"With an infinite amount of time and an infinite budget you could market and market and market!"

Hometown
Manchester

What do you do?
Business and audience development officer, creativity and development Team, Zion Arts Centre, Manchester

What was your very first role in theatre?
Playing the Artful Dodger in a school play of Oliver when aged 10. This was when my love of theatre really began.

What else have you done in theatre?
Marketing assistant, The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

Operations & marketing assistant, Waterside Arts Centre, Sale, Cheshire

Volunteer steward/ events assistant, Waterside Arts Centre

Have you got qualifications?
A drama degree from University of Manchester

Did you work in another industry before the theatre?
I was lucky to get involved in the arts industry as a volunteer at Waterside Arts Centre shortly after graduation. However, I also had a long term interest in working within the media. As a result I gained some work experience in both radio and television alongside my arts experience. I continue to present a drivetime show on Manchester’s ALL FM 96.9 in my spare time.

How did you start working in theatre?
The contacts and knowledge I gained from my media experience helped me enormously in the press and PR side of my marketing work in the arts. Working in any organisation gives you certain skills which can be applied to theatre. I believe lateral thinking about how those skills, contacts and experiences can be of use in a theatre environment –coupled with a demonstrable passion for theatre – help you make the move.

In my experience, media industries and community/voluntary organisations share strong links and I often find myself liaising with people I have previously contacted from the other side of the fence when working in the media! For example, I have to contact radio producers to persuade them to that they should interview performers coming to Zion Arts Centre on their show. My inside knowledge of what the radio producer requires of an interview guest and the demands of making radio mean that I can more easily secure successful publicity.

In my opinion all experience can be harnessed as useful experience in one way or another.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
Graphic designer or actor

What do you do all day?
Publicising performances, developing a strong audience base and raising awareness of the facilities at Zion Arts Centre as available for hire by corporates as well as artists.

No typical day! Although all days are striving towards the same goal – publicity and increasing the number of people that come through the doors.

Depending upon priorities at different times in the season my work can entail:
* writing press releases to capture the imagination of media contacts in order to generate publicity of Zion Arts Centre
* collating information and images for inclusion on print. Liaising with Zion’s designer to achieve the most effective brand image to appeal to the right audience
* seeking out and acting upon opportunities to increase hires of the building
* deciding the most effective distribution of print through relevant companies and organising these print runs
* meeting press, theatre companies, marketing staff at similar venues, website companies and members of the audience in order to discuss links with Zion Arts Centre

What’s the best thing about your job?
Thinking strategically and creatively. Devising action plans to ensure that I maximise all opportunities for publicity to achieve greatest results. I get excited discussing the design of new print and I’m enjoying the consultation process as I look towards a new, interactive and sparky Zion website. It is great to see the end result of the design process.

And the worst?
The feeling that there is always more you can do to get more people through the doors (unless the event is a sell out of course). With an infinite amount of time and an infinite budget you could market and market and market! There is no definite ‘right, that task is done’. There are so many people you could reach and so many different ways of trying to reach them.

What’s your dream job in theatre?
A management role with responsibility for the creative direction of the venue, the programming there and the opportunity to oversee a team working across the various departments.

Got any wise words for someone who wants to be where you are now?
Be open-minded. Offer to do voluntary work for a while. Take work opportunities when they arise. You will find that what you learn and the contacts you make will lead to more and more openings as you progress to where you eventually want to work in the theatre.