The Jewish Literary Foundation today announces this year’s Genesis Emerging Writers cohort, with the successful fiction, non-fiction and poetry projects taking us to Lithuania, the American South, Belfast and beyond.
The programme, a partnership between the Genesis Foundation and the Jewish Literary Foundation, offers bursaries, mentoring, peer support and an event at London’s longest-running literary festival Book Week to the 10 successful applicants.
Now in its fourth year, the programme is open to all UK residents over 18 years of age with no more than three years’ experience of being published. You can watch a short film about the programme here.
In the non-fiction category the mentors are comedian Robin Ince, Sins of My Father author Lily Dunn and biographer Clare Mulley. The selected emerging writers are: Aleph Ross with essays on the art of forgetting and her Lithuanian ancestry; Sabine Casparie with a memoir exploring the intersections of mental health and art; and Sam with graphic memoir Eraser Years, charting the impact of childhood social bullying.
The fiction projects chosen for this year’s programme are: Alison Green’s psychological thriller Housesitter; Hannah Silver’s WW2 story inspired by her Jewish grandparents’ experience in North Africa, Europe and the US; Lucy Thynne’s story of sisters Layla and Grace; Marianne Paget’s novel on the breakdown of an Edinburgh family; and Megan McKeown’s humorous, East Belfast set Nothing Good Comes from Overthinking. The fiction mentors are Alex Gerlis, Ali Shaw, Daisy Buchanan, Nicholas Royle and Sanjida.
In the poetry category the emerging writers are Timothy Fox with a mix of verse and prose on his childhood in the American Deep South and Charlotte Salkind with her collection celebrating mess, desire and failure. Their mentors will be Tamar Yoseloff and Jacqueline Saphra.
John Studzinski CBE, Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, said:
“The topics tackled by this new fourth cohort of emerging writers are promising in their relevance, diversity and complexity. The mentor/mentee relationship is vital to an artist’s development and the Jewish Literary Foundation has selected outstanding mentors to guide the writers in their work. This programme goes to the heart of what we have been doing for 20 years: supporting and nurturing creative and emerging talent and we hope it serves as a stepping stone in these writers’ careers”.
Claudia Rubenstein, Director of the Jewish Literary Foundation said:
“We are so proud of this programme and the successes that our previous emerging writers have so deservedly enjoyed in just three years. The Genesis Foundation is such a great supporter of emerging artists across a variety of disciplines and we are excited to see what these 10 writers produce over the next year.”
Ground-breaking partnership between The Sixteen and the Genesis Foundation has now supported over 300 young singers
The Sixteen is pleased to reveal the names of the 22 young singers who will join Genesis Sixteen’s 14th cohort this autumn, as well as announcing Emma Warren as the Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar.
Supported by the Genesis Foundation, Genesis Sixteen is The Sixteen’s free young artists’ programme for 18-23-year-olds which aims to nurture the next generation of talented ensemble singers. Now entering its 14th year, Genesis Sixteen is the UK’s first ever fully funded programme of its kind. Participants, of which there are now more than 300 throughout its history, have gone on to perform, record and tour across the world with professional groups, including The Sixteen.
Each year, Genesis Sixteen also offers a conducting scholarship, which is fully funded and offers young conductors the opportunity to be mentored by conductor Harry Christophers CBE and associate conductor Eamonn Dougan, as well as the chance to work with some of the best young ensemble singers in the country. The scholar is given the chance to observe each course, sing with the choir, lead their own rehearsals, and conduct several pieces throughout the year, including for BBC Radio 3 broadcast. The 11th Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar will be Emma Warren, a London-based conductor who is making waves in the conducting world with current roles including as Meaker Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music, Artistic Director of Inchant and Music Director of the High Holborn Chamber Choir.
During the course of a year, a series of week-long and weekend courses are led by key figures from The Sixteen, including Harry Christophers and Eamonn Dougan, who provide one-to-one coaching to the singers. Participants also receive group tuition, individual mentoring, one-per-part consort training from members of The Sixteen and masterclasses run by some of the world’s top vocal experts. Support from the Genesis Foundation means participants receive free tuition and a bursary to cover all additional costs.
