ARTISTIC AND DEVELOPMENT LIAISON (P/T, $/hourly)

The Orchard Project Artistic and Development Liaisons are integral members of the OP team who will provide administrative, artistic, and management support to our artistic programs and ongoing operations. These positions will work alongside current staff members and report to the Artistic Director.

The Orchard Project supports creators of dramatic stories through its Lab programs, providing resources in flexible, collaborative environments that empower artists to create new works. In previous years, companies and artists were provided room and board, staff support, and technical resources including lighting and sound equipment, musical instruments, and access to local performance spaces. Participants have ranged from playwrights working alone on drafts to full ensembles working in large rehearsal spaces. 

Our labs have expanded and shifted in response to the ongoing challenges facing performing artists nationally and worldwide. During a time of industry transformation, reckoning, and instability, OP is taking steps to do even more to support the most inventive artists and diverse voices, helping creators to explore, create, and share their work in new ways given the current absence of in-person collaboration. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, OP successfully pivoted all labs normally held in Saratoga Springs or OP’s New York City office to digital platforms, supporting 30 projects in summer 2020. We are aiming to create the staff capacity to support many more than that in summer 2021. 

The ideal candidates will…

• Be excited about working with generative artists
• Have experience in one or more of the dramatic forms supported by the Orchard Project
• Enjoy working closely with a small, dedicated team
• Demonstrate the ability to work well independently and manage tasks on their own

The Artistic and Development Liaison will:

• Serve as liaison between the hundreds of artists the Orchard Project serves to maintain communications between OP staff and artists. 
• Assist the Artistic Director in daily and major communications, communicating with staff, board members, major donors and with board and committee meetings
• Prepare communications to Board as directed by Artistic Director, President and/or Chairman
• Maintain records for staff onboarding, staff handbook and contracts
• Assist Artistic Director with staff scheduling and other internal and external communications (may include emails, drafting documents, telecommunications, etc.)
• Maintain professional behavior and respect confidential information
• Assist in keeping compliant and organized accounts and bills payable
• Maintain and distribute new employee packets
• Orient new employees
• Provide administrative and creative support to our various Labs, including scheduling meetings, communicating with participants and staff, and coordinating project work time for the numerous projects supported in the Lab.
• Communicate project work goals and achievements to OP staff and leadership
• Work to research and advocate for lab members in regards to extended opportunities, interfacing with other OP staff
• Attend weekly OP staff meetings
• Other duties as assigned

Additionally, this is a remote position and requires access to a computer, internet, and distraction-free workspace. Our 2021 Labs have now completed, but there are remaining task from the labs that need to be attended to in order to support artists from the summer. Furthermore, this position will include paid staff training and onboarding, including EDI training intended to provide our growing staff and board with a shared understanding and the creation of shared vocabulary that support artists and create safe, generative spaces for them to work in a peer supported context. 

Job submission details are at the end of this posting. Descriptions of our 2021 labs are below.

The Orchard Project Performance Lab, our longest running program, is a self-directed summer lab for theatermakers, writers, composers, teams, companies, and ensembles looking for support on projects in development. Small cohorts of makers across theatrical disciplines convene for weekly meetings to review progress, share work, and interrogate questions common to the development process. Lab members are provided with support and resources to advance their project in a self-directed manner. We also provide exclusive panels, webinars, and classes specifically for lab members, tailored to the unique needs of the cohort. While all labs are virtual for July/August 2021, we plan to return to in-person labs in 2022, where participants will be invited to Saratoga Springs, NY for overlapping residencies, including free rehearsal space, room and board, and in-person support from fellow artists.

