Ms Christina Papaspyrou

After graduating from Brunel University in 1990, Christina worked at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury before forging a career in stage management. She worked for a wide range of companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), the Millennium Dome, Chichester Festival Theatre, Bill Kenwright Ltd. and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group (RUG).

Her first stage management role was touring the UK for two years on RUG’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She moved on to other large-scale musical productions including Chess and Evita in Norway, Doctor Dolittle in London, and the film of Joseph at Pinewood Studios.

In 1999 Christina joined the systems engineering team at the Millennium Dome in Greenwich (now the O2 arena) flying aerial acrobats for the spectacular Central Show. From 2001-2005 she was part of the stage management team at the RSC, working on many prestigious productions in Stratford-upon-Avon, Newcastle and London, as well as community productions with the RSC Youth Theatre.

Christina was Programme Manager for the Arts Council England programme Creative Partnerships from 2006-2010, developing creative projects between teachers, pupils and practitioners in Kent schools.

Before commencing her roles at Canterbury Christ Church University, she was the Festival Coordinator for the South East’s award-winning animation festival, Canterbury Anifest.

Christina teaches Stage Management, Reading Musical Theatre and Professional Development on the Performing Arts and Musical Theatre degree programmes at CCCU.

She created the Stage Management modules in 2013, focusing on students’ development of the practical, technical and communication skills required to manage theatre and live events, connecting with theory, strong industry links and opportunities to practice these skills during student productions, on-campus and external events - for example, during work experience for the Canterbury Festival.

Alongside her teaching, Christina is the Performance and Events Coordinator for the Arts and Culture team, coordinating concerts and performances by visiting professionals and students. She is passionate about giving our students the opportunity to develop personally and professionally via the performing arts - through teaching, and by training and mentoring stage management students and Arts and Culture interns.

Christina also produces the annual musical production for the School of Creative Arts and Industries, a collaborative project involving over 50 staff and students.

As part of her Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, Christina researched the benefits of introducing an electronic portfolio to stage management students in 2018, the first time the PebblePad portfolio had been implemented for assessment on the Music and Performing Arts courses at CCCU. This has helped students explore their creativity and expand their multi-media skills whilst studying stage management.

Christina is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. The Stage Management modules at CCCU are affiliated to the Stage Management Association.