Profile: Tessa Rennie
Tessa Rennie
General Manager, Imaginate
| Tessa joined the team at Imaginate four years ago, grabbing the opportunity on hearing good things were happening in the children’s sector. Her first ventures into theatre however, began at an early age. She gave up her acting career at the tender age of 10 but still got involved with her school drama group in other roles. The group made use of the local Brunton Theatre, and it was there that Tessa had her first paid job. Her first full time job was at the Traverse Theatre, which was an incredible experience that taught her a great deal. She saw some especially memorable productions both by the Traverse Theatre Company and from visiting companies from all over the world. |
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As General Manager, Tessa gets involved in all the elements of putting the Festival together. Working very much as a team, the Imaginate staff share and discuss a great deal. The Director spends a lot of time travelling to find the best children’s theatre from around the world. From time to time, the team gets an opportunity to travel with him. Most recently, they spent the weekend at the Children’s Festival in Denmark – seeing around 15 shows in two days. For Tessa it was a joy to see Gruppe 38’s new show all about Hans Christian Andersen’s work.
According to Tessa, 'there’s nothing typical about a day at Imaginate – other than we generally have fun together. There’s a great team of people here and a buzz in the office. We are all really excited about the programme'. Activity is rife in Imaginate at this point - schools, delegates and public sales all fit on the agenda. Companies are finalising their travel plans, volunteers and staff are signing up and the venues are getting ready for the festival's arrival.
The volume of paperwork is understandably not Tessa’s favourite part of the job, however she clearly sees the pay-off for all her hard work: 'I absolutely love seeing the children arrive at the Festival and then watching them chattering away afterwards as they head back to their bus'. 'Imaginate encourages them to draw their impressions of the show that they’ve seen and it’s great to see what they come up with'. In addition, this year activity sheets will be available for teachers, with ideas for activities related to the show they see.
On a personal note, scoring a goal at the Festival football match was a particularly momentous occasion for Tessa.
From this year's programme, Tessa is particularly looking forward to Goodbye Mr. Muffin – the story of the last days in the life of a much loved pet. She says, 'I’ve got my box of hankies at the ready! And I’m looking for a big shoulder to cry on...' |