Federation of Scottish Theatrelogo-fst-text

FST Board

The Federation of Scottish Theatre board is elected by the FST membership, currently, the board meets fortnightly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can contact a board member directly by clicking their name in the list below.

Anita Clark

Director

Anita has been dancing since she was 3 years old and has forged a career in dance as a practitioner, producer and in funding and policy. She is now Director of The Work Room, an artist-led organisation based in Glasgow. Her previous roles include Head of Dance at Creative Scotland, Artistic Director of City Moves in Aberdeen and Education Officer at Birmingham Royal Ballet. Anita holds an MA in Arts in Social Context from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and a BA (hons) in Dance & Related Arts from London College of Dance. She is on the board of directors of YDance and Take Me Somewhere festival and is also part of the executive committee of National Dance Network, a UK-wide network of dance development organisations.

Annie George

Director/Writer

Annie George is an award-winning, Edinburgh-based writer, theatremaker and occasional filmmaker, who has worked in Scottish theatre since 1991. Recent productions include Twa, and the solo shows Home is Not the Place, and The Bridge. Annie has also worked with numerous artists and organisations including Magnetic North, Mara Menzies, Stellar Quines, Traverse Theatre and Cat. A. Theatre Company. She has a special interest in creating stories that reflect the rich diversity of the population and supporting work by artists of colour.

Ben Torrie

Director of Programming & Creative Projects

Ben is Director of Programming and Creative Projects for Aberdeen Performing Arts, one of Scotland’s largest cultural organisations and a hub for the performing arts in the North-east of Scotland. He is responsible for the programmes of work at His Majesty’s Theatre, the Music Hall and The Lemon Tree, as well as the company’s ever-expanding produced work and creative learning activity. Over the past decade, he has progressed from two previous roles with the company as Acting Artistic Director at The Lemon Tree and as Sales Manager. Prior to joining APA, he was the first full-time administrator for Puppet Animation Scotland and worked as Box Office and Front of House Manager for the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. In addition to a range of diverse experience in arts management, Ben is an accomplished pianist and musical director.

Callum Smith

Producer

Callum Smith is a producer for the National Theatre of Scotland. Previously he has worked as a freelance producer for artists and companies including Jenna Watt, New Room Theatre, Sleeping Warrior Theatre Company, Plutôt La Vie, Strange Theatre, Enormous Yes and ran his own producing services company, Showroom. He has worked for a variety of the UK’s leading theatres and producers, including the Tron Theatre and London’s Royal Court, where he was international administrator and project managed the theatre’s international output.

Julie Ellen

Artistic Director

Julie is Artistic Director and CEO of Macrobert Arts Centre. Before joining the Macrobert team in 2015 she was the first Artistic Director of The Beacon; founding Creative Director of Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland; Producer for Suspect Culture and before that a producer for Theatre Centre, London. As a Director her work regularly includes Pantomime and Christmas shows for younger audiences, touring productions for companies including Selladoor and Birds of Paradise as well as shows for the legendary Play, Pie and a Pint.

Liam Sinclair

Executive Director & Joint CEO

In January 2019, Liam took up post with Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre as Executive Director & Joint CEO. Prior to this he has held the roles of Artistic Director of the Byre Theatre, Executive Producer for Scottish Dance Theatre, Artistic Director & CEO of Macrobert Arts Centre, Director of the Edinburgh Mela, and Head of YouthWorks Drama (Short Courses) for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, of which he is a graduate. He is a co-Chair of the Board for FST, Chair of the Board for Luminate, and stood down in 2015 from serving for 8 years as Chair of Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, Scotland’s leading inclusive theatre company.

Louise Gilmour-Wills

Producer

Louise is the Producer for Catherine Wheels, Scotland’s most celebrated producer of work for children & young people. The company creates award-winning work which is presented across Scotland and around the world, including at the Sydney Opera House and the New Victory in New York, reaching young people through touring into schools, theatres, festivals and community venues. Louise is currently Chair of the Board for Lyra.

Maria Oller

Artistic Director

Maria is the Artistic Director of Lung Ha Theatre Company. Maria trained as an actor and director in London, Paris and Helsinki, specialising in European theatre, clowning and classical studies using the European theatre tradition of physical theatre. Since then Maria has been working as an actor, director and facilitator in the UK, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland.

Rhona Matheson

Chief Executive

Rhona is Chief Executive of Starcatchers, Scotland’s national arts and early years organisation. Starcatchers is a leading force in producing and touring high quality theatre, dance and visual art productions for babies, toddlers, young children and their parents and carers. This work is toured to venues and communities across Scotland as well as internationally. Starcatchers also provides programmes of artist development and community engagement. Prior to joining Starcatchers, Rhona worked for a number of Scottish theatre companies including Wee Stories and 7:84 Theatre Company (Scotland).

Simon Hart

Business & Development Director

For the past thirty-five years Simon has enjoyed a busy, successful and varied career in the arts. Initially working as a classical singer following studies at the University of Glasgow and the Royal College of Music, Simon also taught singing at RADA, and Queen Margaret and Aberdeen Universities. After also completing acting training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Simon appeared in many leading roles at, among others, Bristol Old Vic Theatre, Wolsey Theatre, Scottish Opera, the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Dundee Rep Theatre, as well as on TV. After over twenty years as Puppet Animation Scotland’s CEO and artistic director, Simon recently moved to North Uist on the Western Isles, to become Taigh Chearsabhagh’s Director of Planning & Development.