The small team of full time and part time staff is also joined by temporary staff as well as many volunteers in the lead-up to and during the Edinburgh International Children's Festival.
They all contribute to the Festival's success and although they are not listed on this page, we would like to thank them for their professionalism and commitment.
Full time staff are listed below in alphabetical order by first name.
The Staff
Anna Broomfield
Schools & Communities Project Coordinator
anna@imaginate.org.uk
Anna B joined Imaginate in August 2022. She coordinates school participation in a variety of projects, including Immerse, Creative Encounters, and Teachers Theatre Club. Before joining Imaginate, Anna was the School Communities Administrator at Scottish Book Trust where she coordinated schools participation in events and projects focused on reading for enjoyment. Anna has varied background in project admin and event coordination through working with the Federation of Scottish Theatre, Summerhall, Edinburgh University, and multiple Edinburgh festivals. She also volunteers for Lavender Menace, Scotland’s LGBTQ+ books archive.
Belinda McElhinney
Chief Executive
belinda@imaginate.org.uk
Belinda has been Chief Executive of Imaginate since February 2021, with overall responsibility for the strategic development, financial management and leadership of the organisation. She was previously Executive Producer at Barrowland Ballet, one of the most successful contemporary dance theatre companies in Scotland. Prior to this she was Executive Producer at Take Me Somewhere and Arts & Cultural Development Officer at Scottish Refugee Council. In 2016 Belinda founded a charity to provide an arts and participation programme for young refugees arriving on their own in Scotland. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and has a Masters in Young People, Social Inclusion and Change from Glasgow University.
Ellen Wilson
Fundraising Officer
ellen@imaginate.org.uk
Ellen joined Imaginate in April 2023. As Fundraising Officer, she is responsible for writing funding applications and reports, researching trusts and foundations, and maintaining donor relations. Ellen originally studied at the University of Glasgow, graduating with a masters degree in Ancient Cultures in December 2022, and it was at university that she discovered her love for theatre. She is a freelance playwright, currently developing work with Framework Theatre and Emma Ruse Productions respectively. For 9 years, she was also member of the National Youth Arts Advisory Group; an initiative which supported children and young people to be involved in and influence cultural decision making run by Creative Scotland as part of their Time to Shine strategy.
Fi Fraser
Production Manager
fi@imaginate.org.uk
Fi is a Freelance Production Manager. She's worked for Imaginate and the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival since 2018. Since 2001 she has production managed over 25 productions for Grid Iron and for Vanishing Point since 2009, managing all national and international tours. She has worked with many Scottish companies, from The National Theatre of Scotland to Tortoise in a Nutshell. She recently set up Fi Fraser Production Management with the aim to work with and mentor emerging Production Managers. For a full biography, please see www.fifraser.com
Fiona Ferguson
Creative Development Director
fiona@imaginate.org.uk
Fiona joined Imaginate in September 2011. She originally trained as a flautist graduating with a Masters in Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2001. She has worked as a freelance musician, cultural coordinator, arts development officer and venue programmer. Her current role includes initiating and managing projects and opportunities for artists, children, teachers and schools. Fiona is a guest curator for the Step 2024, was previously Artistic Lead for PUSH+ and was a Singapore International Foundation Arts for Good Fellow 2018/19.
Julian Almeida
National Schools Project Manager
julian@imaginate.org.uk
Julian originally joined Imaginate in 2020, supporting the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival annually. She now works across Theatre in Schools Scotland (a project in partnership between Imaginate and National Theatre of Scotland), and Imaginate’s schools programme, including managing school bookings for the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival. Julian holds a BA in Dance (and Political Science), as well as an MA Arts, Festival and Cultural Management from Queen Margaret University. She has worked in festivals and performing arts in the US and UK, including administration, artist liaison, company management and events roles.
Lou Brodie
Creative Project Facilitator
lou@imaginate.org.uk
Lou joined Imaginate in February 2022 and is now Creative Project Facilitator leading our Creative Encounters project. She is an applied artist, performance maker and project manager based in Scotland. Through a social engaged and participatory process she co-creates and produces unique art works and events in collaboration with communities, people and place. She graduated in 2004 from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a BA(Hons) in Contemporary Theatre Practice and holds an MSc in Applied Gender Studies from Strathclyde University. She has worked with a range of national and international companies and artists, and has built a portfolio of work across the community, youth arts and young audiences sectors.
Marion Bourbouze
Head of Marketing & Communications
marion@imaginate.org.uk
Marion joined Imaginate in December 2015. She is responsible for developing and delivering the organisation’s marketing strategy, increasing awareness of and engagement with Imaginate’s year-round activities including the Children's Festival. She holds a Business degree, an MA in International Development and is a CIM marketer. She has worked in the cultural sector for over 25 years, including as founder of The Audience Business, Scotland’s first audience development agency, as a marketing consultant for a community arts centre in the US and as Marketing Director for Scottish Book Trust. She was on the board (and chair) of Catherine Wheels Theatre Company for 16 years and is now on the board of All or Nothing Aerial Theatre.
