Friday, 22 April, 2016

Sophie has a degree in Drama and Physical Theatre from St Mary’s University College Twickenham. Since graduating in 2011, she has worked for MJE Productions, Broadway Entertainment Group and Jagged Fence Productions. She is also an experienced chaperone in theatre, film and television and is an ex England Volleyball Player. Sophie has been with Stage One since 2014 and alongside this role at Stage One she works at the Society of London Theatre on all their campaigns including the Olivier Awards and UK Theatre running their training courses.
On Sunday she faces her biggest challenge yet, running the London Marathon fundraising for The Almeida Theatre.

At the moment you are…
I’m Administrator for Stage One and Receptionist for the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre. This means I get the best of both worlds working with Stage One supporting new theatre producers, as well as being involved with all of the SOLT/UKT activities.
On top of this I’m also running the London Marathon on Sunday and fundraising for The Almeida Theatre.

What does Stage One mean to you?
In my previous roles I’ve been lucky enough to work with emerging theatre producers on many different levels. I worked with James Quaife when he was awarded a £50,000 Start Up Fund for Barking In Essex in 2013 and I assisted Emily Dobbs with her adaptation of Uncle Vanya as part of the One Stage season in 2014.
Stage One is vital for our industry not just for the amount of investment they offer in emerging producers but for the opportunity of networking within the industry. As many will tell you it’s as much about whom you know, not what you know in theatre (although knowing how to navigate around an Excel budget is pretty important!).

Last show you saw and loved?
I haven’t been to the theatre as much as I would like after I tried to run home from watching The Maids and injured my hip flexor! Of course The Olivier Awards was the best show I’ve seen all year (even if I was backstage and only saw the ITV coverage the day after in my PJs)!
I did get to see The Winter’s Tale and Red Velvet as part of the Kenneth Branagh season which were both stunning visually and emotionally. I’m also a huge fan of The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong and REALLY looking forward to The Comedy about a Bank Robbery.

What do you think, is the best thing about the Theatre Industry?
The best thing is when you feel like you’re giving something back to the community. This has become more apparent to me recently with the work that Stage One and the Almeida Theatre are striving towards.
Stage One is so unique in its aims and I’ve been lucky enough to witness producers develop throughout their careers. It never ceases to amaze me the generosity offered in our industry which has been so apparent in fundraising recently for the Almeida Theatre. I was shocked when I found out that as well as Islington being home to some of the richest, it’s also labelled as having the fourth highest level of child poverty in England. In March I was lucky enough to see their work in action, bringing together four local schools devising four 20 minute performances inspired by their current production. To see the children stand up on the Almeida stage when they might have never got the opportunity to witness a theatre performance in their life was truly inspirational. I feel very passionate that our industry should be as diverse as possible and the Almeida is actively creating talented artists ready to launch onto the world stage. I’m truly thankful to all that have donated so far.

What's the best piece of advice you've been given?
I LOVE playing this game with my colleagues to try and come up with the best motivational quotes. Here are some of my favourites from the years:
“Don’t be bitter, be better.” – Dan Austin
“Never assume.” – Matt Gordon
“We’re not saving lives here.” – My housemate Vicky - who is a lawyer…
“Be good.
If you can’t be good, be careful.
If you can’t be careful, don’t get caught.
If you do get caught, you don’t know me.” – Sinead Blatch
“*Drop the mic*” – Obama

The Almeida Theatre and Sophie would be very grateful if you could donate any money large or small to Sophie’s marathon dreams. You can do this by CLICKING HERE.