Nerissa Cargill Thompson graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 1995 and works as a freelance designer. She was Head of Design for Manchester Youth Theatre from 1997-2000.Highlights included the World Première of "Airwaves", the Manchester Evening News Special Award winning season in 1999 and a M.E.N. award nomination for "Agamemnon" in 1998. She has also designed "Mad Forest", "The Way of The World", "Merry Wives of Wigan", "The Winter's Tale" (Arden School of Theatre); "A Frame of Mind" (Activ8 at Bolton Octagon); "Edward II", "Light Shining in Buckinghamshire", "As You Like it" (Salford University Theatre Company) and many fringe productions in Edinburgh, London and Manchester.
Work as a scenic artist and propmaker includes shows for the Royal Northern College of Music, Bolton Octagon, Library Theatre, Manchester and Swan Theatre Worcester. Nerissa also teaches workshops in drama, design, masks and puppetry, props and costumes.
Summer 2002 has been taken up with a variety of carnival costumes for Jubilee and Commonwealth parades and as designer on "Ziggurat - The Spiral Way", the Lowry's Commonwealth Project produced with partner companies Opera North, The Halle, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Rambert Dance Company.