🌟 About Backstage Builders CIC
Crafting Skills. Building Confidence. Sustaining Futures.
Backstage Builders CIC is a creative social enterprise based in the North East, dedicated to opening up the backstage world of theatre, film, TV, and live events to young people who may never have the chance to experience it.
We specialise in hands-on scenic painting, set design, prop-making, and creative problem-solving workshops, working with schools, youth groups, theatres, and community organisations across the region.
Our mission is simple:
To make backstage creativity accessible, inclusive, and sustainable for all.
🎭 What We Do
We deliver engaging, practical workshops that introduce young people to the skills used by professional scenic artists, set builders, and prop makers. Our sessions are playful, confidence-building, and designed to spark curiosity — from edible prop workshops to texture techniques, model-box set design, and recycled material challenges.
We also run creative careers sessions that demystify the industry and highlight the growing opportunities across the North East’s expanding film and TV production sector.
🌍 Why It Matters
The North East is undergoing a major creative shift. With developments such as the £33.5m expansion of Hartlepool’s production facilities and the proposed Crown Works Studios in Sunderland bringing an estimated 8,450 new jobs to the region, there has never been a better time to introduce young people to backstage roles.
Yet many students — especially those from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds — have limited access to these skills.
Backstage Builders CIC exists to change that.
We believe creativity should be hands-on, affordable, and open to everyone.
💚 Our Commitment to Inclusion & Sustainability
We design all workshops to be accessible and inclusive, supporting a wide range of abilities, learning styles, and needs.
We champion sustainable making practices, encouraging the use of recycled materials, second-hand resources, and environmentally conscious approaches to art and design.
Our work supports:
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NEET young people
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Students facing financial barriers
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SEND groups
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Schools with limited arts budgets
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Community organisations seeking creative engagement
No young person should be excluded from creativity due to cost, background, or geography.
🛠️ Who We Work With
We collaborate with:
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Schools and colleges
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SEND providers
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Youth groups and community centres
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Theatre learning teams
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Local artists and freelancers
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Regional organisations such as Northern Stage, cultural groups, and language schools
Every workshop is tailored to the needs of each partner and the interests of their young people.
✨ Our Vision
To build a future where every young person in the North East has the confidence, skills, and opportunity to step into the creative industries — whether as scenic artists, prop makers, designers, makers, builders, or imaginative problem-solvers.
We are here to help them discover their strengths, learn through making, and realise that backstage creativity is not just an art form — it’s a career, a community, and a place where they belong.