CGO is a UK based organisation that supports creatives to make connections across the national and international theatre sector.
We coach, teach, consult, produce, and facilitate.
Founded in 2007 by Chris Grady, CGO supports freelancers and organisations to forge connections. These may be: internal ones, with yourself and your ambitions; or external ones, with the business or creative world you wish to explore.
During 2022 CGO Development undertook training programmes in Saudi Arabia and UK for designers (London & Perth) and aspiring Musical Theatre performers (Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah). In 2022 and 2023 we facilitated professional development for Korean commercial producers in London and Edinburgh and continued to run the open access workshops Your Future in Theatre – Producing, Proper Job Honest, the networking UK body Producers Pool, and offer 1-2-1 creative business Surgeries
In 2020, the CGO Institute was founded and we established our international Diploma in Creative Producing. The DipCP is a bespoke course designed for early career producers to develop their producing skillset. We provide a toolkit-based training programme delivered by industry leading producers and creatives. After four courses offering training to 32 producers from around the world on zoom, we have decided to ‘retire’ this course for the moment. Background on the 16week DipCP can be found here. In 2023 we launched short courses for aspiring and inspiring creative producers of other people’s work, and SPAs – self producing artists of their own work. These comprising 5 zoom days across a month covering modules on UK Arts Ecology, Marketing, Budgetting, Fundraising and/or Investment, and Leadership and Wellness.
NEW FOR 2024/25 – CGO Institute will be offering an Intensive producer course across 4 days in September in London. We will cover the same modules working intensively with a small class of aspiring and inspiring producers gathered together to learn with and from each other led by members of the CGO Faculty.
For details on this 4 day course and how to apply https://www.chrisgrady.org/intensive-london-producing-course/
In 2023 CGO is working with the Authentic Artist Collective to re-launch the one day masterclass in authentic presence in Scotland. Previously this course entitled the Art of Being Heard has been taken by over 250 business managers and leaders when created and presented in Suffolk (2015-2018). Now as part of the Arts and Business Scotland Marketplace programme it will be available to businesses and managers across Scotland.