Profile on: Julie Ellen

Creative Director of Playwrights' Studio, Scotland

Julie Ellen became the inaugural Creative Director of Playwrights' Studio, Scotland in March 2004. The past four years have been an extraordinary time for her, moving from being an actor and producer into helping others to realise their own artistic ambitions.

It's the sort of job that makes her glad to go to work as she has the privilege of sharing the experience of the playwright as they bring their projects to fruition. She has successfullly overseen the Playwrights' Studio's rise from an abstract idea to the welcoming hub of activity it is today.

'[Playwrights' Studio] is there for playwrights who are dreaming of the plays they might write, writing the plays they hope will get produced or eagerly awaiting the response to plays that are in production.  We do all we can for people at different levels and with varying ambitions... giving them all the respect they deserve for their artistic endeavours.'  Playwrights' Studio, Scotland Review April 2004-March 2007

The Playwrights' Studio helps playwrights across all levels of experience. 

New writers are discovered and nurtured through competitions and Inspire workshops held all over the country; there is a successful Mentoring scheme for emerging playwrights; and more established playwrights are aided in new script development by the provision of resources, for example, actors and directors and through play sales and promotion of play publishing.

Biography

Julie Ellen trained as an actor at Edinburgh's Queen Margaret University College before working extensively as an actor and director in Scotland and London.  She held posts at the Central School of Speech and Drama (Development Administrator) and the Duke of Cambridge Pub Theatre (Artistic Director) before becoming Deputy General Manager at Theatre Centre, London.  She was General Manager of Suspect Culture.

Julie's recent achievements include directing a reading of Kathy McKean's Lie to Me and, also, Kieran Lynne's Stranger from the Sea which was part of the New Writing New Worlds Festival 2007.  Julie has been a judge on panels for the prestigious Meyer-Whitworth Award and the Scottish Arts Council's Creative Scotland Awards.

Guest speaker appearances have taken Julie as far afield as Vancouver (PuSh Festival 2005), Barcelona (SIBMAS Conference 2005), Graz and Belgrade (Fence Meetings 2007). Closer to home, she was a guest workshop leader at the West Lothian Youth Theatre Conference 2006. Last year, Julie took part in Radio Scotland's Radio Cafe Arts Broadcast.

Julie's future plans include a trip to Brazil for the British Council to help the development of the Experimental Centre of Performing Arts in Sao Paulo. Julie and the Playwrights' Studio are also looking forward to a visit from Dzifa Glikpoe, former Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Ghana in December.

Visit the Playwrights' Studio website to find out more and sign up for their regular e bulletin.