R&D CALL OUT
Performer Callout: 4-Day Theatre R&D
Dates: 17–20 August 2026
Times: 10:30am–5:00pm - (Times may vary a little)
Location: Islington, London - (Venue to be confirmed)
Fee: £700 total for the four days, inclusive of standard travel and accommodation.
For selected performers travelling from further afield, additional travel support may be considered where the journey to the R&D venue is expected to take more than one hour each way.
Any additional travel expenses must be discussed and agreed in advance.
Rich is looking for performers with experience in physical theatre, dance and/or devised theatre to join a four-day R&D for a new original devised theatre project.
We are interested in working with performers who feel confident:
- learning choreography and experimenting with movement
- generating short devised scenes from stimulus
- performing in close proximity to audience members
- working collaboratively in a physical, ensemble-led process
You must have a minimum of 2 years professional performance experience
Rich is especially keen to hear from performers of South Korean heritage, although this is not a strict requirement and performers from all backgrounds are welcome to apply.
We will be exploring scenes and movement sequences from 3 different projects currently in development.
Please note that filming will take place throughout the R&D process. Footage may be used for documentation, online promotion, programmer/presenter packs, and as projection material during the development process.
Full details will be shared with selected performers, and consent will be discussed before filming takes place.
This R&D is intended to generate ideas, movement material and creative discoveries that may inform a future full production in 2027. All performers involved in the R&D will be credited as Initial R&D Collaborators.
To be considered, please send any relevant material that gives a sense of your work. This might include showreels, movement footage, images, Spotlight/CV links, websites or social media profiles.
No cover letters required but if you want to share some relevant info, please feel free.
Please send submissions direct to Rich at: richrusk@hotmail.co.uk
Deadline for submissions: Monday 13 July 2026, 6pm
Due to a small team and tight turn around, Rich will not be able to respond to everyone individually.
Selected performers will be contacted by midnight on Friday 17 July 2026.
If you have not heard by then, please assume that you have not been selected on this occasion and that your footage has been viewed and will be considered for other projects in the future.
If you have any access requirements relating to the application process or the R&D, please feel free to include these in your submission.
THEATRE DIRECTOR
Rich is an award-winning international theatre maker, writer, deviser, and movement director.
Since 2000, his ambitious and visually arresting ensemble theatre productions have been performed in over 25 countries, from Canada to New Zealand.
Throughout his career, Rich has collaborated with leading arts organisations, creating original devised shows, delivering masterclasses, and working with theatre companies to craft engaging visual theatre.
He has created over 250 works for small and mid-scale tours, collaborating with renowned devising companies such as Hoipolloi, Les Enfants Terribles, and New International Encounter.
For over 12 years, he served as Associate Director at Gecko, working on productions including THE OVERCOAT, MISSING, INSTITUTE, THE WEDDING and THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE.
As an experimental devising director Rich has collaborated on the creation of over 35 five-star Edinburgh Fringe productions.
He has a strong partnership with Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, where he writes and directs mid-scale touring productions, teaches, and supports with international collaboration through UK COLLAB.
In 2025 Rich worked with Mind The Gap in Bradford to make THE INVITE for Bradford City of Culture. He has just finished remounting METAMORPHOSIS which he adapted and directed with the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre in 2025, the show will tour in China in 2027 before expanding internationally.
In the past decade, Rich has worked mostly with international ensembles to develop productions that blend local traditions with contemporary cultural themes. Rich also specialises in working with companies who have never devised before.
2026 / 27 projects in development include;
THE HUMAN PROJECT a new immersive experience inspired by the award winning novel The Vegetarian built around a single question; Can a human being exist without participating in violence?
SNOWFALL an adaptation of Edo period Japanese folktales set in a village overrun by ghosts.
WILDMAN a top secret theatre show inspired by Bigfoot, created by artist Alan Clay.
CHASING TIME a large scale devised project adapted from the work of food delivery driver / poet Wang Jibing.
THE SEA COOK a radical action-packed musical adaptation of Treasure Island for outdoor spaces.
KIDS TV a devised theatre show for young audiences set in a film studio. The multi-talented cast simultaneously perform their show to an audience in the room and to audiences watching at home via YouTube. Celebrating the creativity at the heart of all good content.
2027 | THE HUMAN PROJECT
| IN DEVELOPMENT
2027 | CHASING TIME |
IN DEVELOPMENT
Chasing Time began in May 2026 and will go into rehearsal in December before beginning its tour in May 2027.
A cast of 10 performers telling true stories inspired by the poetry of celebrate food delivery driver / poet Wang Jibing.
2026 / 27 | IN DEVELOPMENT SNOWFALL
2026 / 27 | METAMORPHOSIS
WORLD TOUR
2026
ORDINARY EXTRAORDINARY
Exploring the relationship between film and performer. Ordinary Extraordinary is a project with experimentation at it's core, we are trying to push our practice in the rehearsal room to find things that we have never seen done before. Story is everything, and we hope that by combining movement, film and live music we can create an unusual multidimensional storytelling experience. I expect the show to go into rehearsal in the summer of 2027, touring 2027/28.
