Teaching staff
Paul Harvard
CEO, Founder & PROGRAMME Leader
Paul began his career as actor-musician working on award-winning productions for the National Theatre, in the West End and for regional theatres. He has led courses and trained actors for eighteen years, at a dozen of the leading conservatoires and universities in the UK – including Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Drama Centre, MetFilm, Identity, GSA, Mountview, Rose Bruford, Webber Douglas, LCM and the Urdang Academy.
His first play GHBoy, was produced in 2020 by his own production company at the Charing Cross Theatre. The play was conceived during a writers’ course at the National Theatre and developed following grants from the Arts Council.
He is the author of three books published by Nick Hern and his approaches to the teaching of acting through song are internationally recognised.
Aly Spiro
industry liaison
Aly has been passionately involved in the creative industries all her working life, having worked as an actor, an educator and a casting director.
She enjoyed a successful and exciting career as an actor working across theatre, television, film and radio for many years – and is best known for playing Sarah Sugden in Emmerdale which she enjoyed for seven years.
She has worked at numerous drama schools including LAMDA, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Arts Educational and ALRA – where she was BA Acting Course Leader/ Senior Faculty Member for 6 years.
Aly is passionate about finding work for her graduating students – and has extraordinary industry connections that she brings to her mentorship of emerging artists.
joseph junkere
youth academy manager
A graduate of the Royal Central Speech and Drama, and the National Youth Theatre, Joseph is an experienced drama facilitator and mentee of young people. He has lead workshops, both in the U.K. and internationally, for companies such as Kazuum Arts, Urban Music Dance International, the Ambassador Theatre Group and Disney.
Joseph tells stories because, in his experience, they reveal aspects of himself he would otherwise never identify. He wants to use his voice to help shine a light on those in society that at times may feel they do not have a voice.
Gemma Maddock
head of voice
Gemma originally trained as an actor, in Australia, where she grew up. She is a farmer’s daughter from rural, drought-stricken, Mukinbudin, Western Australia. She grew up on the back of a horse, chasing sheep, 400km from a city in the red dirt, dust and parched gum trees. She eventually made the move across the pond to train as a Voice Coach and fell in love with the work and the industry here in London.
Gemma has taught at leading drama schools including; RADA, LAMDA, Rose Bruford and Arts Ed. She is also the co-Artistic Director of The Kindling Collective.
Her professional theatre voice coaching includes: Operation Mincemeat (Southwark Playhouse & West End) Trouble in Butetown, Love and Other Acts of Violence and Force Majeure (Donmar Warehouse) Matilda The Musical (West End & UK Tour); Strictly Ballroom (West Yorkshire Playhouse & West End), The Railway Children & In The Heights (Kings Cross Theatre).
Alex IGBANOI
Screen acting teacher
Alexis an award-winning director who’s recent film The Half you Hate won Best Director, Best Film and Best Ensemble Cast at the New York Lift-Off Film Festival 2022.
He started his career as an acting coach, teaching in some of the worlds leading drama schools. After noticing a shift, he took up the opportunity to champion people of colour by developing emerging actors in the industry.
After 10 years he pivoted into coaching and began directing shorts. He currently has many productions in development -including his first feature film, The 3 Sounds of Silence, which is currently in pre-production.
Corry Raymond
showreels
Corry is an international director and cinematographer with 10 years’ experience working in media, film and television production environments – both in the UK and America.
His work has been screened at festivals such as LA International, Aesthetica and the BFI as well as on networks such as Channel 4.
His most recent short film (2022) has qualified to be in the running for an Academy Award.
Segun Fawole
movement teacher
Segun has played leading roles in many West End shows including Loserville (Garrick Theatre), A Chorus Line (London Palladium) and Motown The Musical.
He has danced commercially with some of the biggest music artists in the country including Peter Andre, Cheryl Cole, Tinie Tempah and Alexandra Burke.
In recent years Segun has also worked in the music industry as both a Producer and Singer/Songwriter working with established and new artists on labels including Universal Music and Sony Records.
