Writing in Spain, Summer 2010. Photo by Crysse Morrison
Em Whitfield Brooks is a director, singer, songwriter, facilitator, trainer and fledgling writer. She works with professionals, amateurs and groups of all ages and abilities in theatre, voice and communication skills. Her quest is the search, through performing arts, for personal liberation. Em can help anyone who wants to make a show, write a song, find/explore their voice, communicate more effectively or operate more creatively in any way.
Em has extensive performing experience in street theatre, straight theatre, circus and clowning. She has sung professionally since 1988. Em obtained a Drama degree (2:1) at Hull University and trained at Fool Time, the National Centre for Performing Arts and Circus Skills in Bristol in 1988. There she co-devised and led its children’s workshop programme. She went on to work as a clown and then toured with Snapdragon Circus as tour manager/singer in 1990.
She’s also had diverse vocal training with a wide variety of singers and vocal specialists. This ranges from classical technique (Grade 8 singing) through open throat singing with Czech singer Ida Kelarova. She has also sung for 20 years in close harmony with fellow Ruby Lark B. She attended many workshops in the ‘80s with such legends as Helen Chadwick, Venice Manley, Frankie Armstrong and Cicely Berry as well as many courses of voice/theatre improvisation with Guy Dartnell.
Em has led community choirs Ellacapella – ‘York’s first female blues choir’ – from 1990-’95, Voicebox 2000-’07 and is currently leading Global Voices for Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough’s Outreach Dept, as well as Hull Freedom Chorus for Hull City Arts Unit. She is founder director of Ryedale Festival Community Opera, now in its thirteenth year. Her educational work has included voice teaching and performance projects for Opera North, West Yorkshire Playhouse, York Theatre Royal, Leeds College of Music, York St John’s University, Youth Music, Yorkshire Young Musicians, Music Leader and Trinity Guildhall.
From 2003-20011 Em worked extensively for The Sage Gateshead as vocal animateur, community performance director and trainer for the pioneering government- funded Vocal Union programme. For this she co-managed and initiated ideas and approaches to workforce development. This led to Em being part of the team developing training across the UK for Sing Up, the National Singing Programme, for which she was also Vocal Force Advisor for three years. Em appears regularly as a trainer at music education conferences across the UK, offering courses in creative approaches to singing, songwriting and vocal health.
A singer with a background in jazz, folk and blues, Em performs regularly as one half of vocal duo The Ruby Larks.
Em directs large-scale community theatre and opera, and smaller-scale professional theatre. She is co-director of Angus & Ross Theatre Company and has directed two of their shows which successfully toured the UK; Frankenstein Live by BAFTA nominated Tom Needham and The Mystery of Irma Vep by Charles Ludlam. She continues to work with actors Dominic Goodwin and Emanuel Brierley, and the company are currently planning their next national tour.
Em is currently Artistic Director at Helmsley Arts Centre – a part time post funded by Arts Council England.