Creative Producer - Darren Pritchard
Darren has had a long and distinguished career so far: Artistic Director,
Company Fierce. Winner Arts Council North West Art 06 Award; frequent
Quarantine collaborator, commercial TV choreographer; House of Suarez
Vogue Ball project manager and choreographer; BAC/Sage Gateshead 21st
Century Leader; Susan and Darren, Best Production Dublin Festival [performer,
co deviser and producer Company Fierce/Quarantine].
He’s recently worked on movement for Keisha Thompson’s I Wish I Had A
Moustache [Contact Flying Solo, Black Gold Arts Festival and touring]
Chanje Kunda’s Amsterdam [Southbank Africa Utopia Festival, Contact Flying
Solo, Black Gold Arts Festival and touring]
Director/Deviser Alaska by Cheryl Martin [Contact Flying Solo, Domestic
Festival, A Nation’s Theatre, Black Gold Arts Festival, And What? Queer
Festival and touring].
Director/Deviser, Who Wants To Live Forever? by Cheryl Martin [PUSH
Festival, HOME, January 2017 and now touring].
Director/Deviser, Rent Party co-produced by Sheffield Theatres Dec 2017
In July 2017, Darren was assistant choreographer for Manchester International
Festival's opening show, 'What Is the City but the People
Artist Development - Cheryl Martin
Cheryl's Guest Curator, Liverpool’s Homotopia 2018 & Co-Artistic Director, Commonword; former Associate Director, New Writing [Contact] & Director-in-Residence [Traverse]. Awards -- Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards [writer, Heart & Soul, Oldham Coliseum Theatre; director Iron, Rona Munro, Contact]; Edinburgh Fringe First, The World Is Too Much [Traverse, co-director]; Lloyd’s Regional Award [Rule 35, Z-arts]. Solo shows -- Alaska toured nationally including 2016’s A Nation’s Theatre; Who Wants To Live Forever?, 2018. Rent Party [Homotopia/Crucible 2017] 5-star reviews inc. The Stage, Gay Times, touring now. Her Contact show, I am because we are [writer], on HIV-positive Africans, Northwest tour 2018.
Creative Producer - Jayne Compton
Jayne is an independent producer and dramataurg who has worked with some
of the UK's most experimental theatre-makers, performers and musicians.
She has produced touring theatre to major venues and festivals both in the UK
and across Europe. Jayne has a long-standing career in programming festivals,
venues, live art, music, dance, and theatre.
Social Media - Fortune Jordan from Ghetto Fabulous. Fortune is a graduate from LIPA, a world leading provider of university-level performing and creative arts training.
Social Media - mandla
mandla is a poet and wordsmith who recently curated Outspoken, Queer Contact's annual poetry and spoken word event, having previously been a member of Re:Con, our Young Programming and Producing team.
Board
Adam Lowe Chair
Adam is an award-winning writer, publisher and creative producer from Leeds, who now lives in Manchester. He is UK LGBT History Month Poet Laureate and was the Olympic poet for Yorkshire in 2012. He currently teaches at the University of Leeds (on the MA in Writing for Performance & Publication) and is a tutor for The Poetry School.
Yvonne Hepburn-Foster
Yvonne’s experience spans corporate, cultural, voluntary and higher education sectors – from large global corporations to small charities. She is currently a fundraising research specialist after 10+ years in fundraising. She has significant experience in trust and foundation fundraising, developing fundraising plans and strategies, managing board services, and is currently Chair of 20 Stories High. Her senior management experience includes organisational strategy, board development, developing new business partnerships, and funding relationships. For three years Yvonne travelled the UK, Brussels the Netherlands and Germany as a CRM database trainer and configuration specialist. For over 15 years she has worked in organisations that empower young people through providing opportunities for discovery, development, learning and sharing (Contact Theatre, OnSide Youth Zones, 20 Stories High and the University of Manchester.)
Heena Patel
Heena is a writer, community archivist, workshop facilitator and cycling instructor. She is one of the organisers of Over Here Zine Fest, an event showcasing self-published work by people of colour.
Oskar Marchock
Oskar has been involved as a performer, technician or advocate for theatre, film and dance since the 90's. Starting as a member of Ealing Young Peoples Theatre he had an opportunity to explore and train in a number of disciplines with teachers he would not of had access to. He has worked and trained in film making through ACAN a community film making project mainly focused in producing arts/performance films and then later taught other young people as a volunteer. Oskar continues to support and encourage arts projects which provide performers and communities with a space to imagine and explore beyond the boundaries that contain them.
