The West End’s industry trade body the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) is piloting a new programme called ‘Associate membership’, aiming to attract future theatre industry leaders.
This will be a brand new category of membership that is designed to identify producers and future theatre industry leaders in London, who would not be eligible for other categories of SOLT membership.
The aim of the new membership is to reflect a broader group of future theatre industry leaders in the early-mid-stages of their careers, and SOLT are trying to attract applications from groups who have historically been under-represented within their membership over the last 114 years.
This is all in a bid for SOLT to become “more inclusive and representative of society in its broadest sense and reflects the people of London”, and they are looking for 6 individuals to become Associate Members for a period of 2 consecutive years.
After the first cohort have completed their first 12 months, they will recruit a further 6 individuals. Associate Membership, which will be free of charge, is designed to support career progression for aspiring theatre leaders and to provide experience and access to best working practices. All Associate Producers will be offered a mentor from the wider SOLT membership.
There are currently five types of membership to SOLT, including full, affiliate, organisational, deposit and honorary members.
Eleanor Lloyd, independent producer and President of SOLT, said in a statement: “I hope this pilot programme will give upcoming producers, venue operators and programmers who we hope will become future industry leaders, earlier access to the benefits of SOLT membership such as networking, training and advice. With particular focus on those who will diversify our industry, we hope this programme will allow Associate Members to build relationships, develop their knowledge and understanding of how the industry works, and be a steppingstone towards future full membership of SOLT, which will in turn strengthen the theatre community.”
Earlier this month SOLT put out a statement about how it plans to listen and consult about its Olivier Awards gendered categories, as the organisation starts to reconsider its gendered best performer categories from 2024 onwards.