Alumni of the programme have gone on to sing with leading professional groups such as the BBC Singers, Monteverdi Choir, Swingle Singers and The Sixteen itself and a number of them have established their own independent ensembles. Several have also distinguished themselves as prize winners in high-profile events such as the Kathleen Ferrier Awards, most recently Matthew McKinney, tenor alumnus from the eighth cohort, who won first prize at the 2024 awards. This summer alone – five alumni singers will be appearing in Garsington Opera’s summer season – soprano Camilla Harris, mezzo-soprano Bethany Horak-Hallett, tenor James Way and bassists James Newby and Ossian Huskinson; while Joseph Taylor has recently been selected as the new tenor for the critically acclaimed British vocal ensemble, Apollo5.
The current cohort of Genesis Sixteen will culminate their training with a showcase performance at Sounds Sublime Festival – The Sixteen’s annual showcase of young choral talent – taking place at St James’s Piccadilly on Saturday 13 July.
Emma Warren, Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar 2024
Sounds Sublime celebrates the passion, joy and diversity of the human voice with a day-long festival of events, singing workshops, pop-up performances and free concerts from some of the UK’s most talented young vocal ensembles.
Further highlights of Sounds Sublime include a choral extravaganza featuring performances from some of London’s most vibrant youth choirs, a special showcase performance by London Youth Choirs, a family of 10 choirs for young people from school year 3 to age 23; Come & Sing workshops; and a Choral Tots performance – an interactive concert for 0-5 year-olds.
In training the ensemble singers of tomorrow, The Sixteen is committed to broadening access to classical music and increasing the diversity of Genesis Sixteen to reflect our present-day society. Last year marked the beginning of new partnerships with London Youth Choirs and the Diocese of Leeds Schools Singing Programme, offering young diverse singers in London and Leeds the opportunity to develop their skills and discover pathways into the industry. Following the brilliant success of these partnerships through The Sixteen’s new Talent Development Pipeline Project, this year sees the start of a third new partnership, with Mat Wright MBE and Barnsley Youth Choirs. This programme is predominantly for young people from under-represented groups within the industry, and there are plans to further expand this programme to communities across the UK in the coming years.
Harry ChristophersCBE, Founder & Conductor of The Sixteen and Eamonn Dougan, Associate Conductor of The Sixteen said: “When we started Genesis Sixteen over a decade ago, we had no idea what a success the whole project would be. Quite frankly, it has far surpassed our expectations and as we enter its fourteenth year we are as excited as ever to welcome a new cohort of singers. We have worked hard to spread the word and the excellent group of singers we have assembled is our most diverse yet. Everyone who sings in choirs, whatever their background, should see themselves as a potential member of this unique programme. Our aim is always to allow personalities to develop and express themselves through their singing and to communicate to everyone around them without inhibition. Above all, singing is fun, it’s collaborative and with Genesis Sixteen lifelong friendships are created. We cannot thank John Studzinski and the Genesis Foundation enough for having the vision and determination to help us make this programme the success story it is.”
John Studzinski CBE, Founder & Chairman of the Genesis Foundation said: “I am incredibly proud of our ground-breaking programme, Genesis Sixteen, which has now nurtured and supported more than 300 singers since it began almost 15 years ago. Watching these singers as they move onto the next stage of their careers is always exciting and a testament to their talent and passion as well as to the quality of the mentorship provided by Harry Christophers. We look forward to meeting the 2024 cohort and following their progress.”
The Genesis Foundation has supported thousands of artists in their career development since 2001. Through its partnership model, it provides opportunities for talented artists, principally in theatre and music. The Sixteen has been associated with the Genesis Foundation for just over 15 years and launched Genesis Sixteen together in 2011.
Emma Warren, 11th Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar says: “I’m completely delighted to have been selected as the next Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar! I’m really looking forward to meeting and working with the singers in my cohort, and I can’t wait to see how my conducting develops under Harry and Eamonn’s guidance. August can’t come soon enough!”
On Tuesday 14 May the Almeida Theatre will host the latest Genesis Conversation, Playwriting Today: The Hard Questions, a live panel discussion asking the tough questions facing playwrights both present and future. Genesis Conversations is a series of free discussions, which gather cultural leaders and rising talent in the arts to discuss key issues in today’s cultural world, led by the Genesis Foundation.
