Lorenzo Mele
“It was quite intense! It was my second degree; having become clear that I wanted to be a director and the BA in Dramatic Studies was the best route for this. It was a very rounded course, covering all sorts of disciplines within theatre.”
Tell us about your background
I was born in Rome and then I moved to London when I was five and I lived there until I went to Glasgow to study a politics degree.
What sparked your love of the arts?
I was lucky to have a visionary and ambitious music teacher called Mr Jeff Potts at my primary school in South London, who used to stage mini versions of The Mikado and My Fair Lady, which sparked my interest in performing and spectacle.
At secondary school I had a wonderful drama teacher called Mrs Eileen Chivers who fought with the school on behalf of a few pupils to teach us A-level drama and make time and resources in the curriculum to do this. I was also fortunate to go and see amazing shows in London growing up.
What was it like studying at RSAMD?
It was quite intense! It was my second degree; having become clear that I wanted to be a director and the BA in Dramatic Studies was the best route for this. It was a very rounded course, covering all sorts of disciplines within theatre.
My year had a great mix of people who were straight out of school and those like me who were a bit older. I started in 1992, just as Glasgow was basking in the afterglow and impact of being the European Capital of Culture, during which I worked as an usher at Tramway and prior to that at the Citizens Theatre. The city was regularly welcoming international cutting-edge companies as well as being a vibrant place to create new work and set up new companies.
How did your time at RSAMD prepare you for the world of work?
It was great all-round training as well getting a good sense of the wider landscape through guest directors and artists coming in to work with us.
What have you been up to since you graduated?
I worked with an American theatre company called Starving Artists in two new plays that went on to win Fringe Firsts in Edinburgh. I set up a queer theatre company called MCT – named after our first show Molly’s Collar and Tie, with a playwright friend Christopher Deans and produced work that foregrounded then explored queer history of Scotland.
I worked for the political touring theatre company 7:84, first as Outreach Director and then as Artistic Director between 1999 and 2008. Since 2008, I’ve been working for Glasgow Life which is a charity that manages the cultural and sporting assets of the city on behalf of Glasgow City Council.
I am currently a Senior Arts Producer looking after a variety of projects including The Merchant City Festival, the Glasgow Mela and the Artists in Communities programme, amongst others.
I am also a Nichiren Buddhist and I’m very active in the lay SGI-UK society supporting local meetings, which is very nourishing and rewarding.
What has been your most memorable moment from your career so far?
The first night of Molly’s Collar and Tie at the Tron Theatre in November 1996. It was done on a shoestring with a few badly paid professionals (myself included) and some community performers – older men and women from the queer community who had come through decades when it had been illegal and heavily persecuted to by gay/lesbian and were telling their stories on stage, whilst the fireworks on Glasgow Green were thundering in the background!
What’s next for you?
I’m continuing to support and develop the work with Glasgow Life, with some new funding from Creative Scotland and a new Culture Strategy for the city which all feels exciting after some years of real austerity and struggle. I retained as a psychotherapist a few years ago as well and am looking to develop my practise in that field too.