Wise words: Wise Children Mentorship Scheme

You have probably heard of Wise Children theatre company by now, and if not, you will definitely have heard of its creator – the multi-award-winning director Emma Rice. The group runs a well-known and unique professional development programme, The School for Wise Children, which aims to train a new and more diverse generation of theatre practitioners.

What you might not have heard about is its fairly new, year-long mentorship scheme for one early-career theatre company, which has been confirmed for another year after a successful pilot in 2022. Providing a select young company with access to its creative, producing and technical teams, Wise Children creates a bespoke mentoring plan designed in collaboration with the selected mentee, providing a mix of in-person and online sessions spread across the year.

Invaluable wisdom

Last year, the recipient of the scheme was director and theatremaker Meghan Doyle and her theatre company: The Letter Room. Doyle got involved with Wise Children having followed its work from its very beginnings in 2018, eventually becoming a participant of the company’s summer school for directors in 2020.

‘The chance to be able learn from all members of the team has been amazing’, says Doyle on her experience. ‘Everyone that I’ve spoken to have been so generous with their time and created a space where I’ve felt comfortable to ask the questions you don’t often get the chance to. And of course, being able to have the time with Emma, a director whose work is the reason I got into theatre-making in the first place has been a dream.’

Describing her conversations with head of performance Laura Keefe as ‘nothing short of transformative’, Doyle then went on to collaborate with both Rice and Keefe. ‘I will hold onto their wisdom throughout the rest of my career,’ she says.

Support and collaboration

Throughout her mentorship with Wise Children, Doyle had regular meetings with Rice and Keefe, focused directly on her career development. In addition to this, Doyle was able to speak to different teams within the company to such as producing, fundraising and composing, learning fundamental tips and tricks that have helped her grow her company. During the scheme, Doyle was also able to see the Wise Children production of Wuthering Heights and take part in a workshop, with full financial coverage of her tickets and travel. In addition to this, Doyle observed some research and development that Wise Children undertook in preparation for one of its upcoming shows, and even got to join in on a game of Four Square with the Wise Children team.

Tangible impacts

Doyle makes clear that there was an openness and honestly from the start with Rice and Keefe, which rubbed off on her and influenced the way she approached her work with them. ‘It never felt like I had to try and be someone I wasn’t in order to impress Emma Rice, even though she is an artist I have looked up to for years,’ says Doyle. ‘It was simply three theatremakers coming together to share their thoughts on how to survive in a brilliant but sometimes challenging industry,’ she continues. ‘In an industry that can so often feel inaccessible, being able to have these important conversations and support was so empowering.’

The scheme was a saving grace for Doyle, especially after attending the company’s summer school for directors that was launched during lockdown, a time when artists across the country were feeing lost. Doyle tells me that the collaboration made her feel confident, as the team believed in her and The Letter Room at a time when she really needed that support. Even small things that the team implemented – such as putting her name on its website as part of the Wise Children ‘family’ – made all the difference in making her feel included and valued.

Looking forward

Mentorship and collaboration between companies is crucial – especially as the industry increasingly moves its work into remote or online contexts. While extremely useful in terms of accessibility, this type of work can be isolating and mean that less peer-to-peer collaboration between companies occurs. Wise Children is working hard to combat this, but more of the sector should take note of how impactful these kinds of meetings and workshps can be for early-career artists.

This year, the recipient of the scheme is The PappyShow, a physical and visual ensemble theatre company, created and run by Kane Husbands. The future of this scheme – and the companies it reaches – is extremely bright, and I look forward to seeing what work forms down the line thanks to this brilliant work.

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