Chaired by the Almeida’s Artistic Director Rupert Goold, the panel features David Byrne (Artistic Director, Royal Court), Dipo Baruwa-Etti (Writer, The Clinic), Nadia Fall (Artistic Director, Stratford East), James Graham (Writer, Ink) and Ava Pickett (Writer, 1536, winner of The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize 2024).
Founder & Chairman of the Genesis Foundation John Studzinski CBE said: “These talks are intended as free resources of the highest quality for artists to thrive in an increasingly tough industry. Providing healthy debates on key issues of our time, an exchange of ideas and practices from emerging artists as well as established, well-known figures, the Genesis Conversations aim to equip audiences with a new perspective and hopefully useful advice to take their practice forward.”
The 2024 Genesis Future Directors Award recipient Annie Kershaw will direct Girl in the Machine by award-winning playwright Stef Smith at the Young Vic this Autumn.
“The gap is getting smaller between the human and the hardware.”
A story of love in a fast-changing world, Girl in the Machine follows partners Polly and Rowen. When Rowen brings home ‘the Black Box’ which promises to cure depression, Polly becomes more and more distant from Rowen and struggles to resist the draw of eternal bliss that the Black Box offers.
Annie will direct the play in the Young Vic’s Clare theatre as part of her Genesis Future Directors Award. Annie is currently the Carne Deputy Director at Jermyn Street Theatre. She was Associate Director on Best of Enemies in the West End and previously the Jerwood Assistant Director at the Young Vic.
The Genesis Future Directors Awardprogramme, run by the Young Vic in partnership with the Genesis Foundation, provides early-career directors with the opportunity to explore and develop their craft by creating their first fully resourced production at the Young Vic, with mentoring and support from the theatre’s core artistic team.
Girl in the Machine will run from Wednesday 16 – Saturday 26 October.
Nancy Medina, Artistic Director at Bristol Old Vic, has been awarded the 2024 Genesis Foundation Prize. The Genesis Foundation Prize recognises an outstanding mentor of artistic talent whose work has effected real change in the practice and careers of arts professionals or graduates. Now in its twelfth year, it is the only prize to acknowledge mentors in the arts and, through its £25,000 prize funding, to give winners the means to invest further in their work.
Nancy will be using her Genesis Foundation Prize money to launch her ambitious plans for the development of new British writing at Bristol Old Vic. This includes BOV’s flagship The Five-Year Commitment, which supports writers at different stages of their careers: one legacy, one mid-career, and an early-career writer, and the return of a dedicated Literary Department which will focus on supporting writers, stories and script development.
Nancy said: “I hope this new approach to artist development makes clear our ambition to become a leading venue for new British writing and a home for writers in Bristol and the South West region. I’m incredibly honoured to receive the 2024 Genesis Foundation Prize which enables us to begin this work in earnest.”
Nancy has been a part of the Genesis community since she directed Dael Orlandersmith’s Yellowman at the Young Vic as the 2017 Genesis Future Directors Award winner, which nurtures and develops emerging directors as they create their first fully resourced production, without the scrutiny of the media.
John Studzinski, Founder & Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, said: “We are delighted to reward Nancy with the Genesis Foundation Prize 2024. We first recognised Nancy’s talent as a director in 2017 when she received the Young Vic’s Genesis Future Directors Award: this continued support shows our belief in Nancy’s work and in her value as a mentor to other artists. We were impressed with her ambitious plans for The Five Year Commitment at Bristol Old Vic and hope this programme will show how vital it is, perhaps now more than ever, for the creative industries to hold space for writers, to nurture them and invest in their long-term literary development.”
This shift marks an evolution of BOV’s artist support activity, moving away from the long-running Ferment programme into a new model that aims to make clear how artist development work is indivisible from any other aspect of BOV’s programme. This transformation marks the conclusion of Nancy Medina’s first full year as Artistic Director and sets the 258-year-old theatre’s creative agenda for the next five years.
The new Literary Department will focus its support on writers through a range of opportunities; from new commission strands and writers’ residencies to partnerships with other organisations that aim to deliver specific support within the wider creative ecology in Bristol, the Southwest and nationally.
