What is your role at DaDa?
I am the Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director. My role is to set the strategic vision and shape a bold, creative future for the organisation. I work closely with our Board of Trustees, our core funders like Arts Council England and Liverpool City Council, and our phenomenal operational team to ensure DaDa remains a national and international leader in disability arts. Ultimately, I am here to ensure we build a resilient infrastructure where disabled and Deaf artists can produce their most rigorous and uncompromising work.
Tell us a bit about your background:
Ever since I was a small child, I wanted to be Superman: a superpowered friend to all with bulletproof skin and a chiselled jawline, ignoring the fact that I was too short, too blonde, and had too much Cerebral Palsy to match that particular heroic archetype. I started my career as an actor, thinking if I couldn’t be Superman, I could at least play Jimmy Olsen. However, I soon realised I wanted to shape the industry rather than just audition for it.
Since then, my focus has been on being a champion for others, even without the superpowers. Over the past ten years, I have worked as a theatre maker, director, academic, educator, and dramaturg, specialising in inclusive vocational actor training and accessible rehearsal practices. For five of those years, I worked as a course lead at University Centre Peterborough, where I built an acting degree programme from the ground up which prided itself on offering opportunities and growth to students who were underrepresented at more established institutions.
Alongside my work in higher education, I have collaborated with arts organisations across the East Midlands and beyond. Serving as a Senior Caseworker for UCU (Universities and Colleges Union) allowed me to finally channel that inner Superman (although with pants firmly on the inside), to represent others and advocate for the rights and equity of those who needed support.
What do you do outside of work?
I still love to act, direct, and sing occasionally, and I intend to continue my creative practice alongside my role at DaDa. I am also deeply committed to exploring inclusive training practices and accessible approaches to rehearsal, actively sharing this knowledge with practitioners, arts organisations, and educational institutions. As a chronic hobbyist, I have been exploring drawing and painting for the past couple of years, with my current obsession being pointillism. Beyond the arts, I am a fairly accomplished cook, bake a pretty great Millionaire's Shortbread, and regularly fall out with the Duolingo Owl as I endeavour to improve my Spanish.
Contact me if... You are looking to build structural partnerships across the Liverpool City Region and beyond, you want to discuss co-creation and equitable commissioning, or... if a cat is stuck up a tree.