Our Board Members
Simon Pinnell
Simon grew up in Wendover and now lives in Chesham with his fiancée, Louise; he works as the Advocacy Manager for the Spinal Injuries Association, based in Milton Keynes. Simon sustained a spinal cord injury in 2010 leaving him paralysed from the waist and a full-time wheelchair user. He works supporting others with a spinal cord injury to ensure they have a voice and are heard in the face of their battles to live fulfilled lives. He is a firm believer that people are not defined by any disability they might have and that inclusivity is key, an ethos which has brought him to Theatre Shed.
A keen sports fan (“I’ll watch most sports from cycling to rugby to snooker to triathlon!”), in his spare time he can often be found at Twickenham supporting the England Rugby Team or at home listening to his football team, Arsenal’s, frustrating inconsistency! He is also a regular at Chesham’s Comedy Club and also supports other local organisations including 2204 (Chesham and Amersham) Air Cadets where he is secretary of the Civilian Committee. Simon also has an interest in military history and sits on the Access and Advisory panel at the RAF Museum in Hendon where he helped advise on accessibility on their recent multi-million pound renovations and met Prince Edward at the official opening in June 2018.
Following Emily’s year as Mayor of Chesham, when she chose The Theatre Shed to be her main mayoral charity, she was delighted to take on the role of Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Emily has a theatre background and has performed in many plays and musicals and regularly takes part in the Theatre Shed’s community plays. She is a practising barrister and Chairman of the UK Board of Directors for SAE University by day, but also contributes to the local community as a Town and District Councillor, Chairman of the Chesham Society, Senior Management and co-founder of the local radio station, Chiltern Voice. She also reformed the Chesham Youth Council in September 2018. In her spare time Emily can usually be found indulging in her passion for musical theatre watching an off-West End show!
Meet The Team
Alice started volunteering as a mentor for The Theatre Shed in 2009. Her main reason for this was to use her experience as an actor to encourage and support the members of her local theatre group. Following in her grandfathers (Kenneth Connor) footsteps, she grew up in the Film and Television industry in front of the camera.
Over her years as a mentor, Alice began to develop a passion for Shed’s ethos of inclusivity, so much so that she went on to gain a 1st Class Honours degree in Psychology specialising in Educational Psychology.
The Theatre Shed welcomed Alice into the Artistic Team in 2016 where she now works as a Practitioner, putting her knowledge and experience into developing the performance and social skills of our young people as well as facilitating the growth of the company itself.
Alice, continues to pursue her acting career in film and television and aspires to be in a position to facilitate the change in society that Shed achieves with ease every week. No boundaries, an open door for all where anything and everything is possible!
Sally has been working in both theatre and education for nearly 15 years. She studied Dramaturgy/Theatre originally at Leeds University, then went on to train as an actor, with specialist in Physical Theatre, Movement and theatre for young people, completing intensive training with Hope Street Ltd in Liverpool.
Sally holds a Masters Degree from Royal Holloway, University of London in Physical Theatre as well as training in dance, puppetry & object manipulation, holds certificates in teaching post compulsory education and British Sign Language (L3).
As a professional performer, Sally has a wide range of experience working with companies including Action Transport, Twisting Yarn and The Unity Theatre in Liverpool. Performance styles include children’s theatre, classical theatre, large-scale puppetry, dance pieces, numerous physical theatre collaborations as well as contemporary drama.
Sally also works as a freelance theatre director, especially on new writing. As a teacher She facilitates for various community groups and schools/colleges around London.
Sian joined Theatre Shed’s Artistic Team as our Musical Technician in 2019.
Sian is a self taught musician able to play a variety of instruments, as well as a trained vocalist with Grade 5 in Music Theory.
Sian has always had a passion for music, this is shown through her performing as live musician at various events and venues.
Sian is keen to share her knowledge and love for music with the members bringing out their creative side, encouraging them to remember anything is possible and we can create any music they like together!
Matt began his journey with Shed in 2005, filming the first production ‘The Witches’ and continued supporting backstage, designing lighting for Shed’s annual shows. This lead to Matt becoming more involved over the years, and was asked to become a mentor leading up to Shed’s 5 year anniversary show at Wycombe Swan Theatre. This was Matts first time performing on stage but thanks to The Theatre Shed’s inclusive and encouraging atmosphere, Matt has never looked back and goes into 2020 excited to see what The Theatre Shed’s 15 year anniversary has in store. Matt is not your typical performer, working for an engineering company and found playing rugby on weekends. But is able to take the skills learnt at Shed and apply them elsewhere, be that presenting at work or using/teaching others practical BSL. Throughout his time with Shed, Matt has been lucky enough to see what a positive impact the work Shed provides has had on so many members & the local community and looks forward to seeing Shed continue to grow.
Hannah started the Theatre Shed as a member in 2006. She soon began to work as a youth theatre support and later became a mentor.
Throughout her teenage years, Hannah found an affinity for working inclusively with children. This inspired her to train as a teacher for children with Special Educational Needs.
She now uses these skills to support The Theatre Shed’s ethos and ensure children are supported throughout the sessions.
Over the years at The Theatre Shed, Hannah has seen and been part of the true magic of inclusivity and strives to enable the doors at The Theatre Shed to be open forever.
Our Patrons
Sally Alford trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and went to perform as an actress and as a contemporary dancer. She fell into teaching and found that she loved it. Sally, taught in London and Buckinghamshire, directing numerous productions with casts of over 100 young people, some who have gone to do marvellous things. She also ran a successful Theatre in Education project.
Sally is a great believer in Community Drama and has been involved with local productions over many years notably, as a co–director of The Amersham Martyrs Plays. She was lucky enough to teach with Irene Perrin, the founder of Shed@The Park now The Theatre Shed, who suggested she joined the Board of Trustees in the year that Shed@The Park was created because of her Drama specialism…the rest is history.
‘I so admire the inclusive, innovative, imaginative style of work that Shed produces; who could not be swept away by the wonderful members of the Company, the amazing Artistic Team and the outstanding work that they produce. I always tell people that if you cut me in half I would have SHED written through me, just like a stick of rock. I simply LOVE SHED and all that it achieves’
Thomas Connor is a professional actor-musician who trained both at Sylvia Young Theatre School and the Bournemouth Arts University. His talents have taken him around the country with numerous actor-musician productions and he won a British Pantomime Award for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ in 2016 for his roll in Beauty and the Beast at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.
“It is of great importance for our young people to have spaces in which they can express themselves and work together as equals. So much of their development is based around a strict curriculum of targets set to achieve a uniform standard. There are important disciplines to learn within that system, but The Theatre Shed offers them the opportunity to take ownership of something outside of that environment. To develop all that is unique to them as an individual and apply that to a creative process.
Having worked with them as a tutor in the past I have seen how trans-formative it can be for everyone within that creative space. It is a luxury that not all have access too. It must be nurtured, protected and when necessary provided for to ensure it is there for the young people involved and future generations.”
REGISTERED ADDRESS: UNIT 1, CHESS BUSINESS PARK, MOOR ROAD, CHESHAM HP5 1SD
The Theatre Shed Ltd, Registered in England & Wales No. 5657857. Registered Charity No. 1114231