Our People
We couldn't do this without lots of people being involved. It all happens thanks to our story ministers.
Staff
Lucy Macnab, Co-Director
Lucy has a background in participation, writer development and teaching and learning. Her work is about finding ways to help people tell their stories: in print, performance, digitally, through collaboration. Most recently, Lucy was Participation Producer at Southbank Centre, where among many projects she made a Global Poetry System, a children’s production of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and an oral history of the Royal Festival Hall.
Ben Payne, Co-Director
Ben Payne is a writer, director and dramaturg, specialising in new writing for theatre. He was previously Literary Manager and Associate Director at Birmingham Repertory Theatre where he established Transmissions, the company’s ground-breaking young playwrights’ scheme and programmed the work of The Door, the Rep’s new writing theatre.
Vicky Price, Creative Learning Manager
Vicky has worked as a Secondary English teacher in a large mixed secondary school, focusing on enabling pupils to be creative while developing their literacy skills and developing the school’s creative writing club. Before this, she worked as a Special Educational Needs Teaching Assistant and as an Activity Leader in a language school. Having just completed a Masters dissertation that investigated the use of narratives in archaeology, she is embarrassingly excited to start her work with the Ministry of Stories.
Moya Malekin, General Manager
Moya has worked in arts and venue management across a range of organisations including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the muti-genre arts and festivals venue The Brewery Arts Centre in Cumbria. As Company Manager of inclusive dance company Blue Eyed Soul Dance in Shropshire she co-ordinated activity with disabled and non-disabled participants of all ages, and most recently acted as Deputy Director for the contemporary visual arts and education venue Camden Arts Centre.
Edward Mackay, Development Manager
Edward has worked on community projects in east London for the last eight years – from running the mediation charity which pioneered the narrative approach to conflict-capability in the UK; to working with residents to run street parties on local estates as a collaborative starting point for local development; and as a fundraiser and communications officer. Before that, he worked in community education in North Yorkshire and started out as a youth worker. He is also a poet, a keen cyclist and a creative cook.
Tarnia Mason, Writing Programme Leader
Tarnia came to the Ministry having previously been teaching in a primary school and private tutoring. Lots of things make her smile, especially the arts, cooking, Scandinavia and sparkly things. She is passionate about nurturing the creative minds of young people and excited by the brilliant range of projects she is involved with at the Ministry.