Laura is producer for Fat Rascal Theatre, as well as creating work independently through her company Laura Elmes Productions. She works mostly on comedies and new musicals, with current productions including Beauty and the Beast: A Musical Parody (King’s Head Theatre), Buzz: A New Musical (a musical about the history of vibrators no less), Tom and Bunny Save the World, The Prophetic Visions of Bethany Lewis and a few new musicals which are still in development! Laura is also currently Production Coordinator at Runaway Entertainment, working on the West End transfer of Girl From The North Country and on The Christmasaurus Live at the Hammersmith Apollo.
At the moment you are… At the beginning of a 4-week run at the King’s Head Theatre with Beauty and the Beast: A Musical Parody, which is ridiculously fun, alongside getting everything ready for a UK tour of my folk zombie musical, Tom and Bunny Save the World!
When did you first discover your passion for theatre and what was your journey into the theatrical world? I’m from Southampton and would go to the Mayflower every Christmas to see the pantomime there – I think that was probably my earliest experience of live theatre, and after being cast in the coveted role of “Sheep Number 1″ in my school’s nativity play, it sort of went from there. I had a slight and short-lived divergence into banking (never again) before being lucky enough to get a couple of weeks interning with Jamie Hendry, which led to a job at Runaway Entertainment, which led me to today!

Last show you saw and loved? I haven’t been to enough theatre recently but I loved Prom Kween which was in Edinburgh over the summer – funny, sassy and current, and the audience were so involved they couldn’t not love it. I’m excited to see where it goes next!

What does Stage One mean to you? Stage One has had a real impact on my career already, and going to the workshop about 4 years ago after producing my first fringe show, I realised that being a producer wasn’t as inaccessible as I once thought it was. It’s so great to have an organisation helping those at the early stages of their career in what can be a really tough industry. I’ve just been awarded a Bursary, which is a game-changer for me, so I can’t wait to see how the next year unfolds!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given? To ask myself ‘What’s the worst that could happen’? when something goes wrong. Unless the worst happening means the world implodes, it’s probably not so bad after all.