Shene Stage School is run by Sophie Hallett who trained at the Webber Douglas Academy and has been teaching drama for over 20 years. In addition to teaching, she has worked extensively in casting.
Sophie is currently working for The Casting Directors’ Guild of Great Britain and Ireland.
Ed is a trumpeter, drummer, singer, pianist and singing teacher who brings his love and experience of music to the classroom. After flipping a coin to decide between studying Music or Maths, Ed studied Mathematical Sciences at the University of Bath, whilst continuing to be a musician through regular performances at shows and gigs. He particularly enjoys improvising with friends and learning new songs to allow the kids to sing what they already enjoy, as well as introducing them to new music.
Ed’s string of music qualifications is something to behold … Trumpet Grade 8, Piano Diploma DipABRSM, Singing Grade 8, Drums Grade 8, Saxophone Grade 1 & Violin Grade 1.
Improvisations, Drama & Games is taught by Elly Roberts. As a freelancer with over 12 years of experience in arts education, Elly is an experienced director and facilitator. She trained as an actor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Organisations she has worked with include the Rose Theatre Kingston, Orange Tree Theatre; NYT (National Youth Theatre), Francesca Moody Productions, We Are Fio, Forest Freedom, RWCMD and Shene Stage School. Elly loves working here as the focus is on enjoying yourself and being creative!
Dance is taught by Lucy Ward, Lucy graduated from Performance Preparation Academy with a diploma in musical theatre in 2020, having previously trained for 1 year at Urdang Academy.
She caught the performing bug at a young age and has been dancing since she was 3. She has even spent a year working at Godalming college in the performing arts department (after having previously studied there) which enabled her to really push her skill to the next level and gain lots of experience with older students.
Lucy has lots of experience teaching children of all different ages to dance, covering many different styles. Lucy thinks the most important thing to remember in her class is to have fun and the rest will come with practise.
Drama is taught by Rod Hallett, who trained at Arts Ed and has had a 30 year acting career in television, film and theatre to date.
He has worked for a number of the American streamers and networks including Netflix, Showtime, Apple+, Disney, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount, NBC, FOX, ABC as well as all the UK terrestrials.
Among his many television credits, Rod played Sir Richard Rich, throughout three seasons of the multi Emmy winning series, The Tudors. He was cast by Steven Spielberg as one of the leads in the Sci-Fi adventure series Terra Nova. Recently he’s starred as King Constantin in the action drama The Last Kingdom and it’s concluding film, Seven Kings Must Die and in the upcoming conspiracy thriller, Prime Target, opposite Leo Woodall and drama, Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. His film credits also include: ANNA opposite Brian Cox and Mark Strong, THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD with Gary Oldman and Marvel’s ANT-MAN.
Over these years, Rod has gathered a huge amount of understanding of the practicalities of a career in acting beyond the breakdown and execution of a character and whilst he is always available for advice and guidance with that, he believes teaching drama is most important for providing tools and skills that are valuable outside a career in acting. It was in becoming a father of three, he realised that within the day to day of regular education, the curriculum can rarely afford the time to focus on certain important life skills, skills that can be learned at any age (he’s also worked with people in the City) but are more easily absorbed when young. Techniques and experiences that aim to teach students to be brave, share ideas, adapt, take risks, not fear failure, forgive themselves quickly, think creatively, understand themselves and others, to be empathetic, to speak boldly and above all, to develop confidence. The clear growth he sees in the children at Shene Stage School (and within his own family) in these abilities are what drives his passion for teaching. He has been involved with Shene Stage School for over ten years now and has been the Drama teacher there since 2022.
Music is taught by Rosa who is a versatile actor musician, musical director and singer. Rosa has performed in numerous shows since graduating from Mountview in 2018. These credits include Blitz! (Union theatre) Jack and the Beanstalk (Churchill studio theatre), The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-duck (Wilton’s music hall) and Peter Pan (St Alban’s arena). Rosa is currently performing as Hansel in Hansel and Gretel around South West England on a tour with Crescendo productions, playing Beethoven music on accordion, piano and clarinet.
As suggested from their credits, Rosa is passionate about children’s theatre, and loves working with the kids at Shene stage school!