our story
The School was conceived in 2017 by two long-serving staff members of The Poor School, Marcelle Davies and Trudi Rees. Determined to continue the ethos of an affordable actor training that is accessible to all, our full time course is structured over evenings and weekends, thus enabling our students to work and earn whilst undertaking a conservatoire level training.
our ethos
The School auditions and accepts talented students regardless of background and there is no upper age limit. We actively seek, with each intake, to offer training to the most diverse group possible whilst valuing the individual and nurturing their particular talent. The combination of different ages, backgrounds and life experiences offers a crucial training environment for all, which reflects the realities of the industry.
our people
trudi rees
Acting
Trudi trained originally in classical ballet and had a successful dance career before retraining as an actress at The Poor School, graduating in 1997. She has worked extensively in the West End, in regional theatre, television and as a Director at The Poor School for 20 years, until its closure in 2018. Recent productions include The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Tom and Viv, The Accrington Pals and The Lady from Dubuque.
marcelle davies
Movement/ Dance/ Animal Study
Marcelle was Head of Movement at The Poor School for 27 years. She has also worked at RADA, Rose Bruford College and London School of Theatre Studies. She has taught movement and early dance at BADA and for Florida State University in London their Theatre Studies course. Marcelle has worked as a Movement Director on productions at Rose Bruford and for companies such as Ridiculusmus, Shady Dolls and The Canting Crew. Originally working as a clown and acrobat and in physical theatre, she toured as an actress with companies such as Trickster Theatre, Accordo Povo, South Glamorgan’s Theatre in Education Company and Actors’ Workshop Cardiff before becoming a movement teacher.
christian fellner
Voice
Christian trained originally as a classical singer at Trinity College of Music in London and in Moscow, Russia. An interest in the spoken voice took him to the Central School of Speech and Drama where he graduated with distinction from the MA Voice Studies course. He has been teaching and coaching voice for twenty-five years, training people from all walks of life as well as many actors and singers. As a performer, he has worked as a soloist in opera and concert in Europe, Russia and the Middle East. He continues to perform as a recitalist and his recording of Schubert songs - Aufenthalt - was released in May 2016.
jonathan d’young
Movement
Jonathan originally trained at Middlesex University on the BA Performing Arts Drama course under the tutelage of John Wright. Following this, he worked with numerous companies and directors as an actor. Jonathan also has a musical background as a drummer and percussionist and was the front man of the theatrical post-punk grunge band Myernark. He later combined all of this experience into developing the theatre company, NMT Automatics that specialises in updating classical myths. As Co-Artistic Director he has produced, written, composed and created narrative based work that has explored free movement, chorus, tragedy, choreography, multi-media, object manipulation, expressionism, naturalism, epic, poor, mask and total theatre. in order to gain a greater understanding of movement, the body and his practise, he completed an MA in Movement: Directing and Teaching at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2019, and now has an approach influenced by experiential anatomy, Emile Jaques-Dalcroze’s Eurythmics, Lecoq’s sense of play and cognitive science; with a particular interest in the role of still ness, rhythm and metaphor in creating embodied action. He has taught at Rose Bruford, Central School of Speech and Drama and The School.
ian wooldridge
Acting
Ian was Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, Edinburgh, and TAG Theatre Company at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. Credits include numerous Shakespeare productions in Britain, the US and Chile, plus modern classics including Pinter, Beckett, Chekhov, Lorca, Miller, Williams and Brecht. As Dean of the British American Drama Academy in London, he worked alongside leading theatre practitioners training international theatre students. He has taught acting throughout North America and the UK, and also in Chile, Mexico, Singapore and Russia. His adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm has been performed globally, and is published by Nick Hern books.
alison de burgh
Stage Combat
Alison is the first female Fight Director - the first woman to gain entry to the Equity Register of Fight Directors. She has worked with the RSC, National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe and on numerous West End shows and national tours. Her work on opera includes the ENO, WNO, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne and many more. On screen she has worked for the BBC, and for various ‘indie’ movie companies. She was not only stunt advisor but also took a part herself in the teaser for the movie Mindhorn. As a tutor, Alison was Fight Master at the Webber Douglas Academy for sixteen years. She taught regularly at The Poor School for over ten years and provided Stage Combat classes at the Actors Centre for nine years. Alison has a Masters in Historical Research. She is also a coach with the British Academy of Fencing and is a Long Bow Champion and coach.
colin sell
Singing
Colin has worked extensively as a musical director, pianist and composer for theatre, cabaret and radio. He has provided music and songs for many radio plays, and his score for Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle has been used in regional theatres and by the NYT. He has worked a great deal in areas of light and popular music, in particular music hall and the BBC Radio 4 comedy panel game I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. He was Head of Music at Rose Bruford College from 1990 to 1998 and thereafter held the same post at East 15 Drama School, where he worked until 2015. He currently works as a freelance music tutor in drama colleges: as well as East 15, he has regularly taught on the Acting Course at Italia Conti and at Drama Studio London. meanwhile he also maintains his professional profile. He has a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies, and a PhD in Film Theory, a subject he also taught on the MA Film Directors’ Course at East 15.
stephen douse
Singing
Stephen studied singing and piano at the Royal Academy of Music, and has pursued a diverse range of professional musical activities both in the UK and in countries such as America, Japan, Holland, Switzerland, France, Spain and Germany. Having worked as a chorister with Kent Opera, Welsh National Opera, The Doyle Carte Opera Company and The London Savoyards, Stephen has sung as a soloist in the World Premiere of Lorin Maazel’s “1984” at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He continues to sing for many of the leading vocal ensembles including the BBC Singers. He is also a member of the choir of the West London Synagogue in London, and the St. Margaret’s Consort (Westminster Abbey). An experienced vocalist and keyboard player, Stephen’s career has given him many opportunities to perform with ensembles such as The Grand Union Orchestra (World Music and Jazz) and DNA Music (Dance-Opera), and the Hilliard Ensemble (Contemporary Classical world tour). Stephen was in charge of all the musical aspects of the World Performance Course at East 15 Acting School, in his capacity of Head of Music. He was also the Head of Music at ALRA, and has been a part-time teacher at LAMDA.
TRAINING AT THE SCHOOL
TRAINING AT THE SCHOOL
Find out about our training and hear from staff members and some of their former students in this video by Sophie Wilson.