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  • Tom Bellerby

    Co-chair

    Tom is a freelance theatre director and dramaturg. He started his career at Pilot Theatre and went on to become the Resident Director at the Donmar Warehouse and Associate Director at Hull Truck Theatre, where he was a key member of the team who planned and delivered the theatre's programme as part of Hull 2017 UK City of Culture. Alongside his directing work Tom regularly teaches at some of the UK's top drama training institutions including Arts Ed, RCSSD and Leeds Conservatoire.

  • Stephen Mason – interim co-chair

    Stephen is enraptured by theatre, its processes and potential, and directs plays himself though at a level well below Pilot Theatre. In his other life Steve is a solicitor working on behalf of the travel/holiday industries, and enjoys bringing his legal skills to the benefit of Pilot.

  • Amanda Smith

    Mandy is Executive Producer for Pilot. She has a passion for how work connects with audiences, particularly young people, and in setting up and exploring international partnerships. She has directed numerous shows for young audiences, run workshops for young people and teachers in Russia, Japan and Australia as well as participating in projects across many European countries.

  • David Collins

    David is the Executive Director of Northern Ballet.  Previously he was he was Executive Director and Deputy CEO of Opera North where he led the fundraising campaign for the company’s major capital project and prior to this he was Head of Marketing at the RSC.  David served as a Board member for Opera Europa, the association of European opera companies, and is a parent governor at his local primary school.

  • Eliza Beth Stevens

    Eliza is a director of theatre and comedy from Yorkshire, now based in South East London. She is the Associate Director for Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch and her debut play Fair Cop is currently in development. She is also the Artistic Director of Out The Attic and host of the Grafters Podcast. Credits as Assistant Director; Ballad Lines (Southwark Playhouse Elephant), Mary and the Hyenas (Hull Truck/Wilton’s Music Hall), A Song for Ella Grey (UK Tour), Handbagged Workshop (National Theatre/Queens Theatre Hornchurch), Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch (Southwark Playhouse Elephant), Henrietta (NYMT). As Director; Anna Hale; Control Freak (Pleasance/Edinburgh Fringe), Curly; C U Later Simulator (Edinburgh Fringe), Twelfth Night (Fleshment Theatre), …that’s what she said (Unity Theatre Liverpool).

  • Esther Richardson

    Esther is Artistic Director for Pilot Theatre.  She has directed work for many other venues and companies including Soho Theatre, Cast, Tamasha Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, Bolton Octagon, Theatre Writing Partnership and New Perspectives. Her film work includes two successful shorts The Cake and Wings, which led her to be selected for Creative England’s ifeatures scheme in 2012/13. Esther participated in the Clore fellowship 2019/2020.

  • Gareth Burrow

    Gareth is an experienced chartered accountant and auditor, with a particular interest in the charity and not for profit sector.  As a long-time admirer of Pilot’s work and ethos, Gareth is delighted to be able to bring his financial skills to the Board.

  • John R. Wilkinson

    John is a theatre director and dramaturg, working freelance and as Artistic Associate at York Theatre Royal. He is the tenth recipient of the Genesis Future Directors Award at the Young Vic. Most of his directing credits are focused on intense, modern classics, though he has also worked on large scale musicals and festivals of new work for young people.

  • Katy Dartsch

    Katy is part of the senior leadership team at CAPA College, Wakefield.  She has been part of the team since 2012 as they strive to deliver high-quality arts training to 16-19 year olds across the north of England.  Katy is passionate about promoting the huge range of employment opportunities within the arts to the students.

  • Shannon David

    Shannon is a freelance Casting Director and Writer from the West Midlands and she formed Elise Casting in 2020 focusing on discovering fresh talent to tell Midlands and Northern based stories. Alongside her freelance practice Shannon has worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company in the Company & Stage Management department and prior to that in Production for Derby Theatre.

    Shannon has worked as part of a Race Equity working group at the Royal Shakespeare Company in partnership with Race Reflections, work which saw the development of content and training packs on micro-aggressions in the workplace - rooted in the lived experience of racism.

  • Sophie Buckley

    Sophie is an employment and discrimination law specialist. She was a principal legal officer at the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is now a fee-paid employment judge.

  • Tracy Mosley

    Tracy has over 25 years of experience in marketing and communications, primarily in the arts/cultural, educational and charitable sectors. Tracy has previously worked for Audiences Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dance, and for a wide range of organisations nationally and internationally as a freelance consultant.

  • Victoria Blakey-Archer

  • Violet Scantlebury

    Violet is an experienced teacher of 18 years and started her journey in drama and education as a visiting performer for the Theatre In Education company '2 Engage', before becoming a freelance Drama practitioner with the Nottingham Playhouse Participation Programme. Here she was able to develop a system of learning to help engaging participants with Drama, stimuli and hard-hitting topics.
    Her role now not only focuses on the development of the Drama Curriculum but also on the teaching and learning from a whole school perspective. Having taught in mainly inner-city settings, Violet is keenly aware of the role education can have on young lives and the power of strong leadership in the drive to give a voice to all. A keen dramatist, she has directed and written plays in and out of school. Violet believes in the importance of collaboration and innovation in her teaching practice. She believes that the arts must continue to push boundaries in areas empower all to use their voice!