20 October 2017

Interview with Rebecca Treanor

Rebecca Treanor is currently General Manager for Matilda The Musical, West End for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Prior to this she was General Manager for Billy Elliot the Musical, UK, Ireland and International tour for Mark Rubinstein Ltd. She was General Manager for Andrews McCabe Productions where she worked on Strictly Ballroom The Musical, An American in Paris and Peter James’ The Perfect Murder. She served as General Manager on the award-winning musical Memphis at the Shaftesbury Theatre for Stage Entertainment UK and also worked on a diverse range of productions including: Strictly Come Dancing Live!; Holiday on Ice; Singin’ In The Rain (Russia) and I Can’t Sing! at the London Palladium. Rebecca was Production Executive at Bill Kenwright Ltd where she General Managed numerous productions including: Cabaret; Evita; Blood Brothers; Starlight Express; Twelve Angry Men; The Pitmen Painters; Save the Last Dance for Me; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee, Go Back For Murder and Murder on Air. Rebecca was a Supervisor on the original production of E. Nesbit's The Railway Children at Waterloo Station for The Touring Consortium and PW Productions and was formerly Assistant Manager of the Arts Theatre, West End.

At the moment you are…
GENERAL MANAGER FOR MATILDA THE MUSICAL (LONDON), ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY.

When did you first discover your passion for theatre and what was your journey into the theatrical world?
I FIRST REALISED MY PASSION ABOUT THE AGE OF 12. I USED TO DRAG MY PARENTS TATTERED ARM CHAIR ABOUT A FOOT AWAY FROM THE TV SCREEN AND WATCH KENNETH BRANAGH’S 1996 UNABRIDGED ‘HAMLET’ ON REPEAT ON VHS. I BECAME ASSISTANT MANAGER OF THE ARTS THEATRE WHEN I WAS 20. NOT TOO LONG AFTER AND AS A RESULT OF MUCH BADGERING ON MY PART, I BECAME PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE FOR BILL KENWRIGHT LTD – IT WAS THE BIGGEST LEARNING CURVE. I SPENT AN INVALUABLE FEW YEARS THERE.

In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge you face when General Managing Matilda?
WE CHANGE CHILDREN’S COMPANY TWICE A YEAR, WHICH MEANS THAT WE CAN BE WORKING WITH UP TO 50 CHILDREN AT ONCE. IT’S DEMANDING, TO SAY THE LEAST.

What does Stage One mean to you?
STAGE ONE IS A MUCH NEEDED NETWORK FOR THOSE BRAVE ENOUGH TO ATTEMPT PRODUCING. STAGE ONE DEDICATES ITSELF TO CULTIVATING EMERGING TALENT – THE SUPPORT IT PROVIDES IS VITAL.

What's the best piece of advice you've been given?
"DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF” – MY MENTOR AND FRIEND, JULIUS GREEN.


BECOME A STAGE ONE MEMBER