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 in forging connections. These can be internal ones, such as your ambitions, or external ones such as the business or creative world you wish to explore.
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.
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). Then later in 2022 and 2023 we facilitated professional development for Korean commercial producers in London and Edinburgh. Our ongoing programme from then included running open access workshops Your Future in Theatre – Producing, Proper Job Honest, managing the networking UK body Producers Pool, and offering 1-2-1 creative business Surgeries.
In 2023 we launched short courses for aspiring and inspiring creative producers of other people’s work, and SPAs (self producing artists). This course comprises 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 – The CGO Institute will be offering an Intensive producer course across 4 days in September in London. We will explore Arts Ecology, Marketing, Budgetting, Fundraising, and Leadership working intensively with a small class of aspiring and inspiring producers gathered together to learn with and from each other and taught 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/