Team

MSL celebrates individual creativity, community and place. Established in 2005 by Margaret Sheehy, MSL produces and manages projects under three company brands: 

MSL Projects is centred on theatrical performance or installation and consultancy; MSL Digital explores the potential to open up narrative of place using AR, VR and mobile technology; MSL Discover is a not-for-profit development vehicle for community and individual learning.  

MSL is able to bring together associates from all areas of art and performance to create each project so that it is delivered by experts in their fields. The company itself is run with the minimum of overheads, ensuring value for money for funders and sponsors, safe in the knowledge that the vast majority of investment is spent on the project in hand.  For more information on our associates, go to our Partners page. 

MARGARET SHEEHY
Margaret is a director, writer and producer with experience in both the commercial and subsidised arts sectors. She has delivered community and large-scale festivals as well as ambitious and complex projects such as Creative Partnerships London and the initial cultural consultations for London 2012. Since establishing MSL in Hastings in 2011 she has produced over 20 highly original projects for the company. Margaret has a PhD in Drama from the University of Kent, is on the board of Greenwich & Docklands International Festival and was formerly Chair of The Audience Agency, the audience development agency for England.

JON PRATTY
Jon is a senior-level content consultant, an experienced digital publisher and a creative producer, working across a wide range of public and private sectors. Jon has also worked as a professional journalist, principally as a digital, arts and society writer on newspapers such as The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph. He worked at Arts Council England for five years as Area Relationship Manager, South East, based in Brighton and Cambridge. He was Creative Director of Culture24 for eight years. He initiated and was the Chair of Brighton Digital Festival, and his input was key to the successful development of Culture Kent. Jon is a Director of MSL Discover and an Associate of MSL Digital.

ARETHA GEORGE-TOOLEY
Aretha is a Culture Manager and an advisor on community engagement, audience development and diversity and inclusion. She has worked in the Arts, Heritage and Culture sectors for over 20 years. She has worked for national funders including National Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England, working on strategies to identify and remove barriers which prevent wider participation and engagement from diverse communities. Aretha currently chairs St Leonards Festival Committee and is a Director of MSL Discover.

SOPHIE GOLDSTONE
Sophie started her career working as a Production Assistant at Framestore, a visual effects & animation studio. She then worked as a Photography researcher & producer in the UK & Australia for 12 years for magazines, newspapers, charities and PR agencies including Condé Nast, BBC Magazines and Hill & Knowlton. She began working for MSL in 2019 and has project managed creative workshop programming, co-ordinated live and online events, creative conferences, exhibitions, film shoots, installations and live outdoor performances.  These have included Tressell’s Children, Sun Shall Rise, Semaphore & The Sea Beneath. Sophie is currently Executive Producer at MSL.

EMMA DOLMAN
Emma has over twenty years’ experience in arts directorship and producing, from arts development officer working with rural and urban communities in small groups and arranging large scale events, to artistic and executive director of arts centres, latterly launching and running Cornerstone, Oxfordshire. This has given her a deep appreciation of audiences and how to communicate with them, negotiating deals, managing relationships and fundraising.

Emma has also conceived, commissioned and produced arts projects, events and new theatre including outdoor public events, cross-genre collaborations, devised children’s theatre, and work for and with people of varying physical abilities. Emma is currently a Project Manager at MSL.

LESLEY SHAREIF
Lesley is a freelance bookkeeper and has over 35 years’ experience in accounts-based environments. Since 2002 she has focused on project administration and finance, working with charities and education/events-based organisations including the Pestalozzi International Village Trust, Dominic Simpson Memorial Trust and 18 Hours Ltd. She has a BA (Hons) degree in Development Studies from the University of East London, which included a placement at the American University in Cairo for six months. Lesley is currently the bookkeeper for MSL.

KATE HODGES
Kate Hodges has written nine books that have been translated into eight languages. Her titles include biography collections Warriors, Witches, Women and I Know A Woman and a novel, The Wayward Sisters. She has over 30 years writing experience on magazines, having been a staffer on publications including The Face, Bizarre, Just Seventeen and Sky, and written for many more. In her spare time, she plays in bands Ye Nuns and The Hare and Hoofe. Kate is currently social media and web site editor for MSL.