The theatre world is a small one and it often feels as though every time we turn around we bump into someone we know. In fact, just the other week at a Grant for the Arts funding talk we bumped into three fellow Rose Bruford graduates and a work colleague. While at first we may have put these meetings down to random acts of fate, we are now beginning to realise that we are (sort of) part of a community where seeing a familiar face in the crowd is exciting.

Since we graduated from drama school and have been unleashed on the theatre world, we have noticed on numerous occasions that the same people always seem to be drawn to the same events. Perhaps we all follow the same organisations on Twitter or read the same publications, but regardless of how we find these things, there is certainly a vast community of young artists out there with shared interests and goals, and in a way this is quite comforting.

Within this expansive theatre community there are many organisations and companies that pay particular attention to creating a space where like-minded people can come together to learn, to share questions, experiences or pet peeves.

A fantastic example of a scheme which is invaluable in this regard is Improbable’s Devoted & Disgruntled sessions. They are run on a monthly basis, always with a new topic, and encourage people to get together and have a big chat. Now this may sound like the start of a Vicar’s tea party but from first-hand experience, it’s really inspiring.

There is another example of a theatre going community much closer to home too. Over the past year we have seen A Younger Theatre grow and expand, giving new bloggers and reviewers a chance to have their say whilst at the same time bringing news and ticket offers to the young theatre-loving public. The most exciting development that we have witnessed is the new link between A Younger Theatre and the Guardian Culture Professionals Network. This partnership gives us AYT fans a chance to link up with new contacts and have a slightly different crowd view our ramblings. We were lucky enough to have one of our blogs chosen to be featured on the GCPN and the benefits for us as a young company were great. We saw the immediate results on Twitter as we received new followers and re-connected with old ones.

In fact, online communities are becoming very popular in the theatre world. A great example of a group that organises meet ups for theatre professionals who normally talk online is Twespians. Unfortunately, due to popularity and poor organisation on our part, we are yet to attend a Twespians meet up. But when we do it will be exciting to put a real face to those twitter profiles. Then of course there is Ideastap, where, by creating and developing your profile, you can stay up to date with events, network with your peers and stay informed about funding opportunities. All of this support is invaluable to a young company.

Through these examples and many more we have stayed in touch, re-connected with and met new people common interests and ideas. But what happens when you feel ready to tentatively step out of your comfort zone to explore a different branch of the theatrical community?

This is an issue that is very close to home for us right now. We have recently completed our first children’s show (yay!) but the biggest task is yet to come. Many artists and companies that we have met over the past two years share our goal of touring and taking our work to audiences far and wide, but trying to break into the world of venues and programmers is no easy job. As it was put to us, it’s a chicken and egg situation: programmers want to see your work before they programme, but they can’t come and see it if you’re not programmed. Tricky. Suddenly you feel as though you have wandered from a world where you’re surrounded by fellow graduates, friends of friends and people you tweet with into a world where you need to start building up those connections again from scratch. Like many things, this is going to take time and determination.

At Filskit Theatre we are strong believers in the power of a community and are always keen to strengthen our network of contacts. This isn’t just to boost Twitter figures or get free favours, but to hear people’s experiences, exchange ideas and perhaps even remind ourselves why we keep doing what we’re doing.