Director – MediaCityUK Directorate / Salford School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology
Frances says “Congratulations to each of you – not just for the quality of your work over this past three years, but also for your resilience and commitment. You have the talent, but you also have the vision and energy to make that talent work for you. In the ‘outside world’ you’ll not be a student any longer. As a graduate of the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology, you are now in fact a filmmaker, or an animator, or a games designer, or a journalist, or a podcaster, the list is endless! That’s to say – how you now identify yourself is vital to how the world sees you! Go well into that future, with confidence and self-belief, and don’t forget, like a stick of seaside rock, break us open and we all have the University of Salford running through us. Stay in touch, be good alumni, we’ll miss you.”
After graduating from the University of Leeds with a Masters in Theatre Arts Practice, Frances worked in the television industry for 12 years, starting at BBC Leeds followed by BBC Manchester, on both local and national news, and for BBC’s Newsnight covering stories including Myra Hindley’s ‘return’ to Saddleworth Moor and the War on Iraq. Seeking a lighter side to life, she moved on to work as a producer/director in factual entertainment programmes, and then in children’s drama. A stint as Channel Editor of GSkyB’s Daytime Channel followed and gave the opportunity to work internationally, bringing in shows from the US and Canada, as well as nurturing home grown front-of-camera and behind-the-scenes talent.
She has also worked in live performance as a director including at the Edinburgh Festival, The Hampstead Theatre in London, and The Green Room in Manchester. Frances was the Director of Performance, English and Creative Writing within the School for five years and has recently taken up the role of Director of the MediaCityUK Directorate. Publications/research areas include: political/documentary theatre; the Gothic; literary adaptation; and, currently, an emerging digital Shakespeare project titled ‘The Bard Code’.