Melissa Rutnagur
(she/her)
Melissa graduated from Queen Mary University of London with a BA(hons) in English and Drama before moving to Belfast to study for her MA in Poetry at Queen's University. Throughout her studies, she was lucky enough to be immersed in various arts environments, working in theatres, performing in amateur productions and participating in writing groups and workshops.
After graduating, she moved back to London, working first in media before moving into teaching. After discovering her love for working with young people, during the height of the pandemic Melissa moved into the charity sector as Operations & Festival Co-ordinator for First Story, a creative writing charity that champions the positive impact of creative practices, specifically for young people and their families. Belief that the arts should be accessible to all is something she feels privileged to have seen in action within this organisation and remains at the heart of her work. In her next role as Programming Assistant for Literature, Performance, Dance & Comedy at the Southbank Centre, Melissa learnt an invaluable amount from her colleagues in Production, a team that consistently went above and beyond to facilitate brilliant and varied events across multiple artforms which is what led to her pursuing a career as a Producer.
Since moving back to Scotland in 2024, Melissa has worked with dance company Theiya Arts on their Autumn 2024 tour and is also the Producer for multi-arts performance company Tricky Hat. She is thrilled to be Shaper/Caper's Artistic Creation Producer, working with dancers and creatives at the top of their game who approach everything with kindness and joy, making work that speaks to people's lived experiences and invites everyone in to be a part of the story. She can't wait to take Small Town Boys to the Edinburgh Fringe this year and have her turn on the dancefloor!
#IWannaDanceWithSomebody
Who would Melissa like to dance with?
‘It's a tie with who I want to dance with - Prince! And Rita Moreno as Anita in West Side Story.’