We are delighted to welcome Electra McPhillips and Ross Collins MacKay to Puppet Animation Scotland! They will be joining us as our new Programme Consultants which will involve attending events, festivals and sharings to contribute to programming for Manipulate 2023 and beyond.

Ross is a theatre maker from Fife who worked with visual theatre company, Tortoise in a Nutshell for over a decade.

Electra McPhillips has worked as an actor and an arts administrator across Scotland for fifteen years. Her work history includes roles for the City of Edinburgh Council, Festivals Edinburgh, the International Children Theatre Festival in Edinburgh and Lung Ha Theatre Company. She has spent the past five years working for the Tron Theatre in Glasgow – as part of their programming and admin team.

Electra describes herself as having: “a passion for discovering new work and nurturing relationships with artists. I am particularly proud that some of my fellow performers and creatives that I have worked with over the years are now driving forward the puppet and animation sector across the country. ”

Artistic programming and leadership roles are a critical part of Scotland’s theatre infrastructure. Programming an international festival and supporting Scotland’s community of artists requires a high level of theatre attendance, including several trips abroad, work which is often undertaken by a single Artistic Director. Not only does this narrow programmatic scope to an individual’s taste, but it also creates a particular barrier for aspiring leaders, locking out those with caring responsibilities or barriers relating to health.

Ross and Electra bring a wealth of programmatic and artistic experience to the roles and a passion for the artforms we support. They additionally hold primary care giving responsibilities which have, in different ways, impacted their work within the creative sector. This speaks to the Creative Scotland’s Radical Care Fund’s aims and our interest in offering more diverse options to access and engage with work within our sector in ways that are reflective of people’s needs and responsibilities outside of work.

Please join us in welcoming both Ross and Electra to Puppet Animation Scotland!