THE CHANCE TO MAKE MEMORIES

The creak of the wooden floorboards. A twitch behind the curtain. The collective energy of an overexcited audience as the houselights dim and a giant illuminated button moon floats across Blanket Sky. It was my first ever trip to a theatre and I saw the live version of Button Moon.

A year later the video Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance the screen musical, was on play, rewind. The opening seats you in the Richmond Theatre gods and pans through the red velvet safety curtain to a stage set of the quaintest theatre you ever did see, the Pavilion Theatre in Penzance. By age 7 the thrill of theatre had taken hold.

I studied archaeology at Durham University – ancient civilizations have a flair for the dramatic you see. I found my niche in arts and heritage communications, and I’m currently extremely fortunate to work with the Theatres Trust, telling the story of its work with theatres across the UK.

I learnt about Wells’ inaugural Theatre Festival from its Marketing Guru, Lin Dickens. She told me about the fantastic team she worked with in year one, and their ambitions for the festival going forward. The memories created from a live performance, whether its something you planned to see or a surprise encounter, stay with you for a lifetime. The rest is, as they say, history.

I look forward to helping spread the magic of Wells Theatre Festival, its performers, people and places, far and wide. Here’s to creating memories!

Kate Carmichael