Ben Atterbury, Literary Manager, said: “The South West and the rest of the UK continues to produce amazing writers whose work can be seen on stages and screens all over the country. However, there are challenges when it comes to consistent and long-term commitment in a landscape where often writers are working in the short-term; we want to give writers the opportunity to build their craft and their voice over time and within the holding of a singular place.”
Inspired by the long-term commitments made by residencies in theatres such as the Signature in New York, BOV’s The Five-Year Commitment will give three writers the time and space to build their craft by putting their work into a dialogue with audiences. In addition, the theatre will use its programme resources over those five years to support the space between those commissions, connecting them with each other and ensuring they feel embedded and at home at BOV. (Writers to be selected in Summer 2024, full details to be published soon).
Genesis Almeida writer Ava Pickett has won the $25,000 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, a prestigious playwriting award for women+ playwrights.
Ava won with 1536, the play she wrote during the 2021/22 Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme. There were 10 plays shortlisted for the award, chosen from more than 200 submissions. The judges praised Ava for her characters who “speak across the centuries” in a play with “sparkling dialogue and thrilling, charismatic writing underpinned by great craft and restraint”. Ava’s win was announced yesterday at a ceremony held at the Royal Court Theatre.
Ava said: “[The Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays programme] has been fantastic, and quite vital to me. They’ve been so supportive. The thing that’s so brilliant about that particular programme is they do commission you; they pay you to write a play. That means that you’re able to dedicate time to it. They read every draft and they’re able to give you a reading of it.”
The Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays programme is an an initiative that supports emerging and mid-career writers to develop new plays for larger stages. The aim of the programme is to provide a springboard for writers to expand the scale, scope and ambition of their work and to create plays of wide cultural resonance.
The Young Vic Theatre has announced its casting for The Earthworks directed by Andrea Ling, the 2023 Genesis Future Directors Award recipient. Written by Olivier Award winner Tom Morton-Smith (My Neighbour Totoro, Oppenheimer at the RSC), it will be in the Young Vic’s Clare Theatre from 26 March to 6 April.
Olivier Award nominated actress Natalie Dew (Mates in Chelsea, Bend It Like Beckham: The Musical) will play Clare, Mark Edel-Hunt (Leopoldstadt, Sister Boniface Mysteries) will play Fritjof and Anemone Rasmussen makes her professional theatre debut as Herta.
The Earthworks is a moving and humorous exploration into carrying the weight of grief and knowing when it’s time to let go.
The creative team is completed by Designer Emma Bailey, Lighting Designer Bethany Gupwell, Sound Designer XANA, Movement Director Chi-San Howard and Casting Director Polly Jerold.
The Genesis Future Directors Award provides early-career directors with the opportunity to explore and develop their craft by creating their first fully resourced production at the Young Vic, with mentoring and support from the theatre’s core artistic team including Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah and the current Genesis Fellow Taio Lawson.
Since its inception in 2012, the Genesis Future Directors Award has supported 16 emerging directors and theatre-makers. Among them are Diyan Zora, who directed Mom,How Did You Meet The Beatles? at Chichester Festival in 2023; Debbie Hannan, Associate Director at the National Theatre of Scotland; Nancy Medina, Artistic Director of the Bristol Old Vic; Matthew Xia, Artistic Director and joint CEO of Actors Touring Company; Lekan Lawal, Artistic Director of Eclipse Theatre and Tinuke Craig, who directed August Wilson’s Jitney in 2022 at Leeds Playhouse and the Old Vic.
Natalie Dew (Clare) has appeared across stage, television and film. Her recent credits include Mates in Chelsea at the Royal Court, The Capture (BBC), and Sandylands (Gold). Natalie received an Olivier nomination for portraying Jess Bhamra in Bend It Like Beckham: The Musical (West End) and returns to the Young Vic where she previously played Olivia in Twelfth Night.
Mark Edel-Hunt (Fritjof) has appeared across stage and screen. He most recently appeared in Leopoldstadt (West End) with recent television credits including All The Light We Cannot See (Netflix), Sister Boniface Mysteries (BBC), The Royal Mob (Sky) and The White Princess (Starz).
