After graduating Imogen pursued a career as a theatre director, first gaining experience as an Assistant Director at various theatres including Hull Truck, Library Theatre Manchester and Shakespeare’s Globe.

Imogen then moved to London, and trained on the Orange Tree Theatre’s year-long Director’s Programme, where she began specialising in theatre for young audiences. Following training she was a freelance director and facilitator making creative projects, mostly focused on Shakespeare, with and for children and young people, at the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, Orange Tree Theatre and New Wimbledon Theatre, amongst others. She also lectured in theatre, performance and Shakespeare at St Mary’s University and Birkbeck.

In 2011 Imogen returned to the Orange Tree Theatre full time, as Education and Participation Director, leading a programme of creative work which engaged over 10,000 local young people every year through school and community projects. During this time she also created and led an MA in Theatre Directing, the first of its kind in the country to be primarily housed within a working theatre.

When the Pandemic hit, Imogen left theatre and set up her own business – a creativity and book subscription. After two years she returned to the arts, as National Schools Partnerships Manager at the Royal Ballet and Opera, scaling creative programmes for schools to reach 5000 teachers and over 100,000 children each year.

In 2024 she took up the role of Managing Director for EmpathyLab, a not for profit focused on building empathy-educated generations, harnessing the proven power of stories to develop real life empathy, supporting wellbeing and social cohesion. By 2026 EmpathyLab aim to be impacting 1 million young people nationwide every year through work with schools, libraries and communities.

After 20 years in London, Imogen moved back to her hometown Rotherham. She now lives with her cat Daisy, dog Bandit and her grown-up niece who works as an acrobat. She likes solo travel, reading, cooking, watching films and visiting art galleries.

What was your most memorable moment as a pupil at Sheffield Girls’?

Performing for a House Dance competition, alongside Lisa Greenstreet in Year 8 – we won with ‘Frog Puddle’ a pastiche of Swan Lake dressed as frogs in flippers, goggles and green swimming caps.

Can you share with us a bit about your career journey after leaving Sheffield Girls’?

Immediately after A Levels I travelled in India for 6 months, teaching at a school in the Himalayas and then travelling down to the southernmost tip of the country exploring. My degree helped me discover theatre directing, which I pursued for 15 years, before moving into leading teams within arts organisations to make creative learning equitable and accessible for all children. The golden thread running through my career has been using stories and creativity to spark empathy and curiosity.

What influenced you to take the career path you did? Please tell us about what you’re doing now?

I really enjoyed performing at school, but I knew I didn’t want to have a career as an actor. Whilst at University I joined the drama society and got the chance to watch older students directing plays. I decided to give it a go, and enjoyed it so much I made it my career goal. Once I started directing I realised that making work for young audiences was the most rewarding because of their honest responses. I quickly became interested in the impact of creativity and stories on children’s social and emotional development, and this has spurred me on to ensure that all children have equitable access to high quality learning through arts and culture.

What have been the biggest challenges in your career? And the most rewarding parts of your job?

Covid closed theatres and left me without work or my identity as a theatre director. It was a great challenge, but forced me to think differently about how to use creativity to support wellbeing (my own and others), and was a brilliantly steep learning curve in building a business. The most rewarding moments have been when a project I’ve planned from scratch comes to fruition successfully. I also gain great reward from supporting younger colleagues develop and flourish.

Did your education at the High School influence your career?

It gave me lots of opportunities to explore, be curious, and follow my imagination. I was encouraged to try many different things alongside academic achievement – from being on the netball and tennis teams, to being in school plays, arts competitions, trips to theatres, science visits – a really well-rounded education that helped me find what mattered to me. I was aware how lucky I was to be taught by creative and inspiring teachers who loved their subjects and encouraged us to ask questions and be curious. Throughout my career I’ve wanted to ensure that the kind of rounded education I received is available to everyone – as arts in schools have been squeezed, I’ve wanted more and more to work in organisations where I can influence education policy on a national level, which is in part due to my own experience of the benefits of a creative and broad education.

What advice would you give your younger self (when you were at school)?

Try not to worry too much – about what others think, or about what’s going to happen, things usually have a way of working out and worrying won’t help anyway! Say yes as much as possible; being a bit scared is a good thing. Exams only matter to get you to the next stage of your education or career, the things that will always matter are empathy for others, and kindness towards yourself.

What advice would you give sixth form pupils at Sheffield Girls’ today?

Do what you enjoy – you spend so much of your time at work, it’s worth making sure it’s fun and that you’re doing what matters to you. Try not to worry too much about making the ‘right’ next step – no decision is final you can change direction at any time. University is great, but it isn’t the right path for everyone straight away. It’s fine to take your time to choose a next step beyond sixth form – get a job, go travelling, volunteer – all are great ways of finding out more about your passions.

If you had to sum up in a couple of sentences, how would you define what Sheffield Girls’ did for you?

It gave me the opportunity to explore what mattered to me, it built my confidence to have a go and not worry when I got things wrong, and gave me great supportive friends that I’m still in touch with 25 years later.