OTG is opening pitches for our 2024 Playhouse production.
Working at the Playhouse is, as we are sure you can appreciate, the biggest challenge of our theatrical year and a hugely rewarding experience for everyone involved. The first step in that is choosing the right play and director.
The Playhouse haven’t yet let us know what sort of plays might suit their spring programme for 2024 so, at the moment, the field is wide open. In putting on plays in this venue over the last six decades, OTG has run the gamut of English theatre from Chaucer to Stoppard, as well as international playwrights, such as Chekhov. Thus you can be as creative as you wish in your pitch ideas. One of our aims this year is to encourage more diversity both in terms of playwrights and subject and this important initiative is central to our mission.
In terms of cast size, there are no hard and fast rules. However, we are a large company with many talented actors and it is desirable to offer a reasonable number of roles for what is the highest profile production of our year. It is also worth noting that the committee will be looking to appoint a director with some experience (though not necessarily with OTG); the Playhouse is not the place for a first-time director! At this stage, we cannot say with any certainty which week we will be allocated for the production.
Since 2020 we have not had the benefit of the use of a full-scale set construction space, such as Burcot, so we will need to work with substantially more limited set building resources than we have become used to!
We are asking potential directors to bear these things in mind when looking at pieces they might wish to pitch.
Please note that OTG has a separate new writing review and submission process: all new scripts should be submitted in full to the committee via pitches@oxfordtheatreguild.com well in advance of any pitch deadline to be considered for production. Additionally, we ask that a director who is not also the author be nominated for such productions.
Timetable
The timetable for applications is as follows:
From now – Applications open
We welcome any preliminary indications of an intention to pitch (to pitches@oxfordtheatreguild.com) at an early stage (preferably by 4th June). Because we are still liaising with the Playhouse about programming constraints, please do let us know the names of plays you are thinking of pitching and we can check with them about specific suggestions ahead of a full pitch document. It is essential that directors check with rights holders ahead of preparing their pitches to be certain that a production would be possible in the spring of 2024.
9th July – Deadline for pitch documents to be sent to pitches@oxfordtheatreguild.com
For more details of what to include in your pitch, please download the PDF via button in the next section. Please note that unfortunately we cannot guarantee to consider any late applications owing to the short timescales
Your name and the title of plays(s) you are pitching will be circulated to all committee members. We also ask that you provide a 250 word summary of your pitch that can be circulated to committee members.
Last week of July – Interviews
Interviews will be held in person with the committee one evening in central Oxford, with an option to attend online.
If you have any questions about the process, working at the Playhouse or would like help in putting together a pitch, please get in touch with the Guild Secretary, Layla Katib (secretary@oxfordtheatreguild.com), or the Chair, Tim Eyres (chair@oxfordtheatreguild.com), and they will be happy to talk to you about it.
Working with OTG
Creating a safe and supportive atmosphere is important to us as an organisation so we ask that everyone who is involved in OTG activities takes the time to read our Statement of Values, our Bullying & Harassment policy and our Audition policy.
Directors also need to join OTG for the duration of the production (£12/year or £6 concessions).
OTG statement of values
Oxford Theatre Guild (OTG) is a charity registered in England and Wales and is run wholly by volunteers to promote the advancement of the art of drama. We believe that all OTG’s members and volunteers have the right to be healthy, happy, safe, valued and respected. OTG collectively strive for best practice in health and safety and an environment free from bullying, harassment or discrimination.
OTG’s committee will work pro-actively to prevent or tackle anything that contravenes our values. Any actions, speech or behaviour in breach of these values should be brought to the attention of the committee.
Click to read our Bullying & Harassment Policy.
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