Meet the Programming Team, part 1

Hello - my name is Louise Miles-Crust, and I’m Head of Programming at Wales Millennium Centre. I thought I should explain what a ‘Head of Programming’ does, because 15 years ago I didn’t know this job even existed!

My role is to book the performances that take place at the Centre. I do this by hand-picking work that I’ve either seen elsewhere or have been recommended by reviews, or colleagues at other theatres and arts centres. Theatre companies also regularly get in touch to talk to me about potential opportunities, and I’ll take these in to consideration too.

Often, a country’s arts council or government will fund international programmers to come over and see the work of their companies and artists, and these showcases are a great way of seeing lots of different performances in one place. I’ve been very lucky, and have been to places like Copenhagen, Barcelona and Montreal to see work, with an eye to bringing some fantastic international companies back to Cardiff.  

Whilst it is amazing to travel to these places, I often spend most my time inside a theatre so never actually see much of the place I’m visiting. However, it has given me the chance to see some extraordinary things. I’ve experienced one-on-one shows in old prisons, I’ve walked around a house whilst actors performed around me, and for one show I went on a ‘date’ with a performer who wrote me a letter 3 months later, as part of the performance!

E4 Udderbelly at Edinburgh Fringe

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is an annual trip for me, and a lot of the Weston Studio programme is made up of performances that my team and I have seen there. It’s the largest arts festival in the world, and in just one day you can see everything from comedy, dance, physical theatre, children's shows, musicals and much, much more. There is no other place where you can see work from 10am-3am the next day. When I’m in Edinburgh I tend to start watching shows at 10/11am and finish at midnight, having seen about 6-7 shows in one day – all so I can present the very best for you in the Weston!

The other side of my job is producing shows, but I’ll tell you about that another time. I’ve been at the Centre for 9 ½ years in various roles in the programming team, but I’m not on my own; I have a wonderful team who all look at different aspects of the work we programme, who I’ll talk about  in my next post.

Allow us to introduce ourselves… \ Gadewch i ni gyflwyno ein hunain….

The Weston Studio is Wales Millennium Centre’s 200 capacity theatre space - a great place to spend time with friends and family, whilst getting up close to some of the very best small-scale theatre from around the UK.

Here in the blog, we’ll be introducing you to the Weston Studio team and featuring guest posts from some of the companies joining us in the Studio this season. We’ll also be keeping you up to date with videos, photos and behind-the-scenes info.

We’d love to hear your thoughts too, so if you’ve been to see a show with us and would like to write a review, or even if you just have feedback or questions for us, feel free to get in touch by posting a comment or emailing weston.studio@wmc.org.uk 

This season we’re playing host to a whole range of critically acclaimed performances – we’ll experience knitted murder mysteries, meet some extraordinary puppets, take a rather unusual trip to Downton and even meet a very special dog! Check out what’s on at wmc.org.uk/westonstudio or download the PDF of our brand new Spring brochure here.

Details on Ticket prices can be found in the About section – and details on all shows can be found by clicking What’s On. We look forward to welcoming you to the Weston Studio soon!

Mae Stiwdio Weston yn ofod bach cartrefol yng Nghanolfan Mileniwm Cymru, gyda 200 o seddi. Mae’n lle perffaith i chi ymuno â’ch teulu a ffrindiau i fwynhau rhai o gynyrchiadau stiwdio gorau'r DU.

Fan hyn yn ein blog, byddwn ni’n cyflwyno ein tîm Stiwdio Weston, gan gynnwys ambell i flog gan rai o gynrychiolwyr y cwmnïoedd rhagorol fydd yn ymuno â ni yn ystod y tymor yma. Byddwn ni’n eich diweddaru chi’n gyson gyda fideos, lluniau a gwybodaeth unigryw o gefn llwyfan.

Rydyn ni bob amser yn hapus i glywed eich sylwadau am yr hyn sy’n cael ei berfformio yn y Stiwdio. Os ydych chi wedi bod draw i fwynhau unrhyw berfformiad ac eisiau ysgrifennu adolygiad, cynnig adborth, neu ofyn cwestiwn, mae croeso cynnes i chi gysylltu â ni drwy bostio sylw neu anfon e-bost at stiwdio.weston@wmc.org.uk

Yn ystod y tymor yma, rydyn ni’n gartref i berfformiadau lu o’r radd flaenaf - cawn brofi ddrama lofruddiaeth, cwrdd â phypedau anghyffredin, mynd ar daith anarferol i Downton a chyfarfod ci go arbennig! Cewch hyd i ragor o wybodaeth ar wmc.org.uk/stiwdioweston neu lawrlwythwch ein rhaglen tymor y gwanwyn yma.

Cewch hyd i ragor o wybodaeth am brisiau tocynnau yn yr adran Crynodeb - bydd gwybodaeth bellach ynglŷn ag arlwy’r tymor fan hyn yn y Digwyddiadur. Rydyn ni’n edrych ymlaen at eich croesawu i Stiwdio Weston cyn bo hir!