Jess Ault

Profile

I am originally from the Midlands, but moved up North to study BA Theatre: Writing, Directing and Performance at the University of York, where I specialised in Directing and Production. During my time at University, I directed 7 full-scale shows, and independently directed a production of Sam Steiner’s Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons at a small venue in York.

After graduating in 2021, I went into the AV and Media industy. My first role was as an Events Technician, where I learned to operate on online events. During this time, I learned more and more about the kinds of equipment that were involved in on-site AV projects, and so as Covid restrictions eased, I was fortunate enough to work on increasing numbers of in-person projects.

Roughly 4 months after starting in the industry, I moved into a Project Manager role, which better suited my training in production. I had the opportunity to work with some truly exciting clients including Elvis Costello, CMAT, FIFA, London Fashion Week, Children in Need, and a large number of corporate clients. To date, my proudest achievement is Project Managing the team on ‘Walk with Joe Wicks’ for BBC Children in Need, which raised half a million pounds for the charity in 2022.

Early in 2023, I moved into an Executive support role, which is what led me to my current role at the University of Leeds.

Qualifications

• BA Theatre: Writing, Directing and Performance at the University of York