Steph Brocken  would be the first to  agree that drama has  been in her blood since she  was a little girl.

In primary school after playing the lead roles in a number  of plays, her interest in the  subject developed and one day,  during an open day at the Gateway Theatre she attended a  taster session for youth  theatre.

Steph enjoyed it so much she  put her name down on the  waiting list and officially  joined the Gateway Youth  Theatre at the age of 11.

So began a relationship with  the stage that has lasted up until this very day.

Steph, now 26, was one of the  Gateway’s most well known  members during the eight  years she spent there, starring  in dozens of its main productions.

As she got older and began to  gradually move away from performing and into workshop  leading and assistant directing,  it wasn’t long before Steph  knew what she wanted to do all  the time - work with children  and young people in youth  theatre.

But difficult times lay ahead  when in 2007, the Gateway  closed, and 20-year-old Steph  found herself having to freelance.

“The youth theatre had a difficult ride after the closure of  the theatre; we were left effectively homeless and leaderless,  with no provision put in place  for the hundreds of young  people that were still on the  books,” recalls Steph.

“It wasn’t something I initially expected to be doing at  such a young age but fortunately the groups still needed  tutors and I was available.”

In the meantime, Steph  busied herself with getting a  first class degree in English  from the University of Chester  and working full-time as a  school admin assistant.

But in 2009, she joined forces  with fellow graduate Hayley  Wood on a project that would  prove to be one of her best  ideas yet.

“Hayley and I were used to  putting the world to rights and  after numerous car journeys  setting out our manifesto for  youth arts in Chester, somehow  we decided to set up Minerva  Arts,” says Steph.

“We ran a few projects, were  hired by a few different organisations and started to develop  our own approaches, despite  both still working full time  'normal' jobs.

“But in 2011 Hayley decided  to move to Thailand and I was  left with Minerva on my own.

“So I quit my job and threw  myself 100% into Minerva,  gaining us Companies and  Charities status, setting up a  website and drawing in some  funding from various sources,  all through learning 'on the  job',” she explains.

“In April 2011 we had also  taken over the Seniors Youth  Theatre, meaning that I was  now in charge of the group that  started it all of for me in the  first place!”

Steph says Minerva’s aim is  to become a leading force in  youth arts in Cheshire and to  continue to provide opportunities for young people across  the county to engage with a  wide range of arts experiences.  “I'm not sure whether that ambition appears big or small to  the outside eye but regardless,  there’s a lot of work ahead,”  she admits.

“But when you are doing  something that you love and  that you believe in, the work  doesn't seem that much at all.”