Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Ms Rachel Nicholson
Backstage Academy
Head of Institution
Speaker Biography
Rachel has been Head of Institution at Backstage Academy since 2018. Backstage Academy is based on Production Park, near Wakefield in West Yorkshire and specialises in vocational subjects relating to the Live Events industry.
After gaining a degree in Lighting Design, she was awarded a postgraduate studentship to study an MA in Theatre Practice where she specialised in Lighting and Digital Scenography. Rachel subsequently pursued a successful freelance career, working in a variety of venues and companies including Sadlers Wells and The National Theatre as a lighting designer and technician, before returning to the education sector permanently in 2006.
Rachel is currently a member of the Creative Industries Council, Education and Skills Working group, Wakefield’s Learning City & District Board and The Sustainability in Production Alliance (SIPA) Education Working group where she works with other educators in the sector to look at how both industry and education can develop more sustainable practices.