About me, me, me

My favourite pastime as a child was reading – continuously. I loved adventure stories, but also anything that gave me the thrill of learning – about mysteries, science, nature and history. Probably thanks to this obsession, I later found I was pretty good at writing too.

In August 1994, with a degree in English Literature & History under my belt (yes, more reading) I began working for PLASA, the Professional Lighting and Sound Association. They were looking for an editorial assistant for their monthly magazine, Lighting & Sound International. Basically, they wanted a helper who could read and write.

But there was much more to it. LSi gave me access to the usually hidden world of the backstage, with all the clever technology and amazing people who made live shows possible, and the global industry that supported them. Something about this appealed to me. I’ve never wanted to perform on stage, but I love to see how it’s done.

“Is there anyone who doesn’t love a backstage tour?”

I got to spend time behind (and beneath, and above) stages in theatres, stadiums, studios and fields, seeing how the shows were put together - the rigging, staging, effects, automation, lighting, video and audio systems, all playing their part in the production. Is there anyone who doesn’t love a backstage tour?

I picked up a ‘master of none’ knowledge of stage lighting, rigging and effects, and became familiar with gobos, profiles and barndoors, hazers, gerbs, distros, truss, battens, motor hoists, DMX, colour and lumens. I visited factories, warehouses, offices, venues and buses. I learned about pro audio - frequencies, speakers, mics and mixers (quickly grasping the importance of the DFA knob). The pace of technology accelerated into the 21st century, bringing with it a flood of new tools and terminology.

In 2004 I took over as editor of LSi and stayed in that warm seat for 13 wonderful years. With input from an array of brilliant contributors – Steve Moles, Rob Halliday, Phil Ward, Louise Stickland, John Watt, Rob Speight, Sarah Rushton-Read, Simon Allen, Mike Wood, Julie Harper, James Eade, Richard Cadena and more – our team kept readers up to speed with that technological wave and its effects on show production. 

We visited international trade shows for reveals of the latest tech, then reported on the productions that used it - live music tours, theatre shows, television spectaculars, festivals and special events around the world. We organised the annual PLASA Awards for Innovation, catching the best new technologies appearing on the global stage at the PLASA Show in London.

We got to know the manufacturers and the suppliers who provided all that kit, and the rental companies, the engineers and the creative designers who would deliver incredible shows for artists and their audiences. And we told our readers who was doing what, how it all worked and - from time to time - who was suing who. 

In 2017, I moved into the PR world, joining my old (by which I mean ‘long-standing’) friend and former LSi colleague Sarah Rushton-Read at her PR agency, The Fifth Estate. There I spent four great years working with a brilliant team. Our clients included leaders in lighting, audio, video, comms and staging technologies, as well as the designers creating such stunning results at the sharp end of the business. 

I worked with companies I’d come to know well over the years, but now on a deeper level, with insight into their product development and approach to market. We were involved with press relations, content creation, branding and research. On top of that, we were at the heart of celebrating the achievements of lighting and video designers in live music, theatre and television, as producers of the popular Knight of Illumination Awards (KOI). 

COVID hit us in 2020, like it hit everyone. The live entertainment industry took a huge blow, and so did we. The Fifth Estate survived, but in the midst of it all, in spring 2021, I suffered Autoimmune Encephalitis (to save you looking it up, let’s just say it sucks!) and life as I knew it stopped for a year or more.

Now I’m back – a little older, hopefully a little wiser, and undeniably less steady on my feet – but happy to be here, and offering my services to this fascinating business as it begins to find its own feet again.