YOUTH THEATRE DIRECTOR

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                                                                                       CAROLE COPELAND



 

Carole trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and since then has worked extensively in theatre including the ICA in London, The Citizen’s Theatre, Glasgow, Theatre Royal Nottingham, The King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Nottingham Playhouse, New Perspectives, Tabs, Rumpus, Talking Scarlet and The Grand Theatre, Blackpool. She toured for 2 years with LIKE A VIRGIN for Hull Truck Theatre Co.
Her work includes CANTERBURY TALES, VERONICA’S ROOM, MY MOTHER SAID I NEVER SHOULD, DUET FOR ONE, SEASONS GREETINGS, WHAT THE BUTLER SAW, ABIGAIL’S PARTY, DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER, A PLACE WITH THE PIGS, and TWO.
Her TV work includes CORONATION STREET for Granada TV, ADAM’S STORY for Lightyear Films and HOUSE OF CARDS for the BBC. She completed two series of WILMOT for ITV.
Her Radio credits include WALPAMUR and CARDBOARD, for Radio 4, Saturday Night Theatre and THE BLACKBURN FILES for BBC Manchester. She was in KILBRECK for two years for BBC Scotland. She recorded The Figurehead for BBC Manchester.
Since she started the Pomegranate Playwriting Festival 13 years ago she has performed in and directed many of the pieces. Some of the new plays also went on tour including ANGELS NEVER LEAVE HEAVEN by Angela Truby, DANCING IN THE DARK by Richard Stone and BORIS JOHNSON AND HIS SODDING BICYCLE by Steve Haythorne.

Carole has been an Arts Officer at the Pomegranate Theatre since 2002  to 2016 and also runs the Pomegranate Youth Theatre with 90 current members from 7 – 25years. She has directed the Youth Theatre and professional actors in many productions as part of the New Playwriting Festivals including NO ONE TO ASSIST and CUCKOO, and the  production THE CANDY GIRLS was performed as part of the Community Arts Festival in May 2011 . 

She directed the Youth Theatre's latest productions, CRADLE TO GRAVE, WRITTEN IN STONE ,HIDDEN STRANGERS, ANIMAL MARM and  MILK AND HONEY at Ecclesbourne Railway. She directed DOWN THE LINE by Kevin Fegan performed at the Barrow Hill Roundhouse including The Flying Scotsman!

Carole is also a freelance actor, director and workshop leader

 

 

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Katy trained at the University of Derby, having graduated with a First Class BA Honours degree in Theatre Arts. During her time at University, she appeared in "The Tempest" at Derby Theatre, new musical "Blonde" at Derby Theatre and Buxton Opera House and "Artist Descending a Staircase" at the Pavilion Arts Centre in Buxton. Katy directed a sell out producion of "Oh What a Lovely War" for Derby theatre studio under Hush Hush Theatre company, then devisied a new piece based on the work of Vera Brittain with the company, "Scars Upon my Heart." The piece debuted at Buxton Fringe festival before touring.

A former member of the youth theatre, Katy appeared "Pygmalion" and "Equus" for Talking Scarlet, and has acted professionally in youth theatre productions "Cuckoo" and "The Candy Girls," 

Having started as an assistant teacher for the youngest group of the youth theatre, Katy has been leading The Jungle Runners and Iguanas. She also founded the Hatchlings and Nano Chamelions with Louise Humpage. Katy also writes many pieces for the Youth Theatre.

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Louise Humpage and Ciaran Lindley are ex Youth Theatre members who went away and trained and are now workshop leaders for the Youth Theatre

 

Freelancers

 

Steve Haythorne

Writer, actor,director,comedy improvisor

 

Robert Laughlin

Robert trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School graduating in 1992.

His theatre credits include Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and Crispin Usher in A Chorus of Disapproval at the Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich and Jack Chesney in Charley’s Aunt and William Featherstone in How the Other Half Loves at the Grand Theatre in Swansea. He also played Ronald Hawes in a national tour of Murder at the Vicarage.

For Eastern Angles Theatre Company he played John Barry in Margaret Catchpole.

He has played the villain in pantomimes in Middlesbrough, Grimsby, Bexhill and Newark with a brief spell as The Emperor in Aladdin in Wimbourne. His most recent Panto experience being playing King Rat in Middlesbrough.

