Celia Bio

Bio

Celia trained in Theatre Design at Croydon College, then, did a two year stretch at The Slade…School of Fine Art. After moving to the North West to work for the Library Theatre Co, Manchester as Assistant Scenic Artist, Celia began her long association with the Oldham Coliseum Theatre, as Design Assistant/Scenic Artist and then becoming Resident Designer.

 Celia works as a freelance set and costume designer, regularly returning to design for the Oldham Coliseum, including their annual pantomime. Other design work includes productions for Mikron Theatre, Contact Theatre, Feelgood Theatre Co at Heaton Park, The Octagon Theatre, Bolton, Hard Graft Theatre Company, Kindred Theatre Company, and dance pieces for Kapow Dance Circus theatre, Choreographer Susie Crow at The Burton Taylor Theatre, Oxford and The Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells.

Celia is proud to be a collaborative artist with Panto Ever After. As a designer, the exciting challenge lies in their unique traverse setting. Traditionally pantomimes are staged on a proscenium arch stage, where the stage is at a distance in front of the audience with a painted cloth at the back. But, with Panto Ever After and their amazing traverse style of theatre, sometimes known as a “catwalk” or “alley” stage, it means that audiences are even closer to the action.

This is really exciting, and creates greater intimacy for both performer and audience. To quote Celia, “Designing a set for this style of production, means every piece of set has to be able to move freely 360 degrees. Props need to be fully created and not just one dimensional, and costumes need to fill the space, so that an audience can feel the breeze of the material as they pass by them in their seats”.

Creating a picture on this type of stage allows Celia to create a magical and versatile space. Every person in the audience will see a slightly different, unique view of the action, depending on where they are sitting.