Chair - Julia Stevens

Julia’s journey into performing arts was ignited by a familial connection to ESPA Productions. Inspired by her mother's performances on stage, Julia developed a love for local theatre. With both parents treading the boards as well as serving as secretary and chair, Julia’s involvement with the society was somewhat inevitable!

Julia has filled various roles within the society. These include both ensemble and principal roles in shows; serving as secretary, set painting, call boy, conducting acting workshops, assistant director and most recently, director.

In 2022 Julia assumed the position of chair, succeeding her esteemed predecessors, Chris Wait and Kevin Stuart. Julia works as both chair of the trustees as well as chair of the production team, and has produced a number of shows for the society in the past few years.

In Julia’s professional life, she oversees the publication of B2B magazines and events, managing the team to drive financial success across a diverse portfolio. Her decades-long collaboration with ESPA Productions has undoubtedly enriched her career, enhancing her production and team management skills.

Vice-Chair - Amelia Hulbert

Amelia has been training in classical dance since she was 2. She joined YESPA when she was 11 which really enhanced her love of theatre and musicals. Since then, Amelia has performed in 22 musicals (not including dance shows or concerts) with YESPA, ESPA and other local societies. 

She started helping with ESPA and YESPA’s social media in 2019 and started designing their artwork for shows and programmes shortly after. But that wasn’t enough to satisfy her control freak tendencies so she became Vice-Chair of ESPA Productions in 2022, when she decided she had to move ESPA into the digital world of paperless forms!

The professional world of working has changed dramatically over the years for Amelia. She started her career back in 2017 as Managing Director of her own company, running trade shows for jewellery makers across the country. When Covid hit in 2020 and the events industry closed, she took it in her stride to pick up some marketing and design work to pass the time. 

Since then Amelia has never looked back and in her current role combines, event management, marketing, design and her ability to boss people around all in one. 

Amelia loves ESPA Productions and everything it has to offer. It gave her the amazing people she has around her today and for that she will be forever grateful!

Secretary - Terry Foster

Terry has been a member, first of ESOS and now ESPA since the 1980s.  These days, he prefers watching rather than performing…but he has been in a number of shows in principal and chorus roles; strictly non-dancing.  He’s had a couple of stints on the ESOS committee and is currently an ESPA trustee.

Treasurer - Julian Bond

Julian was originally treasurer of ESOS so many years ago that accounts were done on vellum with a quill pen.  When the society merged with the Opera Club, he happily agreed to allow the OC’s treasurer to sort out the financial implications of merging two societies (one of which was a charity).  Having successfully sorted the accounts of the new society (ESOSOC), David then stepped down and in 2015 Julian became treasurer again.  Apart from paying invoices and doing the annual accounts, Julian’s main task is to try to balance the production team’s natural desire to put on the highest quality show that they can, with the requirement that the society stays solvent!

Trustee - Meg Richards

Meg’s love for music and theatre stemmed from her form tutor calling over the music teacher after learning about her love for singing and signing her up for the school choir. From then, performing had been her life, with it either being in the school musicals or concerts. Thats where she met her singing teacher, who introduced her to the world of pantomime in 2015. First year, she threw herself into only performing for the Woldingham Pantomime, however after that - Meg started helping the musical director, only to then become musical director in 2017 and has been filling that role ever since. 

Meg’s first amdram performance, that wasn't a pantomime, was in 2022. This was the one and only Kinky Boots (a show that she had watched 14 times in the west end!) After being in this, she stumbled across a post on instagram, stunning proof of the wonders of social media. Now, the post was for YESPA’s Wind in the Willows, which she realised she was too old for, so looked into what ESPA were currently doing, which is how she found out about Bonnie and Clyde. She instantly signed up to audition, and got the role of Stella! That wasn’t the only role though, it was voiced that they needed some extra help with the marketing, so Meg decided to put the idea of creating a TikTok to ESPA. This was a hit, with one video going viral at over 300k views. Meg loved not only taking part in the show, but being able to come up with content, film and edit. It was a whole new look into the world of amdram. Meg did all this with the help of Amelia, who basically told Meg she wasn’t allowed to leave and has held her captive, not that she would want to leave as ESPA has become a second family! 

Other things Meg has helped with, is the content for YESPA’s The Wind in The Willows whilst also working backstage with both set and make-up and being someone to discuss ideas with, and bring new ideas to the team.

YESPA Leadership Team - Ali Bond, Clare Mcfadden & Alison Gilbert

Ali, Alison and Clare have been jointly leading YESPA since 2019.  They all began their YESPA lives as mothers of cast members and somehow, they’ve never left.  As a team they manage the budget; show choices and licensing; administration and membership of YESPA.  They recruit the creative team and production crew needed to put on each show.  They book halls and theatres, and manage all logistics relating to auditions, rehearsals and shows, and aim to encourage a wide range of young people to join the group. They organise the skills workshops for members and ensure the trainers are of a high quality.  A vital part of their remit is to organise fundraising events and make applications for arts funding grants to help YESPA to be as self-reliant as possible.

