Trustees

Alexander Ferris (he/him)

Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees

Alexander is an award-winning Welsh director and practitioner. He is currently an Associate Director at Leeds Playhouse and leads the Creative Engagement participatory programme that opens up possibilities for people across the city region. For Leeds Playhouse he has directed Freedom Project; Searching for the Heart of Leeds; Three - part of the Playhouse’s national award-winning festival of theatre, dementia and hope; Around the World in 80 Days; Fairy Poppins & the Naughty Winter Ghost; and East is East and Cas is Cas. He has a passion for socially engaged theatre-making and won the RSPH’s Award for Innovation in Arts & Health Practice for EPIDEMIC by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm. He also directed Stardust (VAULTS and Edinburgh Festival) which won the People’s Choice Award. He has directed and led projects for theatres across the UK including Sherman Cymru, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Sheffield Theatre, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, The Old Vic and the Criterion Theatre and is co-founder of The Working Party – a theatre company that specialises in making theatre that creates positive change.

As well as being Chair of Trustees for Open Door, he is also a Trustee for the interdisciplinary collaborative, Fast Familiar.

Lindsay Taggart (she/her)

Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees

Lindsay manages independent television production company Balloon Entertainment. She's worked across a range of drama and comedy projects including BBC show Clique, Kiss Me First and Newark, Newark.

Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́

Trustee

Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo is an actor and writer known for her roles as Jack Starbright in the Amazon Prime spy thriller Alex Rider (2020–) and Yvonne in the Netflix musical film Been So Long (2018). She also guest-starred in two episodes of Doctor Who (2017).

On stage, her work includes Three Sisters at the National Theatre, (2020), Lava at Bush Theatre, (2021), and Blues for an Alabama Sky (2022).

Roy Alexander Weise (he/him)

Trustee

Roy Alexander Weise is the joint Artistic Director of the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and Associate Artist at the Donmar Warehouse. He is the 19th annual winner of the James Menzies-Kitchin Award and directed his critically acclaimed, sell out production of The Mountaintop at the Young Vic. Credits include: Br'er Cotton (Theatre 503), Nine Night (National Theatre), Heretic Voices (Arcola Theatre); Jekyll and Hyde (National Youth Theatre), Dead Don't Floss (National Theatre) and Primetime (Royal Court). He was also the Trainee Director on Channel 4's Invisible.

Shaheen Baig (she/her)

Trustee

Shaheen Baig is a London based Casting Director known for working with emerging new filmmakers and established directors across film and television. Film credits include: the debut features of Anton Corbijn, William Oldroyd, Francis Lee, Idris Elba, Sally El Hosaini and Billie Piper. She has worked with established directors such as Sean Durkin, Clio Barnard, Ben Wheatley, Carol Morley, Peter Strickland and David Mackenzie.

Shaheen’s most recent film work includes Supernova, Mogul Mowgli, After Love, Calm With Horses, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Reggie Yates’ forthcoming feature directorial debut, Pirates.

In television, Shaheen has cast all six series of Peaky Blinders, as well as award-winning dramas Three Girls, Black Mirror, National Treasure, Man Like Mobeen, The Virtues, Giri/Haji and most recently BAFTA nominated Adult Material and The Third Day.

Shaheen is a member of BAFTA, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Casting Directors Guild of Great Britain & Ireland. In 2004, Shaheen was awarded the Best New Talent Award by Women in Film and Television, has received BIFA and BAFTA nominations and was the recipient of an RTS Award. 

Amy Ball (she/her)

Trustee

Amy Ball is a Casting Director working across theatre, film and TV.  She completed casting on Ballywalter, an independent film produced by Empire Street Productions, Riverstone Pictures and Out of Orbit, with support from the BFI and Northern Ireland Film. Other recent credits include; Walden, Uncle Vanya (Harold Pinter), The Son (Kiln Theatre/Duke of York’s), The Night of the Iguana (Noël Coward), Sweat (Donmar Warehouse/Gielgud), Rosmersholm (Duke of York’s), True West (Vaudeville), The Ferryman (Royal Court/Gielgud/Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre), The Moderate Soprano (Hampstead Theatre/Duke of York’s), The Birthday Party and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Harold Pinter), Consent (National/Harold Pinter), The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Hangmen (Royal Court/Wyndham’s/Atlantic Theatre Company), Berberian Sound Studio (Donmar Warehouse), The Hunt, Shipwreck, Dance Nation and Albion (Almeida), Stories and Exit the King (National), A Very Very Very Dark Matter (Bridge), The Brothers Size (Young Vic).
Prior to setting up her own company Amy was Head of Casting at the Royal Court Theatre for ten years where she cast all productions for the Theatre Upstairs and Downstairs including Hangmen; Escaped Alone; Linda; Liberian Girl; The Twits; Violence and Son and How to Hold Your Breath. 

Andrew Cornforth

Trustee

Sunita Hinduja

Trustee

Sunita (she/they) worked as a Freelance Company Manager and Company Stage Manager for 20years, Sunita trained at QMUC in Edinburgh and has worked in and for organisations such as The Royal Court Theatre, National Theatre of Scotland and The Donmar Warehouse, Kenny Wax, Jamie Lloyd Productions and Manchester International Festival.  

Sunita has recently moved into theatre and production administration. They have particular interest in developing training that allows backstage practitioners to identify as Artists in their own right, both in formal training and in professional practice.  Sunita is particularly interested in the decolonisation of Production Arts.  She is currently interim Production Office Manager at the National Theatre.

Sunita has Indian/latinx origins born and lived in London but maintains her spiritual home is Scotland. 

Dylan Malyn

Trustee

Dylan Malyn is a queer actor from South Wales, having recently completed his studies at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Dylan is highly passionate about tearing down the barriers for working class and queer actors and creatives within the industry and is extremely excited to continue working alongside Open Door to reshape the arts. 

Joanne Marie Mason (she/her)

Trustee

Joanne Marie Mason is a actor from London. She has just completed her studies at Central School of Speech and Drama. Joanne is passionate about breaking down barriers and creating a more inclusive and diverse environment so that everyone can share their talent, no matter where they’re from. Joanne has a lot of experience working with Youth organsations in London. Joanne feels this is the best place to start; working alongside Open Door.

Kris Milovsorov (he/him)

Trustee

Kris is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor who focuses on media and entertainment clients. He has worked with various award-winning actors, writers, directors, crew members, producers and production companies over the years and now runs his own accounting practice, KMA Spotlight.

Will Wood (he/him)

Trustee

Will Wood set up award-winning PR agency Multitude Media in 2012, and the company works across the arts and entertainment industry, with clients including BAFTA, BFI, Disney, Wall to Wall, Phil McIntyre Entertainment, Merman, Label1, MultiStory Media, Sky, Live Nation and Two Brothers Pictures. The company has also supported organisations outside the entertainment industry including the Human Trafficking Foundation and the World Land Trust.

Prior to setting up Multitude Media, Will worked for the International Conference of Futebol de Salao, Sky Sports and was the PR Director for Goal, and he has 15 years of experience delivering campaigns and strategy for clients across the television, film, live arts and charity sectors.