Meet the Faculty No 7 – Emma Martin

As part of our continuing introduction to the Faculty, it is a pleasure to introduce Emma Martin who I have known since we both worked at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds in the marketing department from 2009. Since then she has become one of the ‘must have’ marketing specialists for touring and mid-scale theatre companies, and a lecturer in the gentle art of marketing for, first Mountview, and how for the CGO Institute.

What inspires you to work in theatre (and/or keeps you going) ?

Theatre has always been my biggest passion, I love its ability to challenge, excite, provoke, entertain and represent. The ‘want’ to bring people into theatres and to experience our work keeps me going.

Is there a style of art/theatre you particularly want to create/produce ?

I love working with all styles of work, as an audience member I really enjoy new writing, small scale work. As a marketeer I am also very passionate about diversity and representation and like to work with companies where this is at their core.

Are you someone who works on one or multiple projects – tell us a little about your style of work ?

With the jobs I do I work on multiple shows and with multiple companies at a time, this is challenging but diverse. I mostly work for all shows all week with some days dedicated to in-office work. I like to work in a very flexible way and be ready to react and engage where needed.

Who inspired you and/or who would you love to collaborate with/produce ?

GRADY!  [Editor’s note – I’m also known as Chris]

What are you working on now (which you can tell us about) ?

During COVID my work naturally changed completely. I work with Original Theatre who have moved to an online programme of work at originaltheatreonline.com which has been a tough but rewarding challenge to try and find new and diverse ways of growing audiences and bringing income to our industry.

Within the Diploma programme/idea what are you most looking forward to helping/experiencing ?

I love to explore the development and future of marketing and how this will look moving forward.

How do you ensure your own personal wellness (especially at this time in the world) ?

I find this quite a difficult thing when your work and life are so closely interlinked as a freelancer, I try really hard to separate my working space so I have an ‘office’ and I try to make sure I have good breaks and not to work non-office hours when possible!