Staff

PETER ADDIS BA (Hons) Theatre Degree

Co Founder and Co Principal

Peter received a First Class Honours degree from Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, graduating as an Actor-Musician. He initially performed in many typical Actor-Musician shows such as Return to the Forbidden Planet; From a Jack to a King and Buddy on tour and in the West End, as well as appearing in several straight plays and on TV in popular shows like EastEnders; The Bill and London’s Burning. However directing, which was always his greatest passion, very soon became the mainstay of his career and he directed The Missing Link (Quantum Theatre), The End of the World Show (Great Escape Theatre); Statements of Attainment (Bradford Playhouse) and Nativity (Soho Theatre). He also directed Love off the Shelf (Guildford Conservatoire) and Children of Eden; Cider With Rosie; HMS Pinafore; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Ruddigore; Once on this Island; Iolanthe and High School Musical, all for Arts Educational School in Chiswick. Peter was the Assistant Director on A Delicate Balance (Theatre Royal, Haymarket) with Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins and for over seven years was the London Associate Director for the hit ABBA musical Mamma Mia!. Peter was recently appointed Associate Director and Head of Acting at Midland’s Academy of Dance and Drama for whom he has directed Spend, Spend, Spend; Snoopy and Into The Woods. Future projects include Fame for Midlands Academy and The Wedding Singer for Arts Educational School.

JACQUELINE ADDIS ARAD

Co Founder and Co Principal

Dance, Drama and Singing Teacher 4-6 years

Jacqueline trained at The Academy of Ballet in Edinburgh, during which time she became an Associate of The Royal Academy of Dance. She has enjoyed a long and successful career in theatre, appearing in productions as varied as the renowned Gaiety Whirl in Ayr to The Merry Wives of Windsor at the prestigious Chichester Festival Theatre. Along the way Jacqueline appeared in pantomimes at Stirling, Motherwell and Ayr as well as Plymouth Theatre Royal and the Birmingham Hippodrome. Having won a scholarship from The Stage she then took a Post Graduate course in acting. Her West End credits include Brigadoon (Victoria Palace); The Laurence Olivier Awards (Dominion); My One and Only (London Palladium); The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Strand); The Killing of Sister George (Ambassadors); Closer (Lyric) and Mamma Mia! (Prince Edward). Latterly Jacqueline moved into Stage Management and ultimately to production where she had the privilege to travel and work as PA to Judy Craymer MBE, the Producer and Creator of Mamma Mia!. To date the productions of which she is most proud are her two children!

EMMA L SMITH Bmus (Hons) LSMT dip VTCT IIHHT

Singing Teacher 7-9years, 10-13years and 14-18years

Emma graduated from the University of Huddersfield with an Upper Second Class Honours degree in Music, before training at the London School of Musical Theatre as well as with tutors from both Mountview Theatre School and the Royal Academy of Music. A trained vocalist, Emma has also appeared as a jazz and big band singer/musician, performing in both the UK and abroad. Emma has performed in productions around the UK and West End: Peter Pan (Oxford Playhouse); The Hunting of the Snark (Sheffield Crucible); A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Company (New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich) and Sleeping Beauty (Theatre Royal, Winchester). West End credits include: Sunday Night Live at the London Palladium; When Midnight Strikes (Cochrane Theatre) and The Pocket Orchestra (Trafalgar Studios). When not appearing on stage, Emma is in constant demand as a musical theatre tutor for performing arts schools and companies. She tutors workshops for Delfont Mackintosh Theatres to both vocational and non-vocational students on the West End productions of Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. Her auditioning and coaching of pupils for professional productions is also in great demand - credits include: Les Miserables; Scrooge; Peter Pan; The Wizard of Oz; Turandot; Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Aida; Cinderella; Brian Connolly and Friends; Beauty and the Beast; Jack and the Beanstalk; An Inspector Calls; The King & I; Macbeth; Dick Whittington; NYMT; Waiting for Godot. Her past students have achieved entry into the Arts Educational Schools in Tring and London; The Urdang Academy and Bird College.