Aileen Gonsalves
acting teacher
Aileen has worked for over 25 years in film, theatre, television and radio as an actor, writer, director and dramaturge. She has worked extensively for nearly 20 years at the Royal Shakespeare Company as an actor and director as well as being a Leading Education Practitioner.
She is Founder and Artistic Director of Butterfly Theatre Collective which includes Butterfly Theatre. The company’s unique working approach – which enables truthful, authentic, responsive, moment to moment, acting – is called The Gonsalves Method. She teaches this globally and across universities and drama schools around the UK. Her book Shakespeare and Meisner for Bloomsbury/Arden, co-written with Dr Tracy Irish, outlines the method. She launched The Immersive Acting School this year with Hartson-Hook the creators of Immersive The Great Gatsby and Doctor Who.
Aileen is an Associate Director at Kali Theatre Company. She was also Head of the MA in Acting at Arts Ed – 2011-2015 and Head of Acting at Drama Studio London – 2018-19.
jenru wang
voice teacher
Jenru Wang(王眞如) is a Taiwanese voice coach living in London.
He worked professionally as an actor in film & theatre in Taiwan before moving to London. He graduated with an MFA in Voice Studies at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with distinction.
As a voice coach, Jenru works in theatre, film, and video-game recording. He has experience working on an Olivier-Award nominated production (for the Royal Shakespeare Company), and on major film and TV productions for Sky and Amazon.
Jenru Wang is passionate about East & Southeast Asian accents, coaching and cultivating the authentic representation of those dialects.
Jenru has taught in many leading drama schools, notably as Head of Voice at Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company. He is mentored by Kay Welch.
gail sixsmith
movement teacher
Gail Sixsmith has been a professional performer in the industry since the late 80’s working for companies such as the RSC, Manchester Royal Exchange, Coventry Belgrade, Young Vic and the BBC.
She has trained 1000’s of performing arts students, leading workshops for the RSC and teaching at drama schools such as MetFilm, Identity, LCM and ArtsEd (where she was Head of Movement).
anthony vander
screen ACTING Teacher
Anthony Vander is an award-winning filmmaker and producer. In 2023 his was accepted as a full BAFTA member for his considerable contribution to the film industry.
Anthony’s work was featured during We Are Parable and British Film Institute ‘Who We Are’ season in July 2020 which shined a light at Black British filmmakers in the UK. His first short film ‘Hooligan’ screened at The Short Film Corner at Cannes Film Festival in 2012. In 2014, Anthony’s directorial debut feature film, ‘Sweetboy’ had its North American première at the American Black Film Festival and in 2017 aired on London Live television multiple times. Anthony’s fifth short film ‘Finale’ played at the Bafta qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival 2021.
katherine Heath
accent teacher
Katherine Heath is a Voice, Accent and Acting coach. She originally trained as an actor at RADA, appearing with the RSC, in the West End and for the last fifteen years she has worked extensively in theatre, film, television and radio.
She has taught at LAMDA, RADA and Guildhall and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and many other leading drama schools.
Her credits as voice and dialect coach include: Measure for Measure (Globe Theatre), The Sweet Science of Bruising (Southwark Playhouse and Wiltons Music Hall), Alex Rider (Sony/Amazon), and The Gates (Feature film – Studio Atlantic).
Richard Delaney
ACTING Teacher
Richard is an actor, theatre-maker and acting coach. He worked professionally for fifteen years before undertaking a Masters in Actor Training and Coaching from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. His work as a creative has taken him throughout the UK, Europe, The Middle East, Malaysia and to Off-Broadway, NYC. He most recently Co-Directed the German Premiere of Secret Life Of Humans in Frankfurt. He was a founding member of The Faction Theatre Company, and has a longstanding collaborative relationship with New Diorama Theatre.
Other teaching includes for The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; LAMDA; East 15; ALRA; City Academy; Brunel University; and St Mary’sUniversity, Twickenham. Richard works extensively with the Nine Viewpoints and The Michael Chekhov Technique.
darragh hand
patron
Darragh trained at the London College of Music.
He was a member of the original cast of For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy (for Nouveau Riche at New Diorama and the Royal Court and at the Apollo Theatre – for which he received an Olivier nomination.
