I will be graduating with a degree in Drama: Education and community in November 2019 from York St John University. Within this degree I have had the opportunity to do a placement teaching drama with year 9 students at Joseph Rowntree School, completed a programme of work with the Independent Domestic Abuse Service York which we followed up with a performance based on the things we had learnt during the process, and to write, design and create entire shows both individually and as a group. During my degree, I have spent time working as the light and sound technician on fellow students’ performances, helping them to both design the overall look and then carry out the design within their exam as their lighting and/or sound technician. I have focussed some of my work around issue-based theatre, writing my dissertation on ‘The efficacy of issue-based theatre in education to explore unhealthy relationships’ and producing a performance with fellow students on domestic abuse, as well as my independent performance looking at sex education.

I have extensive experience in a variety of roles both within and outside theatre. All my work has been customer facing; I fully understand the importance of professionalism when it comes to dealing with anyone in business. I have experience working with young children; as part of my lifeguarding work, I have completed safeguarding training and hold a full DBS check. I also have full first aid qualifications and experience completing risk assessments, and other legal documents.

Alongside my education, I have also been involved with many voluntary projects, including youth theatre, community theatre, etc. As part of this volunteering I got involved with a project as part of the 2012 Olympic legacy funding hosted by NEGen (now Youthfocus) in which I was part of a team of young people who wrote the Young Peoples Charter for Arts and Culture (YPCAC) which focused on the treatment of young people within the arts and culture sector. The Charter won the 2013 National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) Young Partners Arts and Culture Award. Gaining this award meant we were invited back to NCVYS to hold workshops with people involved in related sectors about the work that we had done. We were also invited to take part in a further project that looked at working with young people in the UK, France and Germany funded by Erasmus+ to champion the adoption of these principles across the EU.    

From the age of 8, I alongside my Mother, have been involved with Highlights Rural Touring theatre as a venue promoter. This involves attending promoters’ evenings and training days, choosing and promoting performances from each season’s schedule and then running the front of house etc. for the actual performance.  This has allowed me to experience the other side of the process when it comes to touring shows, rural audiences and both online and face to face promotion.

I believe that all of these experiences will be invaluable when setting up a theatre company which is my end goal.