My gurus – Lynn Whitehead

Lynn Whitehead is one of two Community and Education producers at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich and Co-Director of the Pulse Fringe Festival, she lists the five most inspiring characters shes encountered in her career to date.

Julia Donat  my current job-share colleague
Julia and I came to the job at the New Wolsey from completely different career paths, but our variety of experience meant that we could help each other up the hill. We didnt know, when we took on the job, that the Pulse Festival would become the huge, Arts Council supported event that it has, but weve encouraged each other on through discoveries and pitfalls. I guess were a pretty good example of Yin and Yang  and were both very fine knitters, too!

Rachel Dickinson  NT Education at the Royal National Theatre
I started working with Rachel when NT Education was developing a Primary Classics project in 1998. She is the worlds best straight-talker  she makes sure everything is clear and plain and staff-room friendly and never underestimates the power of asking what you dont know. I learned from her the need to break a project down into its tiniest parts to make sure the process is completely transparent and logical.

Anne Eddington  Shakespeare buff
I went to Bretton Hall College with Annie in the late 70s. She is the only person I know who really does have a poster of the Bard up on her wall. Anne has an extraordinary way of passing this passion on, not only to her students at Essex University, but also to primary school kids, their teachers, the dinner ladies, everyone. I LOVE watching teachers faces when they realise theyre allowed to have fun and literacy all in the same hour.

Jan Blake  storyteller
I first encountered Jan when she led some training for artists on one of the NT Education projects. I found that having examined how to look people right in the eye and tell them what you want them to hear without bluffing, or smudging the edges of it  without pretending  not only completely changed my interaction with people on stage, but in every aspect of my life.

Peggy Whitehead  my late mum
I dont come from a theatrical family. Peggy thought that actresses were second only to ladies of the night, so when I told her I wanted to do my degree in drama; she was twitchy to say the least. However, she worked hard to beat back her instincts and keep an open mind and in the end was a huge support. Despite her personal problems, she would let me drag her around the country to see shows and we learned together about the theatre as an industry and not a daydream.