"Don’t fail GCSE physics, in fact take it at A-level if you can"

Hometown
Born in London, now Sheffield

What do you do?
Production manager, Sheffield Theatres

What was your very first role in theatre?
Assistant stage manager

What else have you done in theatre?
Freelance stage management positions in repertory, touring, Edinburgh Festival and theatre-in-education including work with Crucible Theatre, Hull Truck, Victoria Wood (see her on Wikipedia if you don’t know who she is), Shared Experience, Theatre Royal Windsor and National Youth Theatre.

I was assistant production manager for Sheffield Theatres for 12 years.

I’ve also taught stage management at Rose Bruford and LAMDA.

Have you got qualifications?
A humanities degree (a very general degree combining history, religion, literature, anthropology etc) and an ILM certificate in first line management (a general management qualification)

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A teacher, a ballet dancer or a stage manager

What do you do all day?
I cooordinate and supervise the delivery of all production areas for Sheffield Theatres shows. I work with designers, directors and other freelance staff. I am responsible for recruiting and line-managing freelance stage management staff for all Sheffield Theatres shows. There are no typical days.

What’s the best thing about your job?
Working with young people starting out on their careers, the fact there is no typical day, and running big meetings to sort out production problems

And the worst?
Not having the background to troubleshoot technical and mechanical problems.

What’s your dream job in theatre?
Designer

Got any wise words for someone who wants to be where you are now?
Don’t fail GCSE physics, in fact take it at A-level if you can