Writer profile

Jean Rees

Personal Statement

Life, for me, is a theatre of words: a drama of incident, place and passion.  My work draws upon stories, out of the shadows, squirreled away in my imagination ready to be re-written on the page.

I was once described by a local journalist as an arts activist – perhaps she recognised my belief that creativity has the power to bring about change in personal and social settings.  In a recent casting for a theatre benefit, my guiding principle was to enable professional and non-professional actors increase confidence in their performances whilst having fun along the way.  Coaching in Personal Development Workshops is a most rewarding aspect in my work.  I have experience in fundraising, planning and organising touring shows, with the necessary directing and producing skills. 

I have trained with Julian Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed and hold a Post Graduate Certificate in Community Theatre.  I have been involved in many productions as writer/director, from commissioned street theatre, to shadow-director at the Studio Theatre, Bradford.  I am a published poet and read recently at CB1 in Cambridge.

As Co-Founder, in 1998, of the Hourglass Studio Gallery, Hebden Bridge, I held full responsibility for the day-to-day organisational development and running of the exhibition programme, working with visual artists, creative writers and participants as a Gallery Educator to promote the value of all things creative: visual, aural, literal.  

In September 2000, I became Company Secretary and Founder Member of HEADS: the Hourglass Educational Arts Development Services, steering the Company to Charity Status; this enabled the implementation of cross-arts educational projects in the local community.  I resigned my duties after a period of four years having successfully obtained major funding allocation from the Arts Council, England, together with local funding from Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, and other major national arts funding bodies, for projects development and staffing.   

Since moving to Cambridgeshire in 2005 I have become an active member of Writeon! The Forum for New Dramatic Writing in Cambridge where I workshop and direct new writing.  My most recent writing experience at Writeon! includes three new works in progress: Women Have Beards, Don’t They, Leather and Saving Charlie, a monologue for Cambridge Fringe this year.  Other work includes Cissie and Edina, 1910, A Littleport Story a film script for the Field Theatre Group; Sea Legs, a one act play submitted for Hotbed Festival; Verbivore, a play of sounds submitted to Radio Cambridgeshire; and previously Crimson Cries the Croal, Director, casting and production of street theatre piece in Bolton in 1997. 

I enjoy working with others and my aims are not only to enhance my own creative skills, but also to create space where ideas and working practice are guided by the universal nature of creativity and the interactive role of the senses.

 

  

Jean Rees