When were you first interested in festivals and what was your first experience of attending one ? Festivals , particularly the more alternative variety , have been a lifestyle choice for me from a young age . I first went to Glastonbury at 14 . Not long after I hitched from my home in Colchester to Womad in Reading . Those were the days when you could squeeze through the perimeter fence . Not that I condone that behaviour of course . I was involved in the free party scene in the 1990s and that was very much what my teens were about . Festivals were an extension of that . I loved them . It was about music and expression and fun .

Did that spark an interest in seeking a career in production ? Not consciously no , my career in production was accidental . I spent a long time attending , volunteering for and getting involved in festivals . Whether it was helping to build the Lost Vagueness Church at Glastonbury or running a festival swag shop at Robodock in Amsterdam , I was often ‘ working ’. Seldom paid ; usually a ticket and , if you were lucky , catering . From my early 20s I began working in

event production in a more legitimate capacity .

What ’ s the first career highlight that comes to mind ? My first tour was a stadium tour with Take That ( The Circus ). It was a baptism of fire . I had been brought in by the PM Chris Vaughan to help with props and they decided to take me along for the ride . Those first big stadium shows were unbelievable .

What led to you working at Glastonbury and has the role changes much since ? My role as technical coordinator for The Park Stage started in 2015 . I had worked at Glastonbury many times prior in various guises , but this was the first on a purely music stage . I had had my daughter Billie just over a year before and was not sure how to get back into the game . I was thrilled when the role was offered to me . As a team on Park we have refined things over the years , but that stage has a particular identity at the festival so it is very much about keeping that in mind when planning and communicating with incoming artists .

In between working on festivals such as Boomtown you have tour managed artists including The Darkness and The Pogues – how does the work compare ? Tour managing The Pogues and being the stage PM for Sector

6 / Nucleus at Boomtown are contrasting roles – essentially you are people managing and organising , but the application is different . For the Boomtown stages I looked after , and the festival generally , there is such a huge focus on custom builds . The creativity at that festival is second to none , which makes it so much fun to work on , but equally a massive challenge . My time with The Pogues was some of the best years of my life . I had to stop touring after becoming a mum as it ’ s not possible to take your kid with you . No regrets , the different path brought me back to festivals and into education .

What led you to become a lecturer in stage and production management ? As a family we moved up to Yorkshire for my husband ’ s work . Backstage Academy asked me if I would be interested in getting involved with the Stage Management BA there as they needed some help with developing the course and industry lecturers for it . I changed the focus to stage and production management , ensuring it was more relevant to show management more generally .

If you could change one thing about the industry what would it be ? Equality , diversity and overtime ? Oh , that ’ s three .