Robert has toured with Oddsocks Productions playing Roderigo in Othello, Captain Phebus in The Bellringer of Notre Dame, the Friar and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and Trinculo in the tempest. He played Petruchio in The Taming Of The Shrew. He played both Antipholus twins in The Comedy Of Errors. He has also appeared in their winter tours playing Macbeth in Macbeth, Joe Gargery, Camilla and Herbert pocket in Great Expectations, a tour of Twelfth Night playing Sir Toby Belch, and Scrooge in their version of A Christmas Carol. He recently played Claudius in Hamlet The Comedy.

Robert played Henry Pratt in Second from Last in the Sackrace for Rumpus Theatre Company. He appeared in Macbeth, Blue Remembered Hills, Chesterfield tales, Mort, The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and Romeo and Juliet for Tabs’ Productions.

Robert appeared in Talking Scarlet's productions of Teechers, Mindgame, Men Of The World, The End Of The Affair, Anything Further Father, The Deep Blue Sea, Nasty Neighbours and O What a Lovely War.

Robert also appeared in Pygmalion, Up ‘n’ Under, Night must Fall and Accidental Death Of An Anarchist at the Pomegranate.

Robert also played Boris Johnson in Boris Johnson and his sodding bicycle.

Most recently Robert appeared in Fur Coat And No Knickers at Nottingham Playhouse, and Tommy Cooper in Talking Scarlet’s production of Frankie and Tommy.

 

Louise Page

She was educated at the University of Birmingham, where she studied Drama and Theatre Arts. In 1979 she became Yorkshire Television's Fellow in Drama and Television at the University of Sheffield. She was awarded the George Devine Award for her play Salonika, which was performed at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London in 1982, and was appointed Resident Writer at the Royal Court Theatre (1982-3). She was Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Edge Hill University from 2004-2006.She writes for both television and radio and worked for ten years on BBC Radio 4's long-running radio serial The Archers. She now runs Words4work with her husband, the writer Christopher Hawes, organising seminars and workshops to help businesses improve the standard of their written English.

Recent plays are Another Nine Months and The Statue of Liberty. Her latest work, Love From a Stranger, performed in 2010, is an adaptation based on Agatha Christie's Philomel Cottage.

 

Richard Stone

Trained at Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre and Welsh College of Music & Drama.

Richard has worked as an Actor, Director, Composer and Musical Director for the past 35 years, in venues such as the Crucible Theatre, Derby Playhouse, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Birmingham Rep, The Young Vic and York Theatre Royal.  TV work,as an actor, includes CRACKER, LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE, TOUCH OF FROST, CITY CENTRAL, MERSEYBEAT,HOLLYOAKS,VINCENT and THE STREET. Played Alison Webster’s Dad on CORONATION STREET and the infamous Health Inspector on EMMERDALE. Director of the Pomegranate New Playwrights Festival for 11  years.

Director of many plays for the Pomegranate, including ‘Angels Never Leave Heaven’  by Angela Truby. Wrote and directed ‘Dancing in the Dark’ for the Pomegranate and also

played Sir Robert Arkwright in ‘No-one to Assist’ and was Musical Director on ‘Oh, What a Lovely War’, ‘Animal Farm’, ‘Let Sleeping Bags Lie’ and ‘Our Day Out’.

 

Sheila Young

Graduated from Bretton Hall in 1980 and has been a professional actress, director and writer for 30 years. She was Head of Community the Drama Adviser for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland before becoming a professional actress playing a variety of roles  in touring theatre , repertory and television. She became a Director of Proper Job Theatre Projects creating theatre performances and workshops that toured to Germany, Denmark and Belgium and " The Lab Project " a bespoke training course  combining theatre and Gestalt methodologies which was franchised throughout Europe and is still running in Manchester and Kirklees today. She has trained with Augusto Boal in Forum Theatre , Theatre D' Complicitie and DV8 in Physical Theatre and with Mike Alfreds of Shared Experience and Ben Haggerty in Stroytelling.

Sheila has worked as a lecturer in Performing Arts at the University of Northumbria and at Studio La Pointe Drama School in Leeds.

Sheila runs her own company called Dexter Productions producing her own work including a trilogy of plays called" Turkey and Tinsel", "Maltese Balcony" and "On the Shelf" and" Cabbage" a play for children. She co- formed  Ribticklers Storytelling  with Carole and has been a part of the youth theatre since it's beginning and writes many of the productions - most recently researching and writing  "No One to Assist" and  "Cuckoo".

Sheila creates and delivers bespoke Theatre skills workshops , Communication skills courses and Leadership Development programs for the public and private sector, provides private tuition and is a qualified NLP practitioner.