59 PRODUCTIONS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Company Director
- Executive Producer
Anna Jameson is Executive Producer at 59 Productions, developing and producing projects initiated from within the company. The first of these to reach fruition was the company's stage production of Paul Auster's City of Glass in 2017, hailed as "re-writing the rulebook for stage design" The Telegraph, and winning Best Design at the Manchester Theatre Awards 2017. Other live projects include Invisible Cities, conceived and designed by 59, and directed by 59 Productions' Founder and Creative Executive Director Leo Warner, which premiered at Manchester International Festival in 2019.
Previously, Anna was a freelancer producer and consultant working for a range of companies in the arts. For 59, as a freelancer, she produced Hampton Court Rewind, a 25 minute animated artwork for the façade of Hampton Court Palace over Easter weekend 2015.
From 2004 to 2014 Anna held senior management roles at the National Theatre and the Young Vic consecutively, working closely with the Artistic and Executive Leadership of both theatres, as well as leading teams herself. She was also Executive Producer for renowned physical theatre company Gecko during a formative time in their development.
Anna is an accredited performance coach. She was a Board member of Improbable from 2012 to 2017. Alongside producing, her areas of expertise built over the past twenty years include fundraising, commercial partnerships, building a coaching culture within organisations, developing and mentoring staff, and diverse recruitment.
Anna is a Company Director of 59 Productions.
Job Titles:
- Designer
- Architectural Designer
Asha Pandit is an Architectural Designer at 59 Productions. Asha's work within the architecture team centres around 3D design for live performances and exhibitions. Most recently Asha has been developing designs for large-scale events across the UK. Alongside Architectural design, Asha has a wider passion for 3D design and model-making.
Becki is COO of 59 Productions. She has a track record working as a Joint-CEO, Executive, Producer and arts finance specialist collaborating with artists and creative businesses to develop pioneering global programmes and create resilient business and finance models for their work. She's largely worked in installation, placemaking, performance in public space, and interaction design and many of her partnerships have been cross-sector and placing art in other industries.
Ben joined 59 Productions in 2011, and has been the creative lead on numerous productions for the company. Also a Lighting Designer, Ben has lit or designed projections for Theatre, Opera, and Architectural projects around the world. Ben works from 59's US Studio in New York City.
Ben joined 59 Productions in 2011 with the Broadway production of War Horse, and has been the creative lead on numerous productions for the company. Also a Lighting Designer, Ben has lit or designed projections for Theatre, Opera, and Architectural projects around the world. Broadway credits include Oslo (Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination), An American in Paris (Tony Award, Drama Desk Nomination), Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Big Fish, and Whoopi!. Opera credits include The (r)Evolution of Steve Jobs (Santa Fe Opera), Pearl Fishers (ENO, Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera) The Shining (World Premiere), Francesca Zambello's production of Carmen (Beijing Opera) and Little Women (World Premiere). Dance credits include Lighting and Projection designs for Christopher Wheeldon's After the Rain and Within the Golden Hour for the Royal Ballet, and Projection Designs for The Nutcracker for the Joffrey Ballet. Ben has also designed Lighting and/or Projections for the US national and international tours of Riverdance, US national tours of 9 to 5, Beauty and the Beast, My Fair Lady, and many other productions for companies including the Alley Theatre, the Baltimore Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, the Houston Grand Opera, the Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Cleveland, Opera Omaha, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
He has been a frequent collaborator with the renowned artist James Turrell, including designing the lighting for the James Turrell Museum in Colomé, Argentina.
Ben works from 59's US Studios in New York City.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Support Team
Job Titles:
- Conductor, Orchestration Consultant
Dayoung is an Art Director at 59 Productions. Since joining 59, she has been developing exciting new designs for large-scale events across the UK and is currently planning future shows around the world. She brings extensive experience in urban design, architecture, interior design, and product design, and has worked for leading design firms in Berlin, Seoul, and NYC.
