Inspire by EG. is the rebranded creative company of Leeds-born professional Actor, Emma Gordon. After over three decades performing, Emma feels great satisfaction in having found a way to make Drama work in every aspect of her life. She fell in love with acting at the tender age of three, as a result of accompanying her mum on drop-off and pick-up duties for her two older sisters. When collecting them from an elocution lesson one day, she boldly asked their teacher for a poem to learn. The teacher obliged, not anticipating that this tiny tot would rise to the challenge.
Guess what – she did. So began a weekly ritual of poetry recitals at home time. Emma loved this little challenge and it wasn’t long before she began setting her sights higher. She was frequently heard at home, reciting both parts of her sisters’ duologues, different voices for each character, always word and expression perfect.
It soon became clear that performing was in her blood. LAMDA examinations, competitive festivals, regular training, community and school productions followed. There was nothing Emma loved more than the buzz of performing.
Emma had her first taste of creative leadership aged just fourteen, when she was asked to direct the juniors on an exclusive Drama holiday workshop she attended. She surprised herself, and the directors, with how naturally she motivated the younger children, and how clearly she visualised the end product. From then, she made it her aim to spend all school holidays building up her experiences. By the time she went off to university, Emma already had an admirable workshop CV.
Reading Drama at the University of Manchester, specialising in Applied Theatre, Emma has always been realistic and level-headed about the competitive nature of the entertainment industry. Following her BA(Hons) with a PGCE, Emma promised herself that she would only give up on her dream if and when she decided she no longer wanted it; not because she could no longer afford to dream.
Emma has travelled a great deal, and has resided in places as far away as Los Angeles where she attended a Professional Screen Acting course. She attributes a great deal to the diversity of her experiences, saying she learnt valuable lessons from every step of her creative journey.
She spent a year working as a Fundraiser and Marketing Assistant in a small off-West End Theatre; she co-founded an international Theatre Company in LA; she has done countless freelance projects, establishing links with renowned creative companies such as TiPP (Theatre in Prison and Probation), SKIPPKO Arts, Borderlines at the New Vic Theatre and the West Yorkshire Playhouse education department; she worked briefly as a children’s agent, alongside raising the profile of a regional performing arts academy in need of growth; she has held various short term teaching posts and in 2009 she co-founded a community interest arts organisation of her own, Next Generation Arts, designed to secure artistic provision for North Leeds youth and raise funds for a range of community causes. All that, punctuated by a number of regional and touring stage roles including three world premieres and one play specifically commissioned for Emma, it is fair to say she is certainly not someone who lets the grass grow beneath her feet.
Emma has been firmly settled on Yorkshire turf for almost a decade, and feels blessed to have found a way to combine her passion with a secure way of making a living.