Episode #19
The one with Laura Spencer
In this episode of Offbeat , Paul sits down with Laura Spencer — singer, actress, mother, entrepreneur, performing arts educator and co-owner/director of Music Learning Collective . Laura's career has never followed just one path. Alongside her creative life, she has built considerable experience in communications, events and operations. Her professional journey includes more than a decade with Boots UK, progressing through events, operations and communications roles, before bringing that experience into the creative industries. Today, she is Director of Communications and Events at MLC and has nearly two decades of experience as a Principal with Stagecoach Performing Arts. But the CV only tells part of the story. Paul and Laura talk about the person behind all those different roles: performer, teacher, business owner and mum . They explore Laura's early creative influences, singing and acting, the realities of building a career in the arts and what happens when creativity meets entrepreneurship. They also get into the world of Stagecoach Performing Arts and Laura's experience as a franchisee and Principal; her journey with Music Learning Collective ; and the challenges and opportunities that come with leading creative organisations while still maintaining an identity as an artist. Laura's background in Communications Studies at Nottingham Trent University adds another thread to a career that has continually brought together communication, performance, education and business. It's also a conversation about change — how priorities shift, how careers evolve, how parenthood changes perspective, and why a creative career doesn't necessarily have to look the way you imagined it would when you started. There are highs, lows, stories from the stage and plenty of reflections on what it actually takes to make a life in the creative industries. The One with Laura Spencer. Real conversations. Creative minds. Unexpected stories. We Will Rock You Be sure to catch Laura at the Derby Theatre this October as she plays Oz in the West End smash hit by Queen and Ben Elton. Anthology Vol II Listen to Laura singing on Paul's album on Spotify and Apple Music . Technical glitches: There were the occasional electrical glitch in Paul's feed in the first three minutes. The conversation is so important though that it was felt recording it again could result in certain key points being lost forever. Apologies and thanks in equal measure.
