STRONG IDEAS - Key Persons

Hilary Strong has 30 years of leadership experience in the creative sector having run a touring theatre company, a London theatre and the world's largest arts festival. Following 5 years working in Bath as General Manager of the Natural Theatre Company, she was appointed director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1994 and led the organisation for 5 years. In 1998 she was invited by Culture Minister Chris Smith to join the Arts Council of England where she served for 4 years, prior to the Council's reorganisation. Hilary took up the post of Executive Director of Greenwich Theatre in June 1999 where she produced the UK revival of Golden Boy, the world premiere of Arnold Wesker's Longitude and several musicals. During the period in charge of Greenwich Theatre, she became progressively interested in the provision of education and training, especially for young people from disadvantaged areas of South London. Between 2000 and 2007, Hilary re-branded Greenwich Theatre as a theatre focused on learning and participation and secured funding from the European Social Fund of nearly £1 million to support a range of training programmes. In 2007 the Greenwich Theatre programme was awarded the London Region Edge Award for Training. Hilary developed the Making Theatre Gaining Skills training programme in 2011 with investment from Arts Council England, the Learning & Skills Improvement Service and UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs. The aim was to provide a unique learning programme for young people and adults, offering practical experience of a range of technical, craft and production roles combined with employment skills. Since then over 500 people have accessed the training and achieved formal qualifications or progressed into employment. The organisation operates across the South East and South West of England. Hilary has been guest speaker at international theatre conferences in Milan, Madrid, Zagreb, Dublin, Avignon, Krakow and Vienna. She regularly lectures on cultural management and has worked with Bath University, Goldsmiths College, Warwick University and Georgetown University and Yale in the USA. She also gives talks to Women's Institute groups across the country. "I believe that her superb ideas do indeed come to fruition due to a very high level of interpersonal, organisational and communication skills, which produce exceptional outcomes. " Anne-Marie Dixon, Deputy Headteacher I have known Hilary Strong for about 11 years and have every confidence in her ability to plan and implement effective learning programmes. She is an experienced producer and administrator with a wide knowledge of the current issues impacting on creative learning and the barriers faced by young people from disadvantaged communities. Jon Bromwich, Executive Producer British Youth Music Theatre