Arts Professional reveals the career paths of the sector’s senior managers.
Mine has been a linear career – from stage hand to chief executive. I learnt my craft on the old Cheltenham Everyman stage before training as a stage manager at Central School of Speech and Drama. I consider myself lucky that I am equally at home in drama, opera, dance and music.
Chief Executive – Birmingham Royal Ballet (2005–present)
I work with an expert team to enhance the reputation of a dream company. Birmingham Royal Ballet’s toolbox is impressive both in terms of personnel and productions. The issue at hand is how to make an extremely successful company even more successful. This is a very different challenge to resolving a hopeless business plan.
Chief Executive – Scottish Ballet and Scottish Opera (2000–2005)
These were probably the most challenging years I spent at the coalface, putting Scottish Ballet back on the global map and getting Scottish Opera out of the red. These were very public and political years, filled with big professional challenges that affected many people’s lives. Managing change requires you to learn how to keep people on board, and how to treat people as well as you can when the chips are down. You don’t always succeed.
Chief Executive and Artistic Director – Brighton Festival (1995–2000)
Director – Manchester City of Drama 1994 (part of ACE’s Arts 2000 Scheme)
General Manager and Associate Director – Edinburgh International Festival (1984–1992)
General Manager – Buxton Festival and Opera House(1981–1984)
During my ‘festival years’ I learnt the art of creating and managing complex, cross-artform festival programmes. I travelled the world and learnt how to work internationally. I used my Russian every single year. I became an expert in the hire of aeroplanes. I wasn’t defeated by the tax on foreign entertainers. I learnt how to take a risk, and the value of being brave. In Manchester I got to understand the basics of social justice, which has been an overriding priority for me ever since.
The opportunities offered by the National Lottery taught many of us about buildings and regeneration. I am very proud of the National Lottery-funded capital projects at the Dome in Brighton and Scottish Ballet’s home at Tramway. Both projects made better businesses, and both enjoy creative civic partnerships.
General Manager – Watford Palace Theatre (1978–1981)
This was my first arts administration post. I learnt on the spot with guidance from tough but fair local authority officers – the philosophy was “treat the cash as if it is your own”. This was an essential and formative training ground.
Company Manager – Batignano Opera Festival (1974–1978)
Having left school early, I decided I needed a more structured, academic string to my bow, and studied Russian and Italian at Swansea University. This was probably the best thing I ever did. I spent holidays working for the Batignano festival in Tuscany, and visiting Soviet Russia.
Early Years (1969–1974)
I moved swiftly between the ’69 Theatre Company, Glyndebourne and Wexford, also working at the Donovan Maule Theatre in Nairobi and being Production Manager at Watford Palace Theatre. These early experiences were fundamental to my development and gave me my path to the future.