"You can’t buy or learn passion and enthusiasm so don’t be ashamed of it and never forget to keep showing it"

Hometown
I was born and grew up in Huddersfield, I now live in Derbyshire

What do you do?
Community & education manager, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

What was your very first experience of working in theatre?
My first role in the theatre was my secondary school work experience placement at West Yorkshire Playhouse. I loved it! I was doing photocopying all week but the buzz of being in a producing theatre was unbelievable.

What else have you done in theatre?
Community liaison officer and then community development manager, Derby Playhouse

Have you got qualifications?
Advanced certificate in arts marketing, Cambridge Marketing College
A performing and media arts degree from Derby University
A-levels in theatre, music and history

What did you do before you worked in theatre?
I was vice president communications of Derby University’s Students Union

How did you make the move to working in theatre?
As part of the role at Derby University, I was the editor of the student newspaper. I made sure I got involved with as many arts organisations as possible by reviewing arts events and productions.

I also made a lot of contacts in the local community which subsequently helped in my role at Derby Playhouse where I was responsible for breaking down the barriers for those communities that don’t normally go to the theatre.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
An actress, however that was because I didn’t realise that there were all these other exciting ways you could be involved in the theatre and the arts. Now I relish being part of making the arts happen and introducing and opening up the theatre to new communities and people who believed attending and participating in the arts wasn’t for them.

What do you do all day?
I manage and take an overview of how the theatre’s community & education company operates. This involves setting and managing the department’s budget and accounts. I submit funding proposals for projects and report back project activities to funders, including Coventry City Council and the Arts Council. I support community & education staff within their roles, ensuring they have opportunities to feed back and access development opportunities. I am also responsible for setting up and monitoring departmental systems including issuing contracts and representing the community & education company at meetings.

A day can be pretty varied but usually includes checking and responding to emails, coding invoices, ensuring projects are staying within the agreed budgets and reforcasting budgets to reflect any changes in circumstances. I also attend interdepartmental meetings such as health and safety and liaise with other departments in the theatre eg marketing on a piece of print for an up coming performance. I meet regularly with the associate director community & education to confirm artistic plans for the department and keep up to date with the rest of the community & education team on what they are working on. This can be through a formal team meeting or informal discussion.

What’s the best thing about your job?
Helping people from all communities create work that is unique and draws from their own experiences. A major positive is to see the benefits that participants get from being involved in the projects. For some it might be going on to study drama, for others it might be becoming confident enough to look someone in the eye. The thing that tops this all off is that I am part of a producing theatre that makes new, exciting high quality work that is relevant to all of Coventry’s communities.

And the worst?
Lack of funding! We do our best to include as many people as possible, but an increase in funding would mean that we could work with everyone who wants to be involved in a project.

What’s your dream job in theatre?
Chief executive/ executive director of a producing theatre

Got any wise words for someone who wants to be where you are now?
Get involved with everything and everyone. I think it is really important to understand how each department of the theatre works, so always offer to help and support colleagues and ensure you keep learning new things. Also, you can’t buy or learn passion and enthusiasm so don’t be ashamed of it and never forget to keep showing it.