Job Titles:
- Operations and Producing Assistant
Emma is the Operations and Producing Assistant at 59 and works with all departments to ensure the smooth running of the studio as well as project work. Her interests lie in sustainability, inclusivity and pushing the boundaries of what art can be and do. Prior to 59 she has worked in the independent theatre sector both as a freelancer producer and performer as well as graduating with a Masters in Theatre from the University of Chichester.
Job Titles:
- Composer & Artistic Director
- Producers Music Productions
Deep Field is a brand new film that celebrates the world's most famous and successful space observatory - the Hubble Space Telescope - and its greatest discovery, the Deep Field.
A first-of-its-kind collaboration between Grammy award-winning composer & conductor Eric Whitacre, producers Music Productions, the Space Telescope Science Institute and 59 Productions, the film centres on the Hubble Deep Field image, an extraordinary photograph created by Hubble when it was pointed at a tiny and completely dark patch of sky and left to make a 10-day long exposure. What it revealed was a picture that contained over 3000 galaxies, each one composed of hundreds of billions of stars. Deep Field combines Hubble's stunning imagery, including never-seen-before fly-bys of galaxies, alongside bespoke animations created by 59 Productions, which takes viewers on an unforgettable journey from planet Earth to the edges of our universe.
The Deep Field score is by Eric Whitacre and includes his ground-breaking Virtual Choir (VC5), featuring more than 8,000 singers from 120 countries across the globe. Recorded earlier this year, Virtual Choir 5: Deep Field unites scientists, a former astronaut, Hubble employees and singers from across the globe, aged between 4 and 87. Produced by celebrated film composer/producer John Powell, the soundtrack was recorded by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and professional choir, the Eric Whitacre Singers.
Felix is a Designer at 59 Productions involved in projects from concept through to production. His experience includes working in VR, theatre & performance, exhibition design and video artworks. He is particularly interested in the manipulation of moving image across physical space and experimentation with visual tools to shape narratives.
Hannah is an architectural designer at 59 Productions. Her work within the company ranges from the design of auditoriums to creations for exhibitions, theatre, dance and virtual reality. Hannah has great interest in narrative-led projects, which use physical space to convey unique stories to a wide and inclusive audience.
Job Titles:
- Art Director
- Senior Video Designer
Jason is a Senior Video Designer at 59 Productions. His role involves conceptualising, developing, designing, and creating content for a variety of 59's projects including theatre, events and exhibitions. Jason is also responsible for leading and art directing teams of animators and designers.
Job Titles:
- Director on the Board
- Head of Architecture
Jenny is Head of Architecture and Director on the Board at 59 Productions. She is an Architect who has specialised in narratively led design for the stage and who established the architectural department at 59 in 2016 - building upon the company's theatrical background to establish a form of architectural expression which is fundamentally narratively led.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Support Team
Job Titles:
- Strategic Planning Manager
Kate Stanley is the Strategic Planning Manager of 59 Productions. She leads on planning for all projects across the studio, facilitating the creative process while managing the resource schedule for the design department and the freelance design teams. In addition to this, and building on her background in theatre, Kate works as a Video Line Producer on a number of projects in the studio.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Company Director
- Creative Director
- Founder
Leo is the Founder and Creative Director of 59 Productions. As well as leading and directing many of 59's flagship projects across the world he also oversees the work of the studio on behalf of the board, helping to steer the inter-disciplinary design and technical collaboration that is the hallmark of 59's creative offering.
Leo Warner is the founding director of 59 Productions. Over more than a decade Leo has conceived and led many of the company's flagship projects. Starting his career as a graphic designer with a degree in English Literature, Leo's driving interest is in telling compelling stories. A keen interest in the technological tools of design led him to create the company as a platform for developing narrative-driven projects that cross the arts-technology divide.
He established the company first in Scotland, specializing in video and projection design for theatre. Warner and colleagues collaborated with the nascent National Theatre of Scotland, designing and then touring productions globally, earning 59 the accolade of being ‘the finest purveyors of video for theatre in the world' (The Herald).
