York Theatre Royal has launched a campaign to raise £500,000 to help pay for its biggest upgrade in 50 years. Today, The Press publishes the latest in an occasional series of columns by writers explaining what the theatre means to them.

YORK Theatre Royal has a very special place in my heart. It created my lifelong love for theatre, starting with an annual birthday trip to the pantomime, which was of course accompanied by an annual obsession to catch a Wagon Wheel.

Most of my childhood family catchphrases (as I’m sure is the same for many Yorkies) were built around Berwick Kaler quotes (and my little sister’s impressive attempts at a Sunderland accent).

I rediscovered York Theatre Royal as a teenager, where, thanks to the amazing cheap tickets on offer, it gave me a chance to build up my own tastes and opinions.

I moved away to university, graduated and then returned to my home town a bewildered arts student with not much idea of what I wanted to do. I knew I loved theatre, but a life ‘treading the boards’ wasn’t for me and that’s where TakeOver came in.

I was lucky enough to gain the position of TakeOver head of communications in 2009 and that was one of the most inspiring moments of my life, giving me the experience, knowledge and passion that lead me to pursue a career in the arts.

The work experience gained in York meant that I managed to secure my first full-time job in the marketing team at Sheffield Theatres. York Theatre Royal taught me that the love of theatre starts with the very young and this is something that I’ve taken with me, partly influencing my three-and-a-half years at the Unicorn Theatre in London, the UK’s leading theatre for young audiences.

I am now the marketing campaigns executive for theatre at the Barbican Centre in London, a world leader in international theatre and have always taken so much of what I learned from my days at York Theatre Royal with me.

TakeOver is a truly inspirational project and I think the main reason for this is that the people behind the project at the theatre are genuinely passionate about theatre, young people and York as a community. Everyone’s opinions were as valid as anyone else’s, whether it was the artistic director, or a 12-year-old member of the TakeOver board.

One of my favourite memories of the project was, after a day of leafleting in the city, a teenage girl (who we had spoken to that very day and had never been to the theatre in her life) turned up at the box office to see a show, and then returned the next night with her boyfriend, and the next.

This wouldn’t have been achievable without the offer of free tickets for under-26s or without a team of enthusiastic young people who were empowered to make it their duty to get young people in their local community to see more theatre.

This not only made me realise how the arts can be truly accessible to everyone but also what a special place the theatre and the city of York was.

My favourite memory of York Theatre Royal was the night I opened TakeOver09 with the rest of the festival team. To have worked with a staff team who were so supportive and enthusiastic, alongside a group of young people from in and around York, who all shared a passion for theatre, to open up the building to a new audiences is still a highlight of my career.

• For more information on the theatre’s appeal and how you can get involved email fundraising@yorktheatreroyal.co.uk or phone 01904 715460. Or to donate now text YTRC15 £(amount you wish to donate) to 70070.