We believe that in a market economy, theatre production is like any other product, which has to be well developed and marketed to attract potential buyers (i.e. receiving theatres, festivals and, most of all, audience).
Born in Warsaw, Poland, he graduated with a Master’s Degree from the State Academy of Theatrical Arts in Krakow. Tomek Borkowy has 40 years of experience as actor, director, producer, theatre manager, agent and drama teacher. Since his first professional appearance in films in 1972 he has worked on literally hundreds of theatre and film projects.
In 1978 he was appointed Artistic Director of the repertory theatre company ‘Young Theatre’ in Krakow. He is household name in Poland thanks to the leading role in “Dom” (Home) the country most popular TV series to date. His Film and TV management includes running Eastern European Media Services UK.
His original agency work focused mainly on Eastern European theatre companies. Recognising the central role which the Edinburgh Festival Fringe continues to play in the promotion of international productions he has worked closely with the Fringe for last 18 years. His impressive track record in presenting innovative international professional work won him a Herald Angel Award. A natural extension of this work was to develop the year-round touring potential of key clients. Developing such links is an on-going priority for Universal Arts in order to maximise the sales advantage to its clients.
From 1998 until 2011 Laura was Managing Director of Universal Arts. In October 2011 she was appointed Portfolio Manger responsible for Theatre in Creative Scotland.
For many years Laura has worked in business and financial administration of the arts. From 1990 – 1998 she was Deputy Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s largest arts festival. Particular areas of responsibility included co-ordinating the needs of over 700 companies coming from all over the world each festival, running the Festival Box-office (turnover of £1.5m in 8 weeks) and running the Sponsorship Department. Membership of the Society’s Management Committee provided 8 years experience in forming a solid foundation for arts business management.
As Managing Director of Universal Arts Laura was also responsible for touring Universal Arts client shows in the UK and internationally. Laura has worked with the Producers of a number of shows which have been launched during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and which have gone on to reach international acclaim. She also has a broad based knowledge of current industry standard marketing practice and a proven track record in running large departments and controlling and implementing all aspects of current employment.
Trish marks her 20th consecutive year at the Fringe in 2012. Trish has devised and executed successful Fringe campaigns with many homegrown and international theatre projects and comedy productions.
Previous clients have included the Polish Cultural Institute and Adam Mickiewicz Institute on several productions in 2007, 2008 and 2010, Dansmusicians Group (Taiwan), Ye Gam – Jump! (Korea) Yllana (Spain), Arrieritos (Spain), Dulsori (Korea), Tom Crean – Antarctic Explorer (Ireland) among many, many others.
For Podge Publicity, Trish has also worked on many high profile events including Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, Capital Christmas, the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships (2007) and UCI Mountain Bike World Cup (2002-2006).
Chis as worked in arts and public relations, as a producer, researcher, marketing consultant and journalist for more than twenty-five years.
He provides communications, marketing and media relations for arts projects and for many of the UK’s leading artists.
As communications manager for Universal Arts Ltd since 2008, he has been responsible for all internal and external communications, several Edinburgh Festival Fringe venues and marketing and media relations for numerous visiting international companies.
He has been communications consultant to the Singapore Arts Council at the Edinburgh Festivals (2009) and directed media relations for New Moves International Ltd, producers of New Territories and National Review of Live Art festivals (2010/11).
Other clients have included Forced Entertainment, Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre, Glasgow, Curious.com, Nott Dance, the Live Art Development Agency, and the Our Europe project, a consortium of European cultural institutes promoting European Union arts in the UK.
He was responsible for marketing at Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts throughout the 1990s. He has provided communications for Greenspace Scotland, a national organisation funded by Scottish Government and been a member of the BBC Breathing Places national steering group and the BBC Springwatch advisory panel. He wrote the marketing section of the Guerrilla Guide to Performance and New Media and was a mentor for the UK Arts Marketing Association for five years.
Sarah has been working with Universal Arts for 4 years and 2012 will be her 5th Fringe at the New Town Theatre. Beginning in 2008 as a Festival Assistant she has worked as a Duty Manager during the Festival and then took over as Operations Manager in 2010.
Her interest and passion in the performing arts started at school as a Stage Manager. At University she took part in numerous productions backstage as well as a Producer or Production Manager.
As the Operations Manager for Universal Arts, Sarah is responsible for supporting performing companies offering expert help and advice at each stage. She also works closely with the Production Manager, Richard, to get the venues up and running, including hiring the Front of House team. Finally, the main part of her job is to ensure that every company and paying customer has the best possible Fringe experience at Universal Arts.
For more information please contact Universal Arts:
Tel +44 131 478 0195 |
e-mail: admin@universal-arts.co.uk
Recipients of Herald Archangel Award, the highest honour presented to producers and presenters across the Edinburgh Festivals.
From our original area of professional success in Eastern Europe we have now developed our core strengths to encompass the whole of the European market where we have successfully arranged tours for clients throughout Holland, England, Germany, Poland and Scotland. We also have excellent relations with festivals in these countries as well as in Ireland, Italy and Austria. In addition, over the past 7 years, we have placed clients beyond the boundaries of Europe in receiving venues and festivals further afield in Turkey, Singapore and Australia and are beginning to develop circuits in the U.S. By adopting a long-term view in our relationship with potential buyers worldwide, we aim to give a competitive advantage to our clients. Our clients range from large-scale opera to small-scale drama productions. Our contacts have ensured that the touring priorities of each company have been, and continue to be, met.