Never slowing down

In 1995, a drama teacher called Alison Chaplin founded Arts on the Move. The company, which is described on its website as a ‘one-stop-shop for anyone involved in the creative or performing arts’, provides a mixture of free and paid-for resources suitable for teaching drama at any age, such as books, scripts and lesson plans. After over two decades, there is a lot to draw on and I ask Chaplin, who still heads up the company today, if anything in particular caused her to take the first step towards running a business. ‘It evolved really,’ she tells me. ‘I was teaching in a secondary school after graduating but still running a successful youth theatre in Manchester. I enjoyed working with younger students so I took a short-term teaching job and began delivering occasional drama workshops in local primary schools. Word got around and Arts on the Move snowballed from there. The inspiration behind the company has always been to provide drama support for teachers and pupils – whatever form that takes. I want to spread the love.’