My Woking

Ask any Woking resident what they enjoy most about Woking Town Centre and the New Victoria Theatre is bound to feature in their shortlist. Whether it's to watch the panto with family, be entranced by dance productions or see West End musicals without the commute to London, local people love the range of performances that they can see at the New Vic. And it would appear that nobody loves the theatre more than Mayford resident, Elaine Evans. Elaine has worked for the theatre since the early nineties and, when she's not at work, she's heavily involved in other aspects of Woking life, as The Woking Magazine found out…

Elaine, husband Nick and their two young daughters moved to Woking from Bristol in 1979 when Nick got a new job in London. "We found a family home in Mayford and we loved the area from the moment that we got here", says Elaine, "We were impressed with amount of open space and heathland that the Borough has to offer - Woking just seemed like a great place in which to raise our children."

For the first few years in Woking, Elaine focussed on raising daughters, Kim and Lucy and took an active role in their education by joining the Parent Teacher Association at Westfield School. As the children got older, she started to plan some of the many things that she would like to do and she tapped in to her life-long love of theatre by getting involved with Woking's first ever community play, which focussed on life in the Borough at the turn of the century. "The play was held within the New Victoria Theatre complex and was a great project to work on. I was therefore thrilled when, in 1993, I managed to get myself a job working in the box office of the theatre. It gave me a unique opportunity to see the shows and soak up the great theatre atmosphere."

Over the last seventeen years, Elaine has worn a number of hats whilst working for the New Victoria Theatre and she now manages the Corporate Membership, Sponsorship and the Friends of the New Victoria Theatre schemes. Both of these schemes generate valuable income for the theatre and they give Elaine plenty of opportunities to network with individuals and businesses within the Borough: "I absolutely love my job! It gives me the chance to meet so many people, whilst helping to maintain a facility that I think is absolutely fantastic for Woking. The New Vic has really put the town on the map and we get some great performances here."

Asked to cite one of the highlights of her career, Elaine recollects how, during preparations for Peter Pan in 2008, she was given the chance to fulfil a childhood dream and fly across the stage on a wire - and she even managed to raise £600 for two local charities in the process!

As well as devoting much of her time to theatre, Elaine is also very active in the Woking community, serving on the committee of the Mayford Village Society for many years and acting as a trustee for Woking shopMobility. Not only this, but she has just completed a year as the President of Soroptimist International for Woking District, which she considers to have been a great honour: "I have learnt so much over the last twelve months and I am delighted to have been able to raise money for the Surrey Community Development Trust which is a local charity that helps young people."

And in her precious free moments, Elaine loves to spend time with her family, walking along the Hoe Valley and enjoying the green space that drew her to the Borough in the first place. Though she has no intention of moving away from the Borough, she is firmly committed to finding lots more things to do that can benefit both herself and the community: "There's just so much to do - I just hope I can find enough time to do them all!"