Director in Residence

Reporting Line: Director of Drama and Dance

Tenure: The appointment is for a fixed period from 1 January 2018 until 31 August 2019. For the successful candidate, there may be opportunities to extend the length of this contract, upon review. Some work both after School and at weekends will be expected; working hours during the normal School day will therefore be flexible to some extent.

Surbiton High School is part of United Learning, a large and growing group of schools aiming to offer a life changing education to children and young people across England. Schools within United Learning work as a team and achieve more by sharing than any single school could. Our intranet site, United Hub, is just one example of how we share resource and communicate across sites, helping to simplify work processes and manage workloads for an improved work-life balance. We reward our staff: with good career opportunities, better pay, benefits, and ultimately the satisfaction of supporting schools in their quest to give every child the opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential.

To inspire, encourage and empower our students to achieve their very best in the subject of Drama. Surbiton High School seeks to appoint a Director in Residence to deliver quality practical support within the Drama and Dance Department. We are looking for a dedicated and friendly individual who is also an ambitious and visionary practitioner of Drama. The Director in Residence will be able to work independently on productions, clubs and projects within the department. Organising all logistical, technical, design and performance aspects of the opportunities in co-curricular Drama that are their responsibility and support with the practical elements of the curriculum. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the varied work of this flourishing department.

Applications are invited for the post of a Director in Residence at Surbiton High School Senior School, a selective (HMC, GSA), highly over-subscribed, all girls independent sector school in Kingston-upon-Thames.

The Drama and Dance Department at Surbiton High School is well established and is responsible for a range of co-curricular activities and productions each year. All pupils study Drama in Years 7, 8 and 9, there is a significant number of pupils who take it as an option at GCSE (Eduqas syllabus) as well as a healthy number at Advanced Level (Edexcel syllabus).

Staffing currently comprises three full-time and two part-time academic teachers of Drama and a full time teacher in charge of Dance. Pupils throughout the School are well motivated and results in public examinations are very good. Each year, the department produces a Year 7 Production, a Year 8/9 Production, a Senior Production and the Whole School Musical, which is performed at the Rose Theatre in Kingston; recent musical productions have included We Will Rock You, Beauty and the Beast, Oliver!, Grease, Annie and High School Musical. There are also a number of GCSE and A-level Showcase Evenings as well as a range of co-curricular Drama clubs.

Key Responsibilities:

A successful candidate will contribute to the work of the department in some of the following ways:

Produce and direct two KS3 Drama productions:

• Design the rehearsal schedule in accordance with the School schedule
• Communicate with parents and members of staff, where applicable
• Create a design and technical brief for the production and source all relevant technical and design elements independently
• Organise ticketing and marketing for the performances
• Monitor applicable Health and Safety factors throughout the process, including the updating of relevant risk assessments
• Design rehearsal sessions that develop pupils’ understanding and knowledge of Drama and Theatre as well as promising a successful outcome for the production
• Create a positive and welcoming rehearsal environment in which pupils will thrive
• Assist on other department productions, as required
• Build links with other areas in the School and in the wider community
• Help to prepare and coach candidates for Drama School / university Drama auditions, where applicable
• Coordinate and run a Drama trip and support on GCSE ad A-level theatre visits
• Help with the upkeep of the Department’s technical and design equipment
• Participate in major School events such as Open Days
• Carry out any other duties within the employee's skills and abilities, whenever reasonably requested
• Run a range of co-curricular Drama clubs to challenge and extend our students’ knowledge and understanding of Drama and Theatre outside the classroom:

Clubs will be somewhat designed with the successful candidate’s skills / areas of interest in mind.

• Co-ordinate and run our scholarship weekly club and carousel mentoring program
• Support in curricular Drama lessons:

1. Contribute to the practical performance work of A Level and GCSE groups, and support groups of pupils in the practical examination process
2. Team-teach or assist with some lessons alongside the teacher of the class
3. For some candidates, there may be the possibility of some formalised curricular teaching

Deliver expert workshops:

1. Run one-off workshops on specialism area(s)
2. Run seminars/talks on relevant topics

The successful candidate will be likely to fit the following profile:

The ideal candidate will have the confidence to work independently with drive and creativity. They will have excellent interpersonal skills, be able to work under pressure and meet deadlines, be able to manage their own time and work efficiently and effectively with a high degree of self-motivation. The candidate will have excellent subject knowledge, significant experience of working with young people and model the creative energy they wish to see in the pupils they work with. 

• A degree or conservatoire-level training in Drama or a related discipline, or significant professional experience
• Be able to demonstrate experience of theatre direction in a significant context
• Evidence of relevant professional development, where appropriate
• Working knowledge of technical theatre operation, programming and design
• Conversant in theatrical operation and conventions
• The ability to lead, inspire, motivate and support pupils and colleagues and work in a team
• Excellent organisational, administrative and ICT skills
• Ability to work with and bring out the best in young people
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and planning skills
• Up-to date knowledge of relevant legislation and guidance in relation to working with, and the protection of, children and young people
• The ability to both nurture the talents of outstanding individuals and to motivate and encourage wider general participation in dramatic activities
• Effective management of commitments and deadlines

Surbiton High School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Please note that the School reserves the right to appoint at any stage during the recruitment process.

For any queries relating to the role or your application, please email recruitment@surbitonhigh.com

To Apply

Please click here to apply https://unitedlearning.current-vacancies.com/Jobs/Advert/dXVkdXF6SlM3QkZpV2dWUk9yTzVsZVBHZk82ZlJCQlhSYXo2UE9oTEhadStFdUQ1Z3VKOEJNcWkzQkM3VGY4OGZ6a2NQRWZ5L3M0PQ%3d%3d

Closing date: 8:00am, Thursday 30 November 2017

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