Bric à Brac Theatre are looking for a Black Female Performer to play Dorothy Jemison (Mae Jemison’s mother) for our new show Glass Ceiling Beneath The Stars, which we are taking to the Edinburgh Fringe as a Pleasance National Partner. 

 

Our recent R&D was supported by Leeds Playhouse and Shoreditch Town Hall and we are excited to bring the full production to the fringe this summer. 

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THE SHOW

1992. Hurricanes in Hawaii, riots in LA, the longest-running game of tennis at the US Open and NASA launches the Endeavour STS-47. Onboard are two women set to change history. Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to go to space, and Jan Davis, the first woman to go to space with her husband. Back on Earth everyone had one question: did the couple have sex in space? Five performers and three cameras investigate sexism at NASA, racial politics in the US and our fascination with the sex lives of others.

The Glass Ceiling Beneath the Stars is a live cinema show based on true events investigating what it really means to be a woman taking up space.

 

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

As a company we work collaboratively in the room and are looking for someone to join the team to devise the full hour piece.

We have found that the best artistic relationships come from a natural connection and urge to tell new stories. Our founding members have all come from different backgrounds so there’s no set CV we’re looking for. We encourage anyone interested in the brief to contact us and are happy to answer  any questions. 

 

As a guideline the person applying may have:

• Devised with companies as a performer, writer or director

• Have experience in collaborative processes 

• Have an interest or experience in devised processes

• Have an interest in multimedia led theatre 

 

Not sure if you fit the brief? Please let us decide - some of our favourite collaborators have had no experience in any of the above but were a perfect fit. 

 

ABOUT US

Bric à Brac Theatre is a Lecoq trained devising collective focused on creating unique feminist theatre shows and live experiences. Our practice of collaborative theatre making tackles big ideas and challenging topics to create the stories that we want to see onstage. We merge theatrical mediums, such as live sound and multimedia, to create productions which ask provocative questions that actively confront our audiences. You can see more of our work here: www.bricabractheatre.com

 

DATES

We will rehearse the following two weeks in July:

 

10th-15th July (10am - 8pm)

Rehearsals in London

 

17th -22nd July (10am - 8pm)

Rehearsals in London or Leeds (TBC)

Accommodation and travel will be provided if Leeds

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Edinburgh:

Performances 2nd-27th August

2pm at Pleasance Queen Dome 

Days off: 9th,15th, 22nd

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Travel to Edinburgh on 30th July in Edinburgh

Travel back to London on 28th August

 

FEE

We are offering a guaranteed buyout fee for rehearsals and performances of £2000. All accommodation (single room in central Edinburgh) and return travel by train will be provided. If you have any questions or if you have a half day clash during rehearsals this can be negotiated. 

 

HOW TO APPLY

We want to get to know you and the energy you would bring into a room. We’re not looking for perfect Shakespearean monologues or precisely filmed mini dramas. We want to get a sense of your style and understand why you would be interested in delving into this show. 

 

PART ONE

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Please make a quick video with the following:

 

1. Introduce yourself! Please state your name, tell us a little about your performance background, and share why you are interested in this project

 

AND

 

PART TWO

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Choose from ONE of the following options:

 

1. Present the following as if you were a TV presenter from the 90’s:

 

As a young girl growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Mae C. Jemison watched telecasts of the Gemini and Apollo spaceflights and knew that that was her destiny. No matter that all the astronauts were male and white and that she was female and black. She simply knew she would be a space traveler. Now a 35-year-old doctor and engineer, Dr. Jemison has realized her dream, launching into orbit yesterday as one of the shuttle Endeavor's seven-member crew. In the process she has become the first African-American woman to go into space.

 

 "I'm extremely excited to be on the flight because it's something that I wanted to do since I was a small child," she said, recalling the wonder and determination of her childhood at a National Aeronautics and Space Administration briefing before the mission. While ecstatic about achieving her goals, she has expressed unease about being considered a role model for black girls. There is a need for all people, not just black girls, she said, to realize that people of color can excel in any area if given the chance. 

 

OR

 

2. Improvise a scene or monologue in which a mother says goodbye to her child 

 

OR

 

3. Present some research on Mae Jemison in an interesting way

 

Please email us a link to your spotlight or attach your CV highlighting any experience in devised work to bricabractheatre@gmail.com. You may send video applications via WeTransfer or email. Applications close on Monday 12th June, 12pm. We will reply to every application we receive and we thank you in advance for taking the time to apply.