The Fonact Team

Laurent trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, one of the world’s leading drama conservatoires. After graduating, he worked closely with Christian Burgess, contributing as a director to the Preliminary Acting Course and the Guildhall Summer School, developing a strong foundation in the British conservatoire training tradition.

In France, Laurent collaborated with major national institutions. At ENSATT, he assisted Hungarian director Árpád Schilling on the devised production Audition, Competition. He later worked at the Théâtre National de Strasbourg (TNS) as a movement teacher and served on the panel for the national entrance auditions in 2012. Internationally, he collaborated with Julie Brochen and Christian Burgess in Italy at Prima del Teatro.

In 2014, he founded FONACT, with the vision of creating a world-class conservatoire in continental Europe rooted in the rigor of British actor training. Under his leadership, FONACT has grown into an internationally recognised institution, welcoming students from across the world and developing collaborations with leading organisations such as University College London and University of Notre Dame.

Alongside his work as an educator, Laurent is an active director and producer.

Laurent also holds an Executive Master’s degree from École Polytechnique, where he specialised in strategic analysis, market positioning, and innovation. This dual background in artistic direction and high-level strategic thinking informs his approach to building FONACT as both a creative institution and a sustainable international organisation.

As an actor, director, and pedagogue, Laurent’s work is driven by a clear vision: to train actors with precision, discipline, and creative autonomy, capable of engaging with the highest professional standards across theatre and screen.

Lucy has worked mostly in the entertainment industry from major corporate entertainment brands – SciFi Channel & MTV Europe – to working with documentary producers and HNW private consultancy start-ups in both the UK and France. Fluent in both languages, Lucy uses her expertise in client services and events to manage the administration and finance operations, assisting the faculty staff and most importantly the students from the beginning of their Fonact journey to the end and beyond.

Christian Burgess trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. He worked as an actor for many years in theatre, TV & film. Theatre Companies include: National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court, Shared Experience, Joint Stock, Manchester Royal Exchange, Riverside Studios, Donmar.

Christian was appointed Head of Acting at Guildhall in 2003 and Director of Drama 2011-2018; from 2014-18 he was appointed Vice-Principal. Christian has directed many projects and full-scale productions at the School, and has encouraged cross-disciplinary engagement between actors, musicians and production arts students. He has directed 10 projects for Prima del Teatro, an annual international theatre festival in Tuscany, as well as workshops in UK, China and Argentina. Christian has collaborated with Laurent de Montalembert for many years, and is now an Acting Course Director at Fonact.

Grace trained as an actor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama (BA Acting).

Acting credits include: The Forbidden Zone (Katie Mitchell, Schaubühne), Peer Gynt (London Symphony Orchestra), Tomorrow I Was Always a Lion (Belarus Free Theatre), The Winter’s Tale (Cheek by Jowl), Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet (Actors From The London Stage), Macbeth (Sophie Fiennes/Cheek by Jowl), and Twelfth Night (Kirsty Bushell). She is also an award-winning filmmaker and voiceover artist, voicing video games including Battlefields V, and multiple audiobook titles on Audible.

As an Acting Tutor, Grace holds an MA in Actor Training and Coaching from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (distinction). London credits include projects at Guildhall (multiple departments), Central (BA, MA, Acting Diploma), ArtsEd (BA, MA, Foundation), Mountview (Foundation) and Home Studio London. International credits include: Fontainebleau School of Acting (