PILOT Nights is a theatre-makers dream, providing a platform for theatre companies, writers and performance artists to present works in progress and try out new ideas in front of a live audience here in the West Midlands

This year they celebrated their 12th year doing this, and are commited via arts council funding to continue in the same vein into 2015. For more than a decade theatre-makers have used the PILOT Nights platform and the feedback it provides to test out risky ideas, develop their work into finished pieces, and build valuable relationships within the industry

The value in what PILOT Nights has achieved in the West Midlands has not gone un-recognised, and indeed the work of the organisation has become an essential and highly valued element in developing and nurting new work.

As Tessa Walker – Associate Director of Birmingham REP explains, “The PILOT Night at Birmingham Rep was a fantastic evening of new work from a variety of artists, some of whom we already knew and some who were entirely new to us. It opened The Rep up to a range of high quality work, vivid voices and artists who, thanks to PILOT Nights, we are now working with on a more permanent basis. It was fantastic to host the evening and be a part of supporting such a wide array of work by so many exciting theatre practitioners.”

ARTIST LED THEATRE MAKING

The oganisation has been extremely succesful in retaining its artist led approach.  originally set up in 2003 by Simon Day – the pilot controls have contiunually been handed over to new pilots that have included Sam Fox and Jess Mackinnon (Kiln Theatre), Paul Warwick (China Plate), and most recently Jo Gleave and Jo Newman (Tin Box Theatre), who currently manage the project alongside independent producers Pippa Frith (@Pippa_Frith) and Thomas Wildish (@twildish)

WEST MIDLANDS THEATRE VENUES and CO-PILOTS

There are usually four Pilot Nights each year, taking place at a West Midlands Venue – which in 2014 have included The Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton, mac birmingham and Birmingham Hippodrome – with the fourth Pilot Night of the year taking place in october at Warwick Arts Centre.  Additionally each Pilot Night night is co-piloted by a practicising artist artisit or producer working alongside the venue to programme the events.

HOW TO SEE THE NEXT PILOT NIGHT

The Nect PILOT Night is at Warwick Arts Centre – Tuesday 14th October 2014 – 7:30pm – Tickets are only £5 and well worth it to enjoy a night of brilliant, experimental, work-in-progress theatre.  Tickets can be booked online here or by calling the box office on 024 7652 4524
7:30pm

HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN PILOT NIGHTS

PILOT Nights is open to artists from across the UK, with the actual PILOT Nights take place in venues across the West Midlands.  Those involved receive a plane load of benefits including free rehearsal space in the run up to the night, a small fee for each artsit involved, the actual performance videoed as well as mentoring and feedback on the piece and the experience of trying your work in progress out with a live supportiive audience in a professional West Midlands Theatre venue.

A full set of PILOT NIGHTS FQs are available here, or you can link dircet to the Pilot Nights application form here

More information about PILOT Nights can be found here