Over the course of a decade working with director Katie Mitchell - first at the National Theatre in London and then across Europe - he pioneered methods of ‘live film-making' in theatre to create a number of award-winning projects that The Guardian labelled ‘an entirely new art form', and ‘a high-water mark for multimedia'. He worked first in this medium as a video and projection designer, then director of video, and ultimately in the role of co-director.
In 2012 he led the 59 video design team on the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, working directly with Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle on ‘the greatest show on earth', with a live TV audience of over a billion viewers. Boyle and Warner have continued to work together since, including on Boyle's latest cinema release T2 Trainspotting.
In 2014 Warner led the 59 team on the company's first architectural projection-mapping artwork on the vast iconic ‘sails' of Sydney Opera House. The piece - viewed in person by over 3 million Sydney residents and international tourists - established a new interest in combining projection design and storytelling with extraordinary architecture. Subsequent projects designed to explore, venerate and transform iconic buildings around the world have provided opportunities to use Hampton Court Palace, the United Nations headquarters and Castle Rock in Edinburgh as vast, spatial canvasses.
As 59 has continued to grow, Leo has taken on the mantle of Design Director, and established an architecture department to work alongside the existing video design and animation teams. As well as overseeing the design output of the company, he continues to direct a small selection of 59's most visible and/or experimental work, focusing on projects that require complete conceptual development and design, or which require the use of multiple design disciplines including architecture, video, animation, sound, light and pyrotechnics.
Liam Daly is a Video Programmer at 59 Productions. His role encompasses pre-visualisation to assist designers and directors in making creative decisions and in the programming of projects, both in advance and on-site. Liam's particular skills lie in the media server software Disguise and generative content workflows.
Lorna is a graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, having gained a First Class Graphic Design BA in 2018. Her work features virtual environments, moving image, 3D artwork and interactive applications, often using narrative to explore the relationship between technology and society.
Before joining 59 she participated in Open Set, a design-research programme in the Netherlands, as well as working as a designer, animator and writer, including freelance roles as creative and editorial producer at Intern Magazine and editorial assistant at It's Nice That.
Job Titles:
- Company Director
- Animation Director
Lysander Ashton is a Director of 59 Productions and has been the creative lead on numerous productions for the company. He has worked across a broad range of disciplines, from design for the stage, to exhibitions and large-scale events to intimate single-user VR experiences.
Lysander Ashton is a Director of 59 Productions and has been the creative lead on numerous productions for the company. He has worked across a broad range of disciplines, from design for the stage, exhibitions and large-scale events to intimate single-user VR experiences.
Lysander's background is in theatrical video design and his work has been presented by numerous organisations including the National Theatre, the Royal Opera, Metropolitan Opera New York, Manchester International Festival, English National Opera, the Young Vic, Old Vic, the V&A, the Barbican, as well as commercial productions in the West End and Broadway.
In 2012, Lysander took a key role in the realisation of the video design for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, working closely with Oscar-winning director, Danny Boyle, to help realise his artistic vision for the event. Lysander took responsibility for the direction of 59's in-house animation team, liaising with colleague Leo Warner on the artistic direction of all of the animated content that featured in the ceremony.
Lysander has directed several VR experiences including fabulous wonder.land for the National Theatre, which was part of the official selection at Sundance, Cannes and the London Film Festival. He also led the video design on David Bowie is - the blockbuster V&A exhibition, described by Vogue as ‘unequivocally impressive.'
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Company Director
- Editor
Mark Grimmer holds a First Class degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Oxford, and is a director of the Tony and Olivier Award winning 59 Productions. At 59, Mark leads creative projects for the company, and has a particular interest in conceptual design, scriptwriting and approaches to narrative.
Over the course of the past 12 years, Mark has worked on an extensive and eclectic range of projects, for collaborators and clients including The National Theatre, English National Opera, The Royal Opera House, The Metropolitan Opera New York, Lincoln Center, The V&A Museum, Anna Wintour / Vogue Magazine, Channel 4 and Tate Modern. In 2012, Mark was the Lead Designer of the David Bowie is exhibition for the V&A Museum. The show, which broke box office records in London and has subsequently toured to ten countries around the world, has been described as ‘astonishing' (Evening Standard), ‘stunning' (Daily Telegraph) and ‘unequivocally impressive' (Vogue).
