The John Fernald Assistant Director Award
This Award is representative of a year-long training programme in HighTide, designed to develop assistant directors through the diversity of work HighTide produces, and to increase their chances at being further employed through expanding their skills. This scheme is structured through a gradual increase in responsibility for the artists, from assisting on the development of a new text and premiere production to directing in their own right.
There are four stages to the programme:
Stage One: Learning to mount a production
Starting in March, the scheme begins with a period of traineeship under HighTide's Chief Executive and Artistic Director Steven Atkinson or one of HighTide's Directors on Attachment developing and rehearsing a new play to be fully-produced in the annual HighTide Festival.
Stage Two: Realising the transfer
Following the Festival, each play will transfer to a major theatre or a site-specific location, on which the Award winner will work as an assistant director.
Stage Three: Developing their Dramaturgical Skills
HighTide receives unsolicited scripts throughout the year from which the company identifies the writers that they will produce, therefore the process of identifying talented writers is integral to our artistic process. The assistant director will become script readers for the company, reporting through to the Associate Director (Warehouse) Natalie Ibu who will develop their dramaturging skills.
Stage Four: Directing in the Genesis Laboratory
Finally, each assistant director will be given the opportunity to direct a research and development week-long project in the Genesis Laboratory, HighTide’s Research and Development Studio based in Waterloo.