SUSAN CULLEN MA BSc PGCE

Acting Teacher 7-9years, 10-13years, 14-18years

A postgraduate of the prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama (CSSD) with an MA in Voice Studies, Susan is a professional performer, director, voice and acting coach. She is currently Head of Voice at the Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama in Nottingham, and has been a guest lecturer at CSSD and Essex College of Performing Arts. Susan originally trained as an opera singer and made her professional principal debut as Countess Ceprano with English National Opera in the award winning mafia style Rigoletto directed by Jonathan Miller. Her international operatic career has taken her to Europe, the middle and far East and the USA. TV and radio broadcasts include appearances for Channel 4 and Thames TV. She was assistant director and vocal consultant at The Castle Theatre Wellingborough for The Princess and The Pea, and created and directed their one week summer course Acting Out. With an early training that included dance and gymnastics, Susan naturally moved into the world of cabaret and musicals. She appeared in the award winning west end musical Chess and toured the UK with The Sound of Music, combining understudying the role of Maria with the responsibility of Dance Mistress and rehearsing in each new cast of children. She also created several new roles in the field of music theatre with Babel Theatre Company. Since 2005, Susan has worked as venue director with the Shakespeare for Schools Festival, using professional venues and technical support to stage hundreds of performances by school children. Susan is also a Shakespeare Champion, one of a nationwide team working towards Shakespeare 2012. The aim is to have a nationwide celebration of Shakespeare to coincide with the London Olympics, spanning amateur, professional and youth and community settings. Working with up and coming talent has always been her passion, and in 1998 Susan launched and spearheaded a travelling Opera in Education company,The Opera Express! She has translated and rearranged several popular operas, creating inventive re-workings that include the best loved melodies, imaginatively restaged for students to perform alongside professionals over an intensive day-long experience, up to 100 children at a time would create a public performance in a local theatre. The company’s groundbreaking work with Carmen at Bow school in London’s east end was the subject of a documentary film narrated by Tom Conti.

DAVID BALL

Dance Teacher 7-9years, 10-13years, 14-18years

David trained at Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama and Arts Educational School, London. On graduating, David created the role of Frank in the revival of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers as well as playing Adam on many occasions. He played Bobby and understudied the Emcee in Cabaret at The Chichester Festival Theatre and went on to play Brad and Eddie/Dr Scott in the European stadium tour of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. David played Macavity and later Munkustrapp in the UK and European tour of Cats, before re-joining the cast of Seven Brides…as Resident Director and Associate Choreographer also playing Ben and, again, Adam many times. The show transferred into the West End for a successful run and David is proud to be the only actor ever to have played six of the seven brothers!! Other credits include: Mr Badger in Lily Savages’ Snow White (Bristol, Manchester and West End); Grand Vizier in Aladdin (Theatre Royal, Bath) and Assistant Choreographer on Fred Astaire – His Daughters’ Tribute (London Palladium). David has extensive chorographic credits to his name, including 20^th Century Musicals (Bonnington Theatre Arnold); Sleeping Beauty (Sheffield Lyceum); Peter Pan (Assembly Halls Tunbridge Wells) and The Third Annual Musical Theatre Celebration (Palace Theatre). David directed and choreographed a new musical Blaze at The Bridewell Theatre in August 2007. David is also in demand as a guest teacher at several Performing Arts colleges around the country. He is also a producer with several successful productions to his name and his latest project will be a new UK tour of Abigails Party.

RACHELE CARR

Assistant Teacher 4-6year olds

Rachele is currently in her 2^nd year at the renowned Stella Mann College, where she is studying for a Natonal Diploma in Professional Dance and Musical Theatre. Since attending Stella Mann, Rachele has appeared in The Boyfriend, Fame and in their annual production, Volts.

Rachele graduated from Amersham and Wycombe College in 2008, with a B-TEC National Diploma in Dance, achieving Distinction. Whilst studying, Rachele performed in many dance and musical theatre shows, such as The Nutcracker and A Chorus Line, as well as their annual dance production, XisDance, which featured Rachele’s own choreography. Rachele recently performed at the Move It! Exhibition at London’s Olympia.

Rachele is also currently studying for her FDI in Ballet at Stella Mann College.

KARA HENDERSON

Street Dance Teacher 5-10 years, 10-18 years

Kara trained at Roehampton University, where she graduated with a BA(Hons) in Dance Studies 2:1. She performed professionally for several years at Corporate Events and on TV. She has subsquently taught at the Pineapple Performing Arts School in London, where she is still a regular Guest Teacher, and at a variety of schools and colleges around the Milton Keynes area. Kara is also the Dance Captain and Choreographer for the MK Lions Dance Squad.