Where is Hannah Tomlinson now?

We caught up with Hannah in January 2020 to find out what she's been up to since graduation and here’s what she told us…

What projects and work have you been involved in since graduation?

After graduating I chose to go freelance as a Creative Community Theatre and Arts Practitioner. By doing this I was able to improve my practice in the real world and make connections with organisations in my local area. In the first year after graduating I worked in a variety of roles (too many to list) however a few examples include; directing a Special Educational Needs and Disability youth theatre, working in Italy improving young people’s English through drama and being commissioned to create a workshop on Multiculturalism in Britain.

After travelling around South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand, I came back to the UK and got an internship at a regional theatre called Hull Truck Theatre. After freelancing I was keen to work for an organisation, it gave me job security and the ability to develop my practice. I stayed at Hull Truck as an Interim Creative Learning Assistant and after that felt ready to move into creating work for myself again.

What experiences from the course helped prepare you for what you are doing now?

The Applied Theatre course gave me experience with lots of different communities and theatre companies. This meant that whilst freelancing I was able to create people and community centred workshops which fit a brief. This made me extremely employable to people as I was able to be flexible to their needs. Knowing how to adapt to a situation during a workshop has proven extremely helpful throughout my career.

What do you love about what you do now?

I get to work flexible hours, inspiring young people about our environment and how they can work together as a community to support and protect it. There’s not many people that can say they spend their days using theatre and play to create new mini environmental activists!

What are you plans for the near future?

I’ve recently been appointed Co-Director and Lead Outreach Co-ordinator of a new emerging environmentally conscious children’s theatre company called Nest Theatre. This next step in my career will be about creating and finding my own work. While this is slightly daunting it also gives me the flexibility and job satisfaction I'm currently craving.