Noel Jordan
Festival Director
noel@imaginate.org.uk
Noel is the Festival Director of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival joining the team in October 2015 from Australia where he had worked in Theatre for Children and Young People for almost 30 years. Noel has extensive experience as a producer, director, actor-devisor and drama educator. Working as a Drama Lecturer in Arts Education at the University of Melbourne he also completed his Masters in Education. As a producer Noel worked at Sydney Opera House where he curated the House:ed and Kids at the House annual youth programs (2004-2010 and in 2011 as a guest curator). He was previously an Executive Committee Member of ASSITEJ from 2008-2014.
Ondine Oberlin
Company & Finance Administrator
ondine@imaginate.org.uk
Ondine joined Imaginate in March 2023. Originally from France, she came to live and work in Scotland because of its outstanding live arts scene. She worked for a number of cultural institutions including Traverse Theatre, Festivals Edinburgh and Dance Base. She also worked on a freelance basis for smaller arts organisations with strong visions and values such as Take One Action Film Festival (Edinburgh) and Tricky Hat Productions (Glasgow). Prior to this, she was involved in arts projects internationally in France, Palestine and New Zealand. She believes in the power of live arts to provoke life-changing experiences and make the world a better place. In her role at Imaginate, Ondine is supporting the smooth running of the organisation and contributing to more children experiencing high-quality theatre and dance throughout Scotland.
Pamela Walker
Senior Producer
pamela@imaginate.org.uk
Pamela joined Imaginate in August 2016. She is responsible for producing Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, Creative Development programme, oversees Theatre in Schools Scotland and manages other projects throughout the year. She studied a BA hons in Drama and Theatre Arts at Queen Margaret University. She co-founded a producing and project management business, which included producing new work, running a festival venue, schools touring and various arts administration. She then worked for 10 years at the National Theatre of Scotland in a number of different roles including Learn Project Manager and Producer. Throughout that time, she worked on touring productions, large-scale community and schools work, site specific and main stage productions. Pam is Imaginate's Designated Child Protection Officer.
Seán Talbot
Assistant Producer
sean@imaginate.org.uk
Seán is an artist, producer, performer, and facilitator based in Glasgow and working between Dublin, Glasgow & Edinburgh. He worked as an assistant producer for the 2023 Take Me Somewhere Festival. As an artist, Seán creates solo and collaborative new performance work in a variety of contexts, often interested in representing and disrupting performed identities and using holistic body-based practices to support and create new writing and performances. He is a graduate of Contemporary Performance Practice at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He is passionate about peer artist support and co-runs an artist creative supper club, Opn Tble, once a month in Glasgow.
Siân MacGregor
Doctorial Researcher
sian@imaginate.org.uk
Siân is undertaking PhD research with Imaginate and the University of Aberdeen after completing a Masters in Theatre Studies at Glasgow University. No stranger to children's theatre, Siân has worked as a stage manager and production manager for 20 years, with a particular focus on contemporary dance and work for children, including several visits to the Edinburgh International Children's Festival itself. The title of Siân's project is Valuing Young Audiences, and her aim is to bring together academia, professional practice and the voices of children and young people to help us better understand and provide for our most important audiences.
Sophie Jacome
Marketing Coordinator
sophie@imaginate.org.uk
Sophie joined Imaginate in August 2022 to help enhance Imaginate’s online presence, year-round and during the Festival, reaching, engaging and retaining audiences. She graduated from a Masters in Playwriting at the University of Edinburgh in 2020 and has since worked in a variety of marketing and administrative roles. She is a freelance playwright with work that has been workshopped in the UK and produced internationally. She was the social media manager of the 150 Marchers Podcast, and she has been a member of the Wonderfools Youth Board since 2021, working alongside other young theatre makers to create work and strive towards a better, more inclusive Scottish Theatre community.
Thérèse Kearns
Doctorial Researcher
therese@imaginate.org.uk
Thérèse is undertaking a PhD on putting children’s rights at the heart of cultural policy. She graduated from QMU in 2021 with an MA in Arts, Festival and Cultural Management. She has worked with children in a variety of capacities as a freelancer in both creative and educational settings. She has worked across the cultural sector at Dance Base, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Stanza International Poetry Festival. Thérèse worked as a research assistant with Imaginate last year on their Building Your Case Project to help freelance artists develop their funding applications for making work for young audiences. She is passionate about advocacy, policy and making theatre and dance accessible to all children.