"Don’t spend too much time worrying about what you’re not"

Hometown
I’m from a village called Victoria Garesfield, near Gateshead, and now live in Newcastle

What do you do?
Resident director, Northern Stage, Newcastle

How long have you been at it?
Four years

What was your very first role in theatre
I did a production placement (unpaid) at Northern Stage as an assistant to the director on Ballroom of Romance in my summer holidays from university in 2000

What else have you done in theatre?
Freelance drama worker running a range of projects and workshops for schools, young people and community groups for companies such as Live Theatre, Northern Stage and Lawnmowers Independent Theatre Company

Have you got qualifications?
An English degree from Cambridge

What did you do before you worked in theatre?
I did a few office jobs at arts organisations to make ends meet when I started out as a freelancer. These included working in the finance department of The Sage Gateshead and stuffing envelopes for Artists’ Newsletter

How did you make the move to working in theatre?
As my freelance work in theatre increased, I gradually decreased the other part-time work I was doing. It came to the point where I knew I needed more ‘head space’ to focus on my theatre work, and could just about afford to live off it.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
An astronomer, until I realised I wasn’t good enough at physics. And an accordionist, until I went to university and realised I wasn’t practising enough any more.

What do you do all day?
It changes depending on the projects I’m working on. I might be in rehearsals, working with actors and production staff on the development of a new show. I might be visiting a school to run a workshop with a group of young people. I might be in the office planning future projects and answering e-mails. Overall my job is focused on making and supporting the development of new work, whether that is with professionals or with young people.

What’s the best thing about your job?
I enjoy the variety. I get to work with all kinds of people – actors, technicians, marketing staff, the front of house team. And in my participation work I get to work with lots of different age groups, which I find really exciting and challenging.

And the worst?
There’s not much I dislike. It can be hard work and you need a lot of stamina to keep going sometimes. I’m not financially-motivated, which is good because the money’s not great.

What’s your dream job in theatre?
Probably to run my own company, making fantastic and inspiring work by and for young people

Got any wise words for someone who wants to be where you are now?
Play to your own strengths. People come into directing from lots of different backgrounds, so think about what your particular strengths are, and don’t spend too much time worrying about what you’re not. There is a presumption that if you are a director you need to know everything about everything, and that’s not true. However you do need to be good at working with people, to fully utilise their knowledge and expertise. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

I always tell people starting out as directors to get to know their local theatre and find out about the opportunities there. Attending workshops, going to see shows, and doing voluntary placements help you to build the relationships with a company which might lead to future work.