Sadly, this week sees the lovely Rachel leaving her role as Heritage Activities Trainee. Three trainees will be hired across the span of the project; I’m extremely happy to introduce myself as the second.
Although I know I have very big shoes to fill, I’m so excited to be joining the Pass It On team and look forward to working with our fantastic volunteers on a range of projects.
Having lived in Chichester for nearly two decades, I have very happy memories of the Festival Theatre and have even performed in the Minerva. This was for the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival in 2004 (we summarised The Taming Of The Shrew in twenty minutes – I had the pleasure of performing ‘character parts’).
One of my personal highlights was seeing Sir Patrick Stewart in Rupert Goold’s electric production of Macbeth in 2007 and I love seeing visiting thespians wandering around Chichester (Sir Derek Jacobi and Kim Cattrall to name but a few).
I’ve studied Film Production at The University for the Creative Arts, and Film and Television Studies at Warwick University. Although this is a subject I adore, theatre always manages to make its way into my life; I spent a year working front of house in the West End, and managed to sneak a little theatre studies into my most recent dissertation (the topic of which lends itself particularly well to the Festival Theatre – I analysed the use of proscenium and thrust stages in film and the impact this has on the audience).
I’m in the process of catching up on all the hard work achieved so far; I’m astounded by the constant positive reaction and enthusiasm from our volunteers and partners for the project, and I can’t wait to properly meet you all and join the heritage journey that Chichester Festival Theatre is embarking upon.