&A sessions.

Earlier this year, trustees John & Deborah ran a webinar with young directors from the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme (RTYDS).  We are in discussion on directing opportunities outside theatre - in television, motion capture & VR. We co-presented with Immersive Technologies and VR specialist Akhila Krishnan.