His other work int theatre includes: L’amant Anonyme at Glyndebourne; Bangers for Cardboard Citizens and Soho Theatre, The Land of Lost Content at Pleasance and most recently playing the role of Marcus Rashford in Dear England at the National Theatre.
His work in television includes Grace for ITV and Silent Witness for the BBC.
board of directors
jenna bonfiglio
chair of the board & marketing consultant
Currently at Netflix with a focus on UK productions including Sex Education and Bridgerton, her previous roles include international marketing and publicity at Universal Pictures and Disney respectively.
Jenna is passionate about creating opportunities and providing support for underrepresented communities, supplementing her professional work with voluntary mentoring for organisations such as Safer London and The Girls Network.
daniel bailey
equality, diversity, and inclusion advisor
Daniel Bailey is a Digital Content Producer, Journalist/Creative writer, Filmmaker, Facilitator, Director, Performer and Founder of The Palace of The Dogs.
Originally from Hackney, London, Daniel uses filmmaking, journalism and creative writing to articulate his black experience. He is also a contributing writer at the Stage newspaper where he continues to explore the future of theatre and theatre training; challenging the industry’s current structure in order to create an environment that is safe for marginalised groups and impactful to their respective communities.
Daniel looks forward to developing his artistic process following a recent appointment as an Associate at Brixton House.
Paul broughton
financial consultant
Paul is a strategic finance leader with over 15 years of global experience in media, entertainment, consumer products and gaming.
Paul began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers before enjoying various roles at NBCU, most recently as Vice President of Finance for Universal Pictures International. Paul is currently Global Strategy & Planning lead for Sony PlayStation.
Paul is passionate about growing access for underrepresented communities into acting, and has a particular interest in promoting this for people with disabilities. Paul has an understanding through the experiences of his sibling with cerebral palsy of the disparity of opportunity available for people with disability and is an advocate for change.
segun fawole
industry advisor
Segun has played leading roles in many West End shows including Loserville (Garrick Theatre), A Chorus Line (London Palladium) and Motown The Musical.
Segun has danced commercially with some of the biggest music artists in the country including Peter Andre, Cheryl Cole, Tinie Tempah and Alexandra Burke.
In recent years Segun has also worked in the music industry as both a Producer and Singer/Songwriter working with established and new artists on labels including Universal Music and Sony Records.
jane jeffery
Accessibility Advisor
Jane is an actor and director, who has worked extensively in film, television theatre and education. She is the Artistic Director of First Sight Theatre Company and was previously Head of Acting at ALRA. Her acting credits include work for Channel 4, BBC, ITV and the Donmar Warehouse.
Before retraining as an actor, Jane worked as an employment lawyer for many years, working for a variety of London firms including Lewis Silkin, Simkins, DAC Beachcroft and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. She also worked in-house at Warner Brothers, and spent a few years running her own legal practice, Sullivan Consulting.
Jane has a movement disorder and is in the process of creating a network of actors and creatives with similar disorders, with a view to creating work together which transcends their physical condition.
stephen fry
business and strategy advisor
Stephen is the Executive Director for the Westmont Enterprise Hub at the University of West London that helps innovate and drive the West London Creative Cluster.
He is a Non-Executive Director for Six West London Community Charities. He is also the former CEO of Hounslow Chamber of Commerce, and was previously the Managing Director of a group of service B2B businesses.
Stephen is widely published in many aspects of business, such as business-led regeneration for communities in socioeconomic decline, sustainable regeneration – and the proposition for synchronised growth clusters to act as incubators.
Annika Patel
legal counsel
As a UK qualified lawyer, Annika holds a deep interest in supporting the creative industries and has spent her career specialising in advertising and media law. Annika began her career as a business affairs legal advisor for Apple’s advertising agency, focussing on EMEA-wide tech marketing campaigns.
She was the primary legal counsel at Adam&Eve DDB, supporting the group’s growth within the Omnicom media network. Most recently Annika took on a role in the entertainment sector as sole legal counsel for Netflix UK and Nordic marketing, publicity and policy teams.