Mark is also a writer and executive producer for TV and film. He recently wrote and Executive Produced Thin Ice, a comedy pilot for Fox in the US and has written TV projects for E4, Comedy Central and Netflix. He has film and television projects in development with a number of production companies in both the UK and US. He is represented by Jessica Cooper at Curtis Brown in the UK and by CAA in the US.
Job Titles:
- Designer
- Architectural Designer
Matt Wreglesworth is an architectural designer at 59 Productions. As a member of the architecture team, Matt's work mainly centres around 3D design for exhibitions and performances. He is especially interested in creating narrative environments and blurring the boundaries of physical and digital space.
Job Titles:
- Art Director
- Executive Producer
- Researcher
- Head of Video
Nick is the Head of Video at 59 Productions. A Senior Designer with a background in animation and design for stage, they also manage the video team facilitating and scheduling the broad range of projects that require visual design at 59, from theatre, exhibitions, performances, VR and live events.
Job Titles:
- Art Director
- Senior Video Designer
Nicol is a Senior Video Designer at 59 Productions. His role involves developing, designing, and creating visual content for 59's flagship projects as well as leading and art directing teams of animators.
Job Titles:
- Video & Projection Designer
Job Titles:
- Member of the Support Team
Rebecca is Head of Producing at 59 Productions. As well as producing a variety of different scale projects for the company, she also manages the wider producing team. Her particular interests lie in producing awe-inspiring experiences that are accessible to all.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Director
- Managing Director
- Producer
Richard Slaney is the CEO of 59 Productions, leading the company and working as a Project Director or Executive Producer for larger scale works. Richard has a strong interest in giving audiences new perspectives on music, and much of his work for 59 Productions has focused on this area.
Richard Slaney is the Managing Director of 59 Productions, leading projects for the company as a Project Director alongside acting as Executive Producer for larger scale works.
In summer 2018, Richard created and directed Five Telegrams, a unique collaboration with composer Anna Meredith, to open the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival. The work was a joint commission between these two world-leading cultural organisations and marked the first time they had ever worked together in this way - together with 14-18 NOW, the UK's arts programme for the First World War centenary, in collaboration with the Royal Albert Hall.
Five Telegrams was Richard's second collaboration with the BBC Proms, a partnership that began in 2016 when he created a brand new projection-mapping film, Cello, for the opening of that year's BBC Proms season, offering a taster of Sol Gabetta's highly-anticipated debut performing Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor. It was also his second time directing the opening event of the Edinburgh International Festival after The Harmonium Project in 2015. This event combined John Adams's mesmerising choral work Harmonium with a series of spectacular animations, projected onto the outside of the Usher Hall.
Job Titles:
- Head of Finance and Operations
Robyn is the Head of Finance and Operations at 59 Productions. She works across financial planning/ management, people and operations. Prior to 59, Robyn worked with a variety of organisations in theatre and dance.
Job Titles:
- Co - Creator, Composer, Performer
Job Titles:
- Member of the Support Team
Job Titles:
- Technical Design Assistant
Simran is an Assistant Video Designer at 59. She is involved in all stages of the design process from the development of creative concepts all through to productions. Her interests include tactile and analogue drawing techniques and using art to provoke cultural dialogue.
Job Titles:
- Operations and Producing Assistant
Tayla is the Operations and Producing Assistant, liaising with all departments, she assists the Head of Finance and Operations to support the team at 59 Productions and facilitate the smooth running of the studio.
Teya is a Producer at 59 Productions, collaborating with 59's creative and technical departments to drive the company's projects forward. Prior to 59, Teya worked in theatre and events for over ten years, and is passionate about the positive effects of diversifying arts engagement and participation.
Job Titles:
- Head of Design
- Senior Designer
Tom is a Senior Designer at 59 Productions, a role that involves conceiving, developing and delivering ideas and content for exhibitions, performances, VR and live events. Tom uses his work and artistic practice to explore how technology can create new ways of imparting meaning to an audience.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Support Team