Where are you?
My flat in Glasgow.
Current work wear of choice?
A mix of sportswear and loose comfy t-shirts.
How are you connecting with colleagues?
My work at the Conservatoire is very much about the ”˜doing of the doing’. As such, I’m currently supporting my colleagues from the Musical Theatre programmes in whatever way I can as they explore what online teaching looks like for them.
What’s on your reading list?
I am currently reading Fully Connected: Surviving and Thriving in an Age of Overload by Julia Hobsbawm. Our library received a few additional copies of the book and gave them away on a first come first served basis. It couldn’t speak more about the current times we are living through even if it tried.
The next books on the list are:
What are you watching/listening to online?
A lot of Brooklyn 99. Also Westworld and Legion.
How long have you been at RCS?
I’ve been in my current post at the Conservatoire from December 2017 but before that I trained here on the BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice programme.
What drew you here?
For me, the post (which was then titled Creative Producer) seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to simultaneously learn more about the role that the Conservatoire plays within the cultural economy of Scotland all the while doing what I love – connecting with artists and audiences.
What do you love most about your role?
The moment a project comes to fruition. When the work is in the venue and I’m hovering (or running) around checking in with front of house that all is going well from their perspective.
There is something about welcoming in an audience that gives me a real buzz. And, of course, the moment when everyone sits down in anticipation, awaiting what is to come next – the performance.
What drives and inspires you?
What drives me: the desire to find ways to help our industry work smarter and not harder.
What inspires me: the idea of making art that makes people feel as connected to one another and/or like they might jump out of their own skin with excitement in the way in which I feel when I go to a music festival.
Describe a typical day?
Coffee. Get to my desk. Check my emails and file away the ones don’t need responses. Check my digital to-do list. Make a rough schedule of my priorities for the day and when I’d like to tick them off. Get crackin’. Eat lunch (and now we are in lockdown fight the urge to go for a nap immediately after). Do as much more as I can handle until going to stretch my legs and get into night time/off work mode (which tends to include snacks, video games, and TV).
What sparked your love of the arts?
Gig tickets for My Chemical Romance – Stephanie’s a big fan!
What do you recall about your own training?
The importance of developing the ability to reflect on your practice and articulate your reflections.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Keep going.
Who influenced you?
The band from the earlier question. Everything about their artistry – the stories they told through their music, their attention to detail in their aesthetics and the values they spoke of – was integral to shaping the way in which I view the world (and art itself). There was something about being so wrapped up in something, from a young age, that felt all-consuming and full of purpose that has taught me so much about how important it is to create art that helps us feel like we belong.
Career highlights?
When one of the shows I produced for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019 – LipSync – won a Fringe First.
Sending a show that I’ve supported from its first stages of development in late 2017 – Drone – off on its first international tour in November 2019.
When someone who taught me at the Conservatoire, whom I invited to facilitate a day of CPD on a development I was producing last year, reflected back to me and the group of artists that the way in which I approach producing, from her perspective, is what the future of Scottish theatre looks like. One of those really odd moments when I simultaneously had no idea what she was talking about (because who can comprehend praise like that) while also feeling incredibly validated.
Having journeyed from making performance to supporting those that do, it made me feel like what I was doing instinctively with my producing process, and indeed with my career, is worthwhile. It made me feel vindicated in my feeling that not everything has to be about the ”˜rat race’ of trying to be seen to be doing good work but instead that by doing good work (and really looking after those whom you work with) you can create space for relationships to grow, learning to happen, and satisfaction to come from within. A small moment of interaction, a sentiment that was uttered (perhaps) flippantly about the need for more artist led processes, that really meant a lot.
Your most memorable RCS moment?
Graduating.
Your advice for students during this time?
Be kind to yourself. You can only do what you can do. Take time to be away from screens. Develop a new hobby that you can turn to for comfort, amusement or challenge both now and when the lockdown is lifted.
Describe RCS in three words?
A creative hub.
Interested in studying Musical Theatre at RCS? Choose the BA in Musical Theatre or MA in Musical Theatre (Performance) or (Musical Directing)