The leadership team are all licensed chaperones and they support Carol Carden who heads up child safeguarding for YESPA.

Marketing for YESPA is handled centrally by ESPA trustees, but the Leadership team feed the promotional messages they want shared.  

They are always keen to welcome any volunteers to support them in their wide ranging roles.

DESPA Committee Representative - Mark Nicholson

Having appeared in musicals, plays and G&S in other parts of the country since his time at university, Mark took a break from the stage when his children were born. He joined this group in 2006 for 'Annie' along with his daughter.

ESPA's Associate Producer - Saskia Leach

From the moment she saw her first show, The Lion King, aged five, Saskia was transfixed by the world of musical theatre - even though she was watching it through binoculars she was holding the wrong way round…

Saskia has been performing in plays and musicals since childhood, in shows as varied as Soho Cinders and Five Kinds of Silence, before joining ESPA on a whim in 2021 and never looking back! She is playing Essie in ESPA’s long-anticipated production of Parade, her fifth show with the company, and started helping out behind the scenes during their production of Me and My Girl. She feels very lucky to have landed on her feet performing with such a friendly, welcoming and inclusive group.

Away from MT, Saskia is a literary agent, so spends her days and evenings immersed in the art of storytelling. As a result of her day job, she is also well-versed in keeping many plates spinning at once as ESPA’s Associate Producer. Her role on the committee is to provide creative input and support to the wider team across fundraising, marketing and the production of shows - but really she spends too much time adjusting her team in ESPA’s Fantasy Football League.

ESPA's Marketing & Content Consultant - Anna Howard

Anna's journey in the world of amateur dramatics began at just 6 years old, igniting a lifelong passion. Her adventure took an exciting turn when she joined ESPA for their production of Bonnie & Clyde. After having the best time performing with ESPA, Anna seamlessly transitioned into supporting with the marketing side, thrilled to have a role in promoting such a fantastic group.

By day, Anna is a marketing manager in the healthcare industry. By night, she's a theatre aficionado. She finds it so rewarding blending her professional work with her love for all things theatrical. From her days as vice president of the university theatre society to her performance and production credits, Anna has a great deal of experience in the art of nurturing successful theatre groups and helping them grow.

Anna’s role is to provide advice and creative input to support the committee. Her biggest skill, however, is getting too overexcited and flooding the group chat with 600 messages within the space of an hour.

ESPA Committee - Gareth Thomas

Brought up on a forced-fed diet of Gilbert & Sullivan and seeing his parents perform in multiple amateur dramatics productions, it was almost inevitable that Gareth would follow in the same footsteps. After gaining a degree in Drama & Theatres Arts from the University of Birmingham and then a Masters in Acting at the Guildford School of Acting, Gareth enjoyed several years as a working professional including jobs in the West End, national tours and commercials.

The arrival of children with his wife Vicki meant that Gareth needed to find a ‘sensible job’ and embarked on a career in the completely unsexy world of Housing Associations. However, the urge to perform again became too great, and after a 10 year hiatus Gareth returned to the stage in joining ESPA with roles in Me and My Girl, Bonnie and Clyde, Improbable Fiction and Parade.

Gareth’s role within the committee is as a supportive function to the rest of the committee.

DESPA Steering Group - Jill Day

Jill has been involved with ESPA since 1989, with a short stint on the social committee in the 1990s and many years treading (and dancing on) the boards.  With involvement in DESPA, she has come to appreciate the greater intensity of putting on plays – smaller cast, shorter rehearsal period and greater involvement with all aspects of the production, both on and off stage.

DESPA Steering Group - Clare McFadden

Joining ESPA in 2013, having watched her two sons perform with both ESPA and YESPA, Clare has enjoyed performing in musicals and plays ever since. In her "spare time" she helps to run our Youth Section, YESPA.

DESPA Steering Group - Jane Hogg

Jane was bitten by the theatre bug at school and over 50 years later is still performing, singing and occasionally directing. She joined Opera Club, part of the original group, in 1989 and ESOS a few years later and is now hopefully, bringing that experience to the DESPA steering group.

DESPA Steering Group - Kevin Stuart

Kevin has been involved in ESPA for a very long time as The Opera Club, ESOS and ESOSOC. In that time he’s been onstage as a performer, director, backstage making scenery and on committee as a trustee and Chairman. Kevin has a great love for Musical Theatre and Drama and is delighted to be part of the DESPA steering group.

Production Support and ESPA Buddy - Nia Harrington-Benton

Committee & Social Events Team Leader - Matt Barnett

Web Support - Adam Stevens

Adam has been introduced into the theatre scene upon meeting his wife Julia Stevens. Since their fateful first date, Adam has been found performing in numerous plays for Despa and other sociteties and even a couple of cameos in the musical performances. 

Adam is a web developer by profession, and so this is also another fitting role to play.