Michelle Allen
Co-founder
Michelle is a proudly autistic & ADHD writer and business coach with a background in producing and education.
Producing: Michelle worked as the Assistant Producer for Curated Acts at Reading Fringe Festival and produced independently as the Co-founder of Cast Iron Theatre in Brighton.
Writing: After script reading for the BBC Writers Room and Theatre 503, she gained an MA Screenwriting at Nation Film and Television School and was the winner of the NBC Universal & SyFy Channel's Original TV Pitch Competition.
Her plays have been staged in London and Brighton. In 2021 she was selected to attend the Curtis Brown Breakthrough Novel Writing programme for her manuscript, Andraste.
Coaching & Mentoring: Michelle is also a business coach with her business Infinite Upstart. She focuses on strategy & mindset and is an Expert Partner of the Business & IP Centre, Sussex.
Additionally, Michelle has mentored young theatre-makers with The Pebble Trust Bursary at Brighton Fringe, and Greater Brighton Met College.
Co-founder
Michelle is a proudly autistic & ADHD writer and business coach with a background in producing and education.
Producing: Michelle worked as the Assistant Producer for Curated Acts at Reading Fringe Festival and produced independently as the Co-founder of Cast Iron Theatre in Brighton.
Writing: After script reading for the BBC Writers Room and Theatre 503, she gained an MA Screenwriting at Nation Film and Television School and was the winner of the NBC Universal & SyFy Channel's Original TV Pitch Competition.
Her plays have been staged in London and Brighton. In 2021 she was selected to attend the Curtis Brown Breakthrough Novel Writing programme for her manuscript, Andraste.
Coaching & Mentoring: Michelle is also a business coach with her business Infinite Upstart. She focuses on strategy & mindset and is an Expert Partner of the Business & IP Centre, Sussex.
Additionally, Michelle has mentored young theatre-makers with The Pebble Trust Bursary at Brighton Fringe, and Greater Brighton Met College.
Andrew Allen
Co-founder
Andrew is a writer, director, host and workshop facilitator.
Andrew has taught drama for almost two decades, working with children, young people and adults. He teaches improvisation in corporate and community settings, and leads workshops and mentoring for emerging writers and directors.
Andrew hosts the Cast Iron Theatre Podcast and Friday Night Interview show. Trained in theatre-making and performance, he also writes and directs. His writing has been staged in Croydon, Chelmsford, Brighton, Reading, Edinburgh and London.
Andrew wrote and directed One Woman Alien which features Katy Schutte. He has recently written a short story collection and has a number of short stories published by Candy Jar Books.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @my_grayne
Read more about Cast Iron - www.castironbrighton.com
Co-founder
Andrew is a writer, director, host and workshop facilitator.
Andrew has taught drama for almost two decades, working with children, young people and adults. He teaches improvisation in corporate and community settings, and leads workshops and mentoring for emerging writers and directors.
Andrew hosts the Cast Iron Theatre Podcast and Friday Night Interview show. Trained in theatre-making and performance, he also writes and directs. His writing has been staged in Croydon, Chelmsford, Brighton, Reading, Edinburgh and London.
Andrew wrote and directed One Woman Alien which features Katy Schutte. He has recently written a short story collection and has a number of short stories published by Candy Jar Books.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @my_grayne
Read more about Cast Iron - www.castironbrighton.com
Non-Executive Directors
Steph Weller
Independent Producer
Old Vic 12 (2018-19); Stage One bursary holder
Steph is an independent theatre and festival producer based in Reading. She is the producer of the Reading Fringe Festival and Magical Reading, a month-long Christmas programme.
Alongside her festival responsibilities, Steph nurtures the development of new work. She one of the Old Vic 12, and has developed a new musical Black Power Desk, about the British Black Power Movement in the 1960s and '70s.
She also creates theatre as Working Birthday, with writer/performer Natasha Sutton Williams. Steph has been supported by a Stage One bursary for commercial producers and knows how hard it is for emerging producers to get their careers off the ground without that sort of help and mentoring. As such, Steph is passionate about finding ways to support emerging producers and creatives. Read more about Steph at www.stephjweller.com.
