On a personal and professional level, I am passionate and driven in my mission to diversify the range of creative offerings available to underserved communities which have lower engagement with the arts, and I am keen to aid arts organisations in developing their company culture with a focus on creative inspiration and inclusivity for all. With a background in theatre production, my work also involves facilitating arts and culture in the community.
My current role at the Royal Opera House (ROH) is dedicated to cultivating the organisation’s role in enhancing the artistic offerings available to the local community in Thurrock. Through overseeing and managing a programme with over 45 volunteers and over 200 members of the ROH Thurrock Community Chorus (ROHTCC), I have successfully created and forged relationships with people from all walks of life, who have otherwise been neglected or overlooked by mainstream arts offerings. I also manage the ROH Thurrock Volunteer programme, designing and organising volunteers’ timetables, assigning roles and tasks depending on the individual’s strengths and their required support, and developing the programme to meet the needs of the organisation and the community in which we operate. This position is a singular one, and I manage all aspects of my role including overseeing both programme budgets, contract writing and stakeholder management singlehandedly. My undertaking of this role has proven my ability to work autonomously, but also still ensuring that my work is in line with the programme mission and the core values of the Learning & Participation team and the wider National Programmes.
My theatre company is committed to representing people from all ethnicities, genders, religions and abilities, operating within a code of conduct for providing equal opportunities and inclusion across our organisation. I am dedicated to implementing these policies in my everyday life, continuously educating myself in diversity and cultural issues and supporting previously underrepresented causes and movements such as Black Lives Matter. To this end, our previous work as a company has involved free community research workshops, working closely with women of varying backgrounds and organisations such as Transpire (a Southend-based transgender support network), the Essex Cultural Diversity Project and the Southend Pride network.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been working with Thurrock CVS and the local Council on a voluntary basis, curating an Arts, Culture & Heritage portal for digital resources, predominantly focussing on homegrown talent and content. This has proven my ability to be disciplined and strategic in my remote working. I am extremely enthusiastic about promoting artistic outlets for people in the community and strive to provide these opportunities in my professional roles and through my theatre practice. I have also recently been appointed as Non-Executive Director and Child Protection Lead of Elevator Arts CIC, an emerging arts charity that aims to deliver life enhancing, transformative and empowering arts projects with young people in Southend & South Essex, creating arts projects with young people to tackle, explore and shed light on issues affecting their lives.
I am currently operating in the arts in areas that have some of the lowest arts engagement in the country. Thurrock and Southend (34% and 46% respectively) have significantly lower arts engagement than their Central London counterparts, and I see this as an opportunity to catalyse change in the way these communities view and approach cultural activity, and analyse how we can make the arts more approachable, open, and accessible for the people in these areas.
Projects
- In Her Shoes - Blown Fuse Theatre'In Her Shoes' is a digital project that collates stories from the real women of Thurrock to create a virtual storytelling experience for people to access from their own homes. Working with the community to create a portfolio of diverse stories, we have created a project that fuses our passion for community work, diverse representation and creative innovation.
Work history
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Non-Executive Director & Child Protection LeadElevator Arts CIC
Southend-on-Sea, United KingdomPart Time
Our mission is to deliver life enhancing, transformative and empowering arts projects with young people in Southend & South Essex. Elevator creates arts projects with young people to tackle, explore and shed light on issues affecting their lives.
Project Manager - Community ProgrammeRoyal Opera House
United KingdomPart Time
I project manage the Community Programme for the Royal Opera House (Purfleet) which oversees the 200+ strong Royal Opera House Thurrock Community Chorus, the ROH Thurrock Volunteer Programme and the formation and maintenance of partnerships - such as The Red Cross - borough-wide. My role is focused on increasing arts and culture access to individuals and communities who have less engagement in the arts.
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Skills
- Contemporary Theatre
- Devised Theatre
- Directing Theatre
- Acting
- Arts Events
- Administraion
- Creative Media
- Community Workshop
- Creative Arts
- Ceative Writing
Education
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BA (Hons) Creative Performance (Acting)University Centre Colchester
- Colchester, United Kingdom
My degree involved training in various types of theatre production and performance. Due to this degree, I am experienced in devising, puppeteering, storytelling, deconstruction, directing and producing which inevitably led to me creating my own theatre company which combines all of these skills.
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HND Performing Arts (Acting)South Essex College
- Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom
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