Our Team
CO -FOUNDERS & MANAGEMENT
SHARON COLPMAN
CO - FOUNDER and DIRECTOR
Sharon Colpman has been writing plays for 25 years, starting out in community theatre writing bespoke, ‘big cast’ plays for a theatre troupe. She was a founding member of two theatre groups; one in Andover and one in Salisbury, one for community theatre and one for the promotion of female creatives.
In 2012 she was accepted onto the emerging writers’ workshop for Out of Joint Theatre, the Royal Court and Salisbury Playhouse. Having had nine community productions her first professional piece was in 2013 at the Salisbury Playhouse, a short play as part of “How I got here”, for local writers.
After recovering from cancer, Sharon moved to Cheshire and wrote a community theatre piece with Stephanie Louise, devised by women recovering from breast cancer. It was performed at Manchester central as part of an awareness-raising event.
At this time, she also founded Make it Write, as she was experiencing difficulties in the leap from amateur to professional acceptance for her plays. She realised that other writers were going through the same struggle and felt a producing support group for developing artists was required.
Her first full length, professional play, Start Square, about loneliness and domestic abuse in an elderly relationship, was performed in 2019 and 2020 at Hope Street Theatre, Liverpool and the Gladstone Theatre, Port Sunlight. She now concentrates her efforts on radio and short plays whilst she mentors others.
She has been nominated for the female Business awards this year in 4 categories
Kevin has been involved in both the professional and community world of theatre for over two decades having worked at the Liverpool Merseyside Theatres Trust; Everyman and Playhouse theatres. Kevin was both front of house in many roles and workshopping with adults with learning difficulties and pensioners. In the community he has acted, including as Mr Peachum in the Threepenny Opera at the Edinburgh Fringe and directed; including sold out shows at the Unity and award-winning shows at the Leverhulme Festival.
He also has experience as the co-director of an organisation that ran parenting programmes across the Northwest.
Kevin has been working with MIW for a number of years and looks forward to getting more involved and hopes his experience can add value to the work Sharon, Ted and Jamie has so admirably been doing.
Kevin Foott
DIRECTOR
JAMIE GASKIN
CO-FOUNDER and DIRECTOR
As a child I loved writing stories and as a teenager fancied myself as a comedian. My jokes turned into sketches and I even had a couple of gags accepted for TV’s The Frost Report.
I carried on with amateur dramatics and sketch and playwriting through my life. My career as a journalist included being both TV and theatre critic. Indeed, until recently I was one of the North West theatre critics for the website The Public Reviews.
Once retired I joined Liverpool Playwrights and with them came up with the idea of a “Beatles-themed” play contest which I christened “Ticket to Write”. The competition blossomed and included many foreign entries, notably from the USA. It ran for five years, mostly at Liverpool’s Unity Theatre.
Through Liverpool Playwrights I met Sharon Colpman who was starting a group “Make it Write” keen to stage plays as well as critique and mentor scripts. As I had some producing experience through “Ticket to Write”, I joined as a Co-Director when it became a CIC.
I have helped in that way since the start and even had the privilege of having two plays of my own “Here is Thy Sting” and “The Budding Mantis” staged.
Agents, Facilitators and Managers
Molly Farquhar – Theatre Manager and Facilitator
Sinead Renaye – Casting Agent and Facilitator
Blake Emery – Studio Director, Podcast Suite, Technical Manager and Facilitator
Kiefer Wesley Williams – Facilitator for Writing, Acting and Directing
REDBOOK CASTING HAS OPENED ITS DOORS!
Within our new Wood Street home, something marvellous is happening! We are now the proud new home of Redbook Casting Agency. Not only that, our very own Sinead Renaye is the brand new agent for this already well established agency. Sinead’s goal is to offer performers guidance and support in their careers and the next step of becoming a professional actor or presenter. If you are interested in representation, head to https://redbookcasting.co.uk. Books are currently open. We’d also like to extend a huge thank you to Natalie James, Redbook’s previous owner and agent, for all of her help and training during this transition period.
Our Patron James Sutton
Hailing from Staffordshire but residing in Liverpool, James Sutton, best known for playing John Paul McQueen in Hollyoaks and Ryan Lamb in Emmerdale, has been a popular face on British television and the national stage for 2 decades. A lifelong Liverpool FC supporter, James is a long time contributor to both The Anfield Wrap and the Redmen TV. Away from his acting work, James is a proud ambassador of We Are Survivors, a regular panelist on the Jeremy Vine show on Channel 5, and recently launched his own website, ‘protocol’, helping people to reconstruct their identity through evidence, structure, mindset, and deliberate action. He also hosts the hugely successful Male Mind Matters Podcast.
James is thrilled to become a patron and help champion the next generation of creators and artists. He discovered Make it Write when he visited the Studio Below to do his podcast and is keen to promote the work taking place at the Studio Beyond.