Independent Producer
Old Vic 12 (2018-19); Stage One bursary holder
Steph is an independent theatre and festival producer based in Reading. She is the producer of the Reading Fringe Festival and Magical Reading, a month-long Christmas programme.
Alongside her festival responsibilities, Steph nurtures the development of new work. She one of the Old Vic 12, and has developed a new musical Black Power Desk, about the British Black Power Movement in the 1960s and '70s.
She also creates theatre as Working Birthday, with writer/performer Natasha Sutton Williams. Steph has been supported by a Stage One bursary for commercial producers and knows how hard it is for emerging producers to get their careers off the ground without that sort of help and mentoring. As such, Steph is passionate about finding ways to support emerging producers and creatives. Read more about Steph at www.stephjweller.com.
Zsuzsi Lindsay
Cultural Placemaking Officer, Reading Borough Council
Zsuzsi is the Cultural Placemaking Officer for Reading Borough Council, supporting both the Cultural Services and the Housing and Development Team.
She has worked in the creative sector for the last 20 years in both in the UK and abroad.
As a result of her experiences, she has developed a passion for delivering and designing cultural projects with social impact outcomes. Seeing first-hand the impact that cultural projects can have on wellbeing, sense of self and place, community building and academic achievement.
Outside of her role as Cultural Placemaking Officer she is a mum of three, founder of the Reading Fringe Festival, space animator, Non-Executive Director for Ironclad, planet protector and keen novice biker.
Cultural Placemaking Officer, Reading Borough Council
Zsuzsi is the Cultural Placemaking Officer for Reading Borough Council, supporting both the Cultural Services and the Housing and Development Team.
She has worked in the creative sector for the last 20 years in both in the UK and abroad.
As a result of her experiences, she has developed a passion for delivering and designing cultural projects with social impact outcomes. Seeing first-hand the impact that cultural projects can have on wellbeing, sense of self and place, community building and academic achievement.
Outside of her role as Cultural Placemaking Officer she is a mum of three, founder of the Reading Fringe Festival, space animator, Non-Executive Director for Ironclad, planet protector and keen novice biker.
Sally Orr
Dramatherapist & Youth Theatre director
Sally specialises in children and teenagers with a passion for supporting mental health through drama and finding out what issues her groups can use to explore their own experience in life- through drama and all the creative arts, using drama, music, movement and the visual arts .
She has run her youth theatre DQ Brighton for nearly 20 years and has produced and directed numerous plays around Brighton with her enthusiastic groups , connecting with funding partners in the UK, including UK Youth for teenagers and AGE UK, with arts groups for older people . She has a strong belief in arts for all whatever your ability.
Sally has also worked in education as a Dramatherapist, and more recently with East Sussex Discovery college and Culture Shift CIO to run creative groups to support the mental health of local 11-20 years olds . This has been a huge positive learning curve and also she has also learnt how to make Street Art! She has also worked in the NHS for 30 years as a Registered nurse practitioner , supervisor and learning mentor.
Dramatherapist & Youth Theatre director
Sally specialises in children and teenagers with a passion for supporting mental health through drama and finding out what issues her groups can use to explore their own experience in life- through drama and all the creative arts, using drama, music, movement and the visual arts .
She has run her youth theatre DQ Brighton for nearly 20 years and has produced and directed numerous plays around Brighton with her enthusiastic groups , connecting with funding partners in the UK, including UK Youth for teenagers and AGE UK, with arts groups for older people . She has a strong belief in arts for all whatever your ability.
Sally has also worked in education as a Dramatherapist, and more recently with East Sussex Discovery college and Culture Shift CIO to run creative groups to support the mental health of local 11-20 years olds . This has been a huge positive learning curve and also she has also learnt how to make Street Art! She has also worked in the NHS for 30 years as a Registered nurse practitioner , supervisor and learning mentor.