Having taught for Theatretrain Bromsgrove since its launch in 2006, Melanie was thrilled to take over as Centre director in January 2013. Melanie graduated from The Birmingham Theatre School with a Higher National Diploma in Theatre Acting /Performing Arts (Distinction). Since leaving drama school with the coveted award ‘Best Actor’, Melanie has been working professionally for 20 years performing and teaching for a variety of high profile Theatre companies throughout the UK and overseas.

Melanie’s theatre credits include G in The Mess Around (The Midlands Arts Centre), Puck in A Midsummer Nights Dream (Unity Theatre Liverpool), Multiple roles in Jim Cartwright’s Two, Multiple roles in Grimm Tales National Tour, and Anne Frank in the Diary of Anne Frank (Rheindahlen Theatre, Germany) to name but a few.

Melanie began her directing career for The Birmingham Theatre School youth classes. The work was always child-centred, encouraging ownership of the project. Facilitating workshops and supporting the curriculum through provision of dance and drama, is a role Melanie undertook for Groundbreaking Theatre. Melanie was the Youth Theatre director for Telford Stage School, directing musical theatre, devising, and scripting plays for gifted and talented children.

For 14 years Melanie was the proud Director of Artrix Youth Theatre and has run her own production company Illumination Theatre for the past 11 years a company that works to the highest of standards to produce theatre that goes above and beyond what you would expect. Melanie endeavours to offer an array of techniques and genres of work to her students making each term a new and different challenge.

Incredibly dedicated and passionate about theatre, she strives to impassion the same enthusiasm and determination in all her students. She can readily achieve this by utilising her wealth of experience, discipline, and natural physical theatre flare, whilst imparting fun and humour into her teachings. Melanie is beyond proud to be the Centre director at Theatretrain Harborne and can’t wait to continue to give performance opportunities and inspire young people to be the best they can be.