Co-Chief Executive & Artistic Director
Clary Saddler
The company’s founder & artistic director is Clary Saddler. As well as being a producer/director/writer/facilitator/tutor with the Forget-Me-Not team, her background includes almost 20 years as a professional actor/musician/singer/songwriter; touring in the UK, Australia and Thailand. Clary is passionate about using the arts to bring about social change. After gaining QTS and teaching & lecturing for four years, Clary came to realise that combining her two areas of expertise could lead to some exciting results. To that end, she began entry into inclusive arts development.
Clary’s specialisms include inclusive arts and digital arts; using technology to transform the lives of people with disabilities and SEN. Her experience is centred around learning and participation in the arts, in particular with young people identified as having SEN and people experiencing PMLD. For the past 3 years Clary and co-chief executive Mel have created a bespoke assistive music technology programme of work that enables disabled musicians to create music independently using adapted mainstream software as well as specialist software.
She is also a practicing actor/musician/singer/songwriter and has collaborated with various upcoming disabled musicians.
Co-Chief Executive & Assistive Technologist
Mel Saddler
Mel is a specialist in assistive technology. She has extensive experience in working with children and adults who have complex disabilities. She has 20 years experience working in the field and is adept in assessing, training, reporting and implementing assistive technology solutions. These solutions support individuals within specialist and mainstream schools, colleges, adult day and residential centres as well as in the persons own home.
Mel offers expert knowledge on a range of innovative assistive technologies. She enables users to communicate, learn, play and live independently. This could be through the use of eye gaze and communication technologies, switch access, mounting solutions, environmental controls or through powered wheelchair driving tuition. She is particularly skilled in working with individuals who experience profound and multiple disabilities (PMLD). Mel supports them to develop their ability to interact with the world around them through technology. She also looks for the very earliest spark of interest.
Specialist qualifications
Mel graduated in 1999 and since then has also completed Manchester Metropolitan University Level H Accredited Training Units. These include Alternative and Augmentative Communication, Developing Communication using Assistive Technology & Access and Control of Technology for Communication and Learning. For the first 16 years of her career in AT Mel was employed as the AT specialist at two special schools. She enabled children with complex physical and learning disabilities to access the curriculum through specialist technologies. Within Rhondda Cynon Taff she also ran the Assistive Technology Branch of the Welsh Assembly Government’s Unlocking Potential in Special School’s initiative.
Mel has worked collaboratively with a peripatetic teacher for the hearing impaired to provide Assistive Technology assessments and ongoing support to pre-schoolers with profound disabilities who also have a hearing loss. She developed the Outreach service for Rhondda Cynon Taff LEA to provide ongoing Assistive Technology assessment and support to pupils with profound needs who are educated at home. For 6 years she was Guest Lecturer at UWIC (Health and Social Care; Assistive Technology Module)
Since leaving employment and working independently she supports a number of special schools in the assessment of pupils and implementation of specialist technological solutions, as well as working within the field of medical negligence and case management.
Associate Practitioners
Shevaughn Georgiou
Shevaughn is an experienced dancer, actor and singer. Her specialisms include ballet, tap, street dance, disco, jazz, contemporary, Irish dance (she was Riverdance captain at St David’s Hall), Zumba and line dancing. She is also an experienced director and choreographer who has worked professionally in Wales and England for 23 years.
Shevaughn trained as an actress for drama and musical theatre, as well as continuing her flair for dance and singing. For over 25 years she has directed or choreographed productions for a variety of age groups. Renowned for her alternative and inclusive workshops. Shevaughn thrives on taking a chosen topic and breathing life into the telling of the story. She has experience in physical theatre, playback theatre, documentary and interview technique. Shevaughn is also a trained teacher/trainer and mentors marginalised groups. Shevaughn has been an associate practitioner for Forget-Me-Not-Productions for over 6 years. In that time she has also acted in Forget-Me-Not shows, such as Uprising and Christmas Crackers part 1 and 2.
Sue Lewis
Sue is an enthusiastic creative practitioner, director and choreographer with experience of facilitating and tutoring across the age range. Her specialisms include drama, dance and P.E. She has extensive experiencing in making the arts and P.E accessible to both physically & cognitively disabled people, having worked in the special education sector for over 20 years as a tutor of drama and P.E. During her time as a SEN tutor, Sue directed over 15 full school productions. Four of these were large upper school productions. Ten were infant school productions. She has also undertaken inclusive arts outreach – home tutoring a young person experiencing PMLD in drama and sensory storytelling.
Sue is also a volunteer drama specialist; mentoring children with additional needs to complete drama and photography related projects. Sue has been an associate practitioner for Forget-Me-Not-Productions for over 5 years. In that time she has undertaken three Lead Creative School’s Scheme projects and has also acted in two Christmas pantomimes.
