Third Angel

Adrian Friedli

“Having been present at the inception of Third Angel with ‘Testcard’ at The Workstation in Sheffield in 1995, I have been continually struck by their innovative and eclectic approach to both making work and choice of locations to engage with audiences. I particularly value their ability to start with apparently insignificant or marginal details to draw you into surprising journeys and compelling stories. Their passion for places and the people who inhabit and make them is only more urgent and important at a time of upheaval and uncertainty.”

Adrian came to Yorkshire in 1981 to study fine art in Leeds, and has subsequently lived, and worked in the cultural sector in Yorkshire for over twenty-five years, as an artist, in academia, as an independent producer, and as a Director in regional and national arts development agencies. As a creative consultant, Adrian was Programme Lead in the team that bid successfully for Hull to be UK City of Culture in 2017. He is currently Programme / Executive Director Yorkshire & Humber Contemporary Visual Arts Network Ltd, and a Non-Executive Director of Forced Entertainment, and The Tetley.

Julie Mitchell

“I am not originally from Sheffield, and having lived here for more than thirty years I am very happy to be living in such a cultural city. Art is available in so many forms locally; I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to work with Third Angel, and to learn more about their inspirational approach to theatre.”

Julie has many years’ experience in the Finance Sector and more recently in the Charity Sector. She worked for Sheffield Theatres and was based in The Crucible, before her current role at Site Gallery, Sheffield as Finance Manager. Julie has extensive experience in administration and reporting against Arts Council Grants, and this expertise will assist Third Angel. Her experience in Finance in various sectors over the years enables her to make a valuable contribution to the business. 

Jessica O’Neill

“I am a passionate advocate for access to art in all its forms and am delighted to be working with Third Angel. Their work inspires and surprises me with every new production and project and it’s a privilege to understand more about their creative processes and contribute in the best way I can.”

As a resident Sheffielder for the last 12 years, Jessica is keen to see the creative output that the city delivers opened up to new audiences so it can continue to flourish. She is passionate about arts education and working in partnership with similarly minded organisations and individuals to embed the importance of the arts across the region.  

Jessica is currently the proud General Manager of Sheffield Music Academy, an organisation at the heart of classical music education in the city, working with 120 of our region’s most promising future talent aged 6-19 and funded (as one of only 15 Centres for Advanced Training in the UK) by the Department of Education’s Music and Dance Scheme. Prior to this she worked for 8 years at Sheffield Theatres, creating and developing the theatres’ corporate sponsorship strategy, events packages and business membership scheme during Daniel Evans’ tenure as Artistic Director and through its capital project in 2008/9.

Daragh O’Reilly [Chair]

“I was thrilled to see The Department of Distractions at Northern Stage. It is funny, subtle, and raises questions about our relationship to story, to the ‘truth’, and, therefore, to the mythic imagination that underlies everything we do.

Surviving and thriving as a touring company has always been tough, but particularly, perhaps in the current climate with its complex intersection of multiple demands on arts organisations. For me, the relationship between the board and the art is like that between the oyster shell and the pearl - supporting and protecting the development of something of value.”

Daragh O’Reilly joined the Board of Third Angel in 2016 and became Chair in 2017, taking over from Stella McCabe. He is a Senior Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries at Sheffield University Management School, where he teaches postgraduate courses on cultural marketing and creative brands. Before joining academia, he worked in a range of line and consultancy roles in international marketing. His research interest and publications deal with the relationships between artists, markets, and culture. His current work focuses on artist identity, cultural memory, arts branding, and the artistic/literary imagination. He is an active PhD supervisor, and recent projects in this area include Rachel Perry’s study of risk, innovation and leadership in UK ProAm theatre, and Ian Townsend’s oral history of music pirates in soul, funk and disco music in the 1990s (a British Library/The University of Sheffield Concordat project). He is co-editor of The Routledge Companion to Arts Marketing. He is also non-executive Chair of Wildscapes, a community interest company wholly owned by Sheffield Rotherham Wildlife Trust. He holds an MA in Modern Languages (Dublin), an MBA (Bradford) and a PhD in cultural studies (Hallam). He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Sarah Sharp

“Third Angel are a company who not only produce excellent pieces of work, such as their recent stellar show ‘Partus’ which was a particular favourite of mine, but who continually support the theatre making ecology of Sheffield. It is a pleasure to hear the energy and excitement that they have when discussing a new project or supporting a new early career artist. Their passion for making and the work that they create has often left me in awe of them as a company, I’m very grateful to have a place on their board and to be able to work alongside them on continuing to deliver such amazing projects and performances.”

Sarah is currently the Producer and Programmer at Theatre Deli Sheffield. She has seen the creation of two temporary theatres whilst she has been with Theatre Delicatessen; one was in an ex-Woolworths building which ran from September 2014 - July 2017. She now works in the ex-Mothercare building which Theatre Deli have been in since October 2017. Since graduating in 2014 Sarah has also worked on Flare International Festival in 2015 as their Artist Liaison producer. Sarah is the co-founder of Migration Matters festival, an annual festival that runs as part of Refugee Week in Sheffield city centre each June, since 2015. 

Jim McDonnell

“The arts have a significant potential to educate as well as entertain, and I have found every Third Angel production to be a great example of that. The ability to create something so effective and influential is a skill which I genuinely admire. I am excited to have the opportunity to be a part of it in some small way, and to help support Third Angel’s mission of helping people understand their place in the world.”

Jim is a solicitor with a global law firm, based locally, and specialising in intellectual property and related commercial matters. Over the course of 15 years, his experience includes advising in relation to local and international licensing arrangements, research and development agreements and branding, as well as various copyright, patent, trade mark and design litigation both to enforce owners’ rights and defend against claims of infringement. He regularly works with a range of private and public sector organisations, including in the media, education and high-tech industries. Jim is also the IP columnist for The Law Society’s Gazette, and is equally proud to act as a trustee of a local Multi-Academy Trust and sit on the Board of Governors of an outstanding Sheffield secondary school. 

Alison Moore

“As a native Sheffielder I am immensely proud of the fantastic artistic work that goes on in the city and feel passionately that it deserves more national recognition from both media and funders. I am always interested in exploring a variety of artforms and understanding more about creative practice. Third Angel’s approach is very different from that of any of the other organisations I have worked with and it’s great to have the opportunity to gain insight into their processes.”

Alison Moore has over 20 years’ experience of working in the arts sector, covering fundraising, marketing and media/pr. She has worked for many years in the theatre industry, most recently at Sheffield Theatres as Deputy Marketing Manager and Partnerships Development Team Leader. Alison became a freelance consultant in 2009, and has enjoyed working with organisations across a variety of artforms, supporting both fundraising and marketing/media activity.  Her clients have included Sensoria Festival, Sheffield; Theatre in the Quarter, Chester; Curve, Leicester; The Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, The Art House, Wakefield; A B Galvin Creative Strategies and Karen Simpson Productions.  She particularly enjoys supporting small organisations with limited resources, for whom even a few days’ additional help focussing on the delivery of specific projects can make a huge difference.