Chris Tomlinson
Chris Tomlinson is a Liverpool based artistic director for TurnTable Theatre, which specialises in site responsive theatre for non traditional spaces.
Most recently Chris was a director based in the Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse theatres where for nearly 10 years he was the associate director of The Young Everyman Playhouse (YEP) before becoming the YEP Director for a further year and a half.
YEP became an award winning youth arts programme delivering arts provision to young people aged between 11 - 25. Within YEP he would create work with young actors that focussed around ensemble performance, devising relevant youth created stories for all the main house stages and studio space. He also designed and delivered the directors course launching many of the country's current emerging directors who are working locally and nationally.
Chris also worked as an assistant director and later the associate director for the Everyman & Playhouse main in-house productions, with credits on; A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo & Juliet, Fiddler on The Roof and The Story Giant, a new piece for young audiences.
For TurnTable Theatre Chris has co directed two major productions, Four to The Floor - A History of House Music & Made of Stars, an immersive experience created with refugees in the North West.
Chris has credits with many amazing companies and venues such as The Globe Theatre, DreamThinkSpeak and Shared Experience. He is a 'visiting professional' to Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, where he delivers on Foundation, BA courses and is a regular sessional tutor. In October this year, he and TurnTable were invited to devise the opening third year production at the UCEN Manchester.
Session: Creating Accessible Theatre for All
A practical and enjoyable course, full of lively conversation with practical exploration. An opportunity to discover how to create a safe space for anyone to come and create successful and inclusive productions of any scale or shape.
During the week you will:
- look at how choosing a show and casting can be done inclusively and in a way that sets firm foundations for success
- practically work with rehearsal and staging techniques to develop a toolbox of ideas and approaches when preparing productions for an audience
- find ways to better understand the needs of individuals and your society and how to best promote wellbeing and enjoyment for everyone
- explore strategies to allow your company members to shine from every department, not just those on stage.
It takes a village to raise a show. So get involved and develop your existing knowledge and refresh or learn something new in this exciting week of challenging tradition with an open mind and generous heart. It is relevant to directors, committee members, performers, workshop leaders in short anyone who has influence in the way a society runs.