LAGOS THEATRE FESTIVAL
Call for proposals – Festival Director
Following the success of the 2013 and 2014 edition of the Lagos Theatre Festival, a more independent and
permanent management structure needs to be put in place, with a nominated Festival Board and a Lagos
Theatre Festival Director in the first instance.
This is a call for applications from Lagos based theatre producers based to apply for the Festival
Director role. The Festival will take place in February 2016.
Background
Through our theatre programme in the last four years, we have offered opportunities for professional
exchange between Nigerian and UK theatre makers.
We launched the Lagos Theatre Festival to promote the production of theatre in unconventional spaces in
2013 and have held a yearly festival since then.
This year (2015), in place of our annual festival, we are launching a year-long programme of professional
development, mentoring and artistic collaboration that will culminate in a bigger festival in February 2016.
Our 2016 Festival will allow a greater diversity of artistes and audiences to participate and engage with the
performances through expansion of the curated festival to include an un-curated fringe element that will
take place on both island and mainland Lagos. The fringe element while un-curated will be supported,
promoted and marketed as part of the overall festival.
The expansion of the festival is as a result of our exciting new programme, UK/ Nigeria 2015/2016,
programme which is aiming to engage with over forty million young Nigerians (aged 18 – 35 by building
new audiences for UK and Nigerian arts and culture.
Starting later in 2015 the UK/Nigeria 2015/2016 will take place in 5 cities across both Nigeria and the UK,
feature over 30 projects at over 80 events all aimed at increasing collaboration between young people in
both countries through the arts.
Festival Management Structure
The Lagos Theatre Festival is currently undergoing a transitional phase as it expands. The long term
management infrastructure will be as follows:
Lagos Theatre Festival Board
Ensure the Festival’s mission is adhered to
and provide strategic oversight of LTF
management team
Executive Director
Responsible for executive
management of the festival
including fundraising, admin
and stakeholder management
artners
Festival Director
Responsible for the artistic
vision and delivery of the
Festival
Production team
Technical, Marketing, Front
of House, Artist liaison,
Production management,
etc
1
The LTF Board will be constituted in Q1 2015 and chaired by the British Council until 2018. It will comprise
5 -7 members drawn from the theatre community and other relevant stakeholder groups in Nigeria within
the government and private sector. The Board will also include one member from the theatre sector in the
UK to promote UK networking with the festival. After 2018, the Board will vote to rotate the chair on a three
yearly tenure.
The Executive Director will be identified and selected in 2017 and in the interim; the board will work closely
with the Festival Director and their team to provide strategic oversight, support for fundraising and access
to networks. There will be an opportunity for the Festival Director to come to the UK in May 2015 to meet
potential UK artists and see their work with the aim of selecting the appropriate UK artist to come back later
in the year to develop work for the Festival.
The British Council will be working in collaboration with the Brighton Fringe Festival
www.brightonfringe.org to provide workshops and mentorship to the Festival Director and the Festival
team to develop and deliver a Fringe Festival alongside the curated core Lagos Theatre Festival.
Role of the Festival Director & Production Team
The Festival Director role is a part time role to lead the Festival through 2 editions (2016 and 2017) with an
option for the Festival Board to extend the position for one further edition. The Festival Director will be
appointed for a maximum tenure of three consecutive years. This is to ensure that the Artistic vision for the
Festival remains relevant. Other Members of the Festival Artistic Team have no tenure restrictions.
The Festival Director will define the roles and responsibilities of the Festival Production team but we would
expect it to comprise of a Festival Producer, Marketing Manager and Front of House Manager who will be
contracted to work on specific terms of reference as needed for the delivery of the festival.
Festival Director Job Description
Responsibilities include
Festival Management







Establish the Festival programme, structure and time frame
Be accountable for the financial management of the Festival ( until 2017 when Executive
Director is selected)
Organisation of core logistics for Festival including venues, contracts, risk assessments,
licensing
Initial artist liaison including fee negotiation
Assist Festival Producer with Festival Management - box office, festival assistants, Health and
Safety
Liaison with Artistic Companies participating in the Festival
Liaison with Festival Board
Fundraising


Fundraise a targeted 40% of the total festival budget from individuals, local government and
the corporate sector. Supported by British Council and the LTF board. ( Until Executive
Director is selected)
Manage relationships with funders.
Other



On-going communication with the Chair and Festival Board
Acting as the first point of contact for all Festival enquiries
Maintaining good and effective communication with the festival venues and producers
2
REMUNERATION
An all-inclusive, instalmental fee of the Naira equivalent of £5,000 will be paid at the prevailing British
Council book keeping rates at the time of payment. We envisage that the role will require a time
commitment of 60 to 80 days between March 2015 and March 2016.
TIMELINE
-
February 2015: Open Call for Festival Director, Constitution of LTF Board
-
March– December 2015: Professional Development opportunities linked to the fringe model,
Reciprocal visits by festival personnel and collaborators to Nigeria and the UK, Fundraising
-
September 2015 - Open call for fringe productions
-
Early February 2016 – Lagos Theatre Festival
How to Apply
Please send the following:
1. A Two page expression of intent that demonstrates your suitability for the role with evidence of
your track record in presenting performances and coordinating cultural events.
2. A Festival Proposal that includes:
o A summary of your artistic vision for the festival bearing in mind the planned curated and
fringe elements. Also summarise your vision for audience development and the
maintenance of the site specific ambition of the festival.
o Suggestions for possible locations for the curated shows. Ideas of where you think fringe
shows might hold.
o A summary of how you propose to identify and select the curated work and number of
artists/shows you see being presented in the curated festival. We do not need at this stage
a list of companies and productions as we would like to encourage artists to create work
specifically for the Festival as opposed to adapting existing work.
o A summary of how you intend to develop an audience for the festival both the curated and
fringe
o A breakdown of how you see the festival team and their roles and responsibilities in the
context of both the curated festival and the fringe. We will provide a UK Production
Manager to help with the Health & Safety and Technical set up and a UK mentor to help
the set-up of the Fringe festival.
o A biography of any key personnel.
Please Note: The first visit from Brighton Fringe Festival will take place from 12 to 15 March and the
selected candidate will need to be available for the full duration for consultations and various activities.
Deadline for receipt of applications: 03 March 2015 by 9am. Applications need to be sent via email to:
arts.nigeria@ng.britishcouncil.org.
Due to the high volume of applications we tend to receive, we are unable to communicate with all individual
applicants. You will however receive an automated response confirming your application. If you have not
heard back from us by 9 March, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful this time.





For more information and videos on previous Lagos Theatre Festivals, please follow the links
below:
First edition of the Lagos Theatre Festival https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u95ICRC9Ox4
Second edition of the Lagos Theatre Festival
http://www.britishcouncil.org.ng/programmes/arts/lagos-theatre-festival
TVC Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWl8XNCek10
TVC Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K_CqjX1x4k
3