Samantha Fox (MA Collaborative Theatre Production & Design)

Biography

Specialist Area: Stage Directing

What's been your highlight during your time at Guildhall?

The highlight for me during my time at Guildhall has been bringing a wide variety of projects to life, being devised plays, contemporary circus, puppetry, and multimedia work, in a truly collaborative and supportive setting. While my previous focus has primarily been in opera, I’m interested in making an expansive range of work artistically so I greatly value every opportunity to exercise that passion.

What's been your highlight in the industry?

This is a difficult question to answer, but if I had to narrow it down to just one experience it would be getting to work with the creatives I’ve met over the past several years and throughout this programme. From industry colleagues to professional mentors, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the most incredible folks in my field. Through them, I’ve discovered a deep sense of artistic community and sustained significant inspiration and personal growth.

What other passions and projects have you enjoyed exploring during your time at Guildhall?

While I’ve thoroughly enjoyed collaborating on an array of theatrical genres over this past year, I’ve loved having the opportunity to maintain my involvement in opera through conversation with my professional mentor, sitting in to watch Guildhall School opera rehearsals, and attending a number of operatic performances around London. Having begun my artistic career as a mezzo-soprano and completing a BM in vocal performance at New England Conservatory just before starting on the MA CTPD programme, opera is still intrinsically quintessential to who I am and it is an area, as a stage director, collaborative maker, and performer, in which I hope to continue the bulk of my career.

What's something you've learned that you feel will help you when you graduate?

One of the most challenging, yet rewarding, lessons I’ve learned during this programme is to embrace every part of the creative process, recognising the beauty in the most difficult, frustrating points as well as the most exciting and rewarding. I find this lesson particularly important because it not only aids me in continuing my preparedness for industry processes, but it also informs how, as an individual, I may uncover true enjoyment and meaning throughout each step of the creative process.

What area are you most interested in working in after you graduate?

I am immediately interested in taking on work as a director and assistant director of staged vocal works, be it canonical opera, new music, or otherwise. However, I also remain interested in exploring my involvement within that realm as a performer and a collaborative maker more generally.  Additionally, I am keen to pursue my creative possibility as a director and theatre-maker on projects that fall outside those genres, especially if they involve found spaces, multimedia work, and immersive theatrical worlds.

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