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.”