(Or: Why “I Haven’t Got Any Work” Is a Lie I Keep Telling Myself)

This week, my mum asked why we haven’t been asking her for much childcare lately.

And without thinking, I replied:

“It’s because I haven’t got any work.”

Which is – of course – a lie.

The truth is, unless I deliberately carve space, I work every day. Not always glamorously, not always healthily – but constantly. And the strange thing is, I almost didn’t notice. (Where are our boundaries at, fellow freelancers?!)

That offhand comment made me realise how invisibly full the life of a portfolio artist can be – because I don’t go to an office and my job title changes from day to day. But still: I work. Hard. Across a huge variety of roles; and I love it.

So I thought I’d take a moment to look at what the first third of 2025 has actually involved.

Freelance:

• Writing and pitching show concepts for Cirque du Soleil and Balich Wonder Studio
• Directing rehearsals and prepping productions (Lightning Boy, Thrive Tour)
• Head of Development for IE Productions, overseeing creative and strategic development on five new commercial musicals
• Arts Council England supported Mentorship sessions for two artists who’ve received a Develop Your Creative Practice grant.
• Booking and leading table reads, workshops, demo recordings and events
• Attending readings and workshops and works-in-progress and being a kind face and a critical friend
• Writing treatments, making pitch decks, articulating design led concepts in text form
• Mentoring teams preparing to pitch at BEAM (BOOK – it’s going to BANG)
• Dramaturging four musicals currently at ALL stages of development (one is a treatment, one a first draft, one is in rehearsal, one has already had a successful run and is being revisited)
• Delivering acting through song workshops (ArtsEd and London Theatre Runway – love you!)
• Leading design and concept meetings and workshops
• Directing an audio drama version of Errol’s Garden (more on that soon)

NYMT (One Day a Week-ish/ What I affectionately call Artistic Director Lite™):

• ALL of the things that Artistic Directors do with my wingman Chris Cuming
• Running the New Work department
• Casting, meeting creatives, shaping new partnerships
• Mentoring young theatre-makers and leading our Creative & Production Pathway
• Managing a student literary panel
• Keeping an eye on nine new musicals in development
• Planning for our 50th anniversary season in 2026

And somewhere in the middle of all that, I also parent a pretty awesome eight-year-old and have a brilliant time with my friends. I might have a random Wednesday off and go to a spa. Or watch an entire Netflix series on a Friday. Or spend a Monday morning in a bookshop (EXPENSIVE). And that, too, is the gift of this insane freelance life, right?

So when I say “I haven’t got any work,” what I really mean is:

I’m not currently standing at the front of a rehearsal room.

But that’s because I haven’t got one job, I’ve got many.

And for a long time, that used to worry me. I thought it made me less serious, less focused. That I was somehow cheating the system by not picking a lane and sticking to it – but the older I get, and the more I work, the more I see that the variety is the strength.

I’ve definitely done my 10,000 hours in new musical theatre, and that’s still the centre of the wheel. But the spokes – concept writing, dramaturgy, creative producing, workshop leading, pitch writing, general management – don’t distract from the core, they support it. They make me better at all of it.

And honestly? It’s not just the current roles that feed my work.

Every job I’ve ever had has helped shape the kind of director I am now.

Running kids’ parties taught me how to command attention, embrace silliness, and pivot instantly when things go off-script.

Waitressing taught me how to juggle, triage, and stay calm under pressure while smiling and remembering everyone’s dietary requirements.

Front-of-house work taught me about systems, punctuality, and how an audience actually behaves when they’re tired, cold, or need the loo.

Being a holiday rep taught me that joy is serious business – and that entertainment starts with pleasure, not perfection.

Those jobs weren’t “just” side hustles or survival work. They were training. They gave me tools I still use every single day.

And the work I do now is stronger because I came up through the long way round.

I recently read Range by David Epstein (highly recommend, and thanks to Tim Johansson for the nudge), which makes the case that generalists – not specialists – are the ones who drive real innovation. That the people who draw connections between fields, who embrace breadth, who learn across disciplines, are the ones best equipped to solve complex problems and make original work.

That rang true – because the kind of work we lot make needs curiosity, doesn’t it? It needs perspective. It needs people who can zoom out, connect the dots, and make new things from the spaces in between.

So, this post is for my fellow portfolio artists. The ones whose iCal diaries never look the same from week to week. Who shift hats depending on the day, the project, the team. Who sometimes wonder if it would be easier to pick one job title and stick to it. I see you. And I think what we do is valid, vital, and valuable.

And while I am available to direct a little more right now (hello, potential collaborators 👋), I’m not worried. Because this life, this rhythm, this mix? It’s work. And it’s work I wouldn’t trade.

So thanks to my Mum for the nudge to consider this question a little bit more deeply, and I’m now wondering if I can get away with just linking to this post when people ask.. ‘so what are you up to at the moment?’

Because that list is LONGGGGG…