Anemone Rasmussen (Herta) is a recent East 15 Acting School graduate. The Earthworks will be her professional debut.
BSL Performance: Thu 4 April 2024, 7.45pm Captioned Performance: Fri 5 April 2024, 7.45pm Audio Described Performance: Sat 6 April 2024, 7.45pm
Genesis Almeida Playwright Kendall Feaver’s Alma Mater has been announced as part of the Almeida Theatre’s 2024 season.
This new play directed by Polly Findlay (Assassins, Chichester Festival theatre; Beginning, National Theatre) and starring Phoebe Campbell (House of the Dragon), Liam Lau-Fernandez (Argylle) and Lia Williams (The Crown, His Dark Materials) explores the ever-growing generational divide between activists.
Kendall was one of the inaugural writers (2019/20) on the Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays programme which is run in partnership between the Genesis Foundation and the Almeida.
The programme supports emerging and mid-career writers to develop new plays for larger stages. Each writer on the programme is identified by the Almeida and commissioned to develop a new play, with guidance and dramaturgical support from the Almeida’s Literary Manager and artistic team.
Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold said, “Having been part of our inaugural cohort […], it feels particularly special to be producing Kendall Feaver’s Alma Mater in Polly Findlay’s gripping production. Kendall’s virtuoso play explores the nuances and volcanoes of inter-generational feminism and will be one of the water-cooler events of London theatre in 2024.”
Alma Mater will run from 11 June to 20 July (previews 11 – 17 June).
Also announced in the upcoming season is Arnold Wesker’s Roots directed by 2021 Genesis Future Director Award Winner Diyan Zora.
The Genesis Future Director Award has run since 2012 in partnership with the Young Vic. Diyan’s recent directing credits include Mom, How Did You Meet the Beatles? (Chichester Festival theatre, 2023) and Tom Fool (Orange Tree Theatre, 2022). In May this year she will direct Sanaz Toossi’s English as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2024/25 season.
Annie Kershaw is the recipient of the Young Vic‘s 2024 Genesis Future Directors Award, a highly sought after professional training opportunity that enables early-career artists to direct a production at the theatre.
Annie is currently the Carne Deputy Director at Jermyn Street Theatre. She was Associate Director on Best of Enemies in the West End and previously the Jerwood Assistant Director at the Young Vic. Her other directing credits include Hedda Gabler, Safe (Reading Rep); Light (Five Shorts at the Young Vic); It’s A Flawed World After All (Flawstate); THIS IS NOT A PROTEST (Reading Thames Festival); Ulysses (Jermyn Street Theatre). Assistant director credits include Jekyll & Hyde, Dorian (Reading Rep); Henry II, Romeo and Juliet (Rabble Theatre).
The Genesis Future Directors Award programme, run by the Young Vic in partnership with the Genesis Foundation, provides early-career directors with the opportunity to explore and develop their craft by creating their first fully resourced production at the Young Vic, with mentoring and support from the theatre’s core artistic team.
Further details for Annie’s chosen play will be announced in due course.
George Turvey, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Papatango Theatre Company and winner of the 2022 Genesis Foundation Prize, is using part of his Genesis prize money to commission a short film to celebrate 15 years of the Papatango New Writing Prize (the UK’s biggest playwriting award).
Actor and writer Josh Barrow, whose script narrowly missed the New Writing Prize shortlist, has been awarded £2,500 by Papatango to create a 10-minute film in partnership with producer Phil Temple at Birdie Pictures, for release in 2024.
The Genesis Foundation Prize, which recognises an outstanding mentor of young artistic talent, was awarded to George Turvey in 2022. George said: “[I’m] so delighted to be able to offer this extra opportunity this year […]. All made possible through the support of the wonderful Genesis Foundation Prize.”
Described by the Evening Standard as a “remarkable unearther of new talent”, George, along with colleague Chris Foxon, established the Papatango New Writing Prize in 2009. Since then, it has provided a launchpad for an impressive roster of artists who would not otherwise have found a pathway into theatre, attracting more annual entries than any other playwriting award in the UK and discovering future winners of Oliviers, BAFTAs, Royal National Theatre Foundation, Critics’ Circle, Alfred Fagon and OffWestEnd awards.