The Orchard Project Greenhouse Program is a year-long NYC-based accelerator for directors, writers, composers, choreographers, designers, and other artists to seed ambitious and unexpected new work, and form artistic relationships. The Greenhouse Program provides a supportive and collaborative environment where artists can play, discover, and create, and is geared towards individuals who are excited to build new work in a community of like-minded peers. Over the course of the core year, members meet twice a month to participate in four creative “sprints”. Each sprint is focused on a different dramatic form (e.g. TV, musicals, audio, digital) to push participants to expand their creative thinking and diversify their artmaking experience. Members can collaborate with other members during sprints; work on multiple ideas simultaneously; or simply act as a sounding board and provide feedback to others. The goal is that the cohort supports each other through a development process that has been a tentpole of the OP both before and during COVID. Currently, we plan to hold July/August 2021 meetings virtually, though we remain hopeful that, upon a return to in-person operations in late 2021, Greenhouse participants will be able to meet in our office in New York City. Members may also receive an additional year of residency support on a case-by-case basis in Saratoga Springs.

The Orchard Project Episodic Lab, now entering its fourth year, allows a cohort of writers the time and resources to collaborate with one another, and interact with industry guests, to advance the development of their television pilots. The objective of this summer lab is to “bridge the gap” for artists of promise, and to use the unique support of the OP to expand and articulate their personal voice/vision as they hone the writing and world of their pilot. Participants with a curiosity for feedback and desire to interrogate both the form and current trends engage in a pilot-and-project-centered lab with the final goal of creating a more vibrant and impactful draft of their episodic pilot. Participants meet three days a week over the course of five weeks in July/August, for two and a half hours per meeting. Working with the extended OP network of episodic professionals, writers engage in both group and professional critique, a mock writers’ room, and table reads. Previous industry advisors include Beau Willimon (Creator and Showrunner, “House of Cards”), David Mandel (Showrunner, “Veep”), and Theresa Rebeck (Creator and Showrunner, “Smash”). Participants also have access to all OP community learning panels outside of the lab, a valuable resource that has proven to be central to successful episodic storytelling development. In summer 2021, the Episodic Lab will take place in a virtual setting via teleconference, with the plan of launching in-person convenings in both NYC and Saratoga in summer 2022.

The Orchard Project Audio Lab, now in its second year, expands our ecosystem of support to dramatic audio storytelling. Over the course of six weeks, the Audio Lab offers a select group of writers and teams an opportunity to develop content in a setting where they can accelerate an unproduced project, receive high level support and feedback from leading voices in the field, and network with each other and other industry leaders. This lab is intended to give any writer who has an interest and idea for an audio project the space and support to cultivate their work. Participants meet once a week for group work, attend additional panels with industry professionals working in the audio field, and have access to OP staff office hours. The weekly meetings take on a writers’ room format, where group feedback and comments are encouraged. All meetings will once again be held virtually in July/August 2021, with the plan of launching in-person convenings in both NYC and Saratoga in summer 2022.

ABOUT THE ORCHARD PROJECT

The Orchard Project is a leading American arts institution committed to supporting the most innovative artists and companies from the US and around the world in the creation of new bold new work. The Orchard Project identifies and promotes new and established voices, and has propelled over 250 ideas to production in just over ten years through its professional lab, episodic lab and Greenhouse. The Orchard Project’s programs and initiatives push the industry and the theatrical form, as well as building diverse audiences and educating young members of the theater community.

Works created at the Orchard Project have been seen by audiences in New York, Boston, London, Tokyo, Stockholm, Washington D.C, and more. From All the Way to The Aliens and from An Octoroon to Posh, the Orchard Project has played a significant role in the development of countless new and varied works that have been produced on and off Broadway and at theaters including St. Ann’s Warehouse, MCC Theatre, BAM, Arena Stage, Philly Live Arts, PS122, The Public Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company, the Edinburgh Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Yale Rep, the Royal Court, and beyond.

The core activities of the Orchard Project are a series of accelerating residency and artist support programs that occur in New York City and Saratoga Springs, NY. Programs include laboratories for theatrical plays and musicals, episodic content, audio storytelling, and a world class apprentice program for young artists.

The Orchard Project is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applicants of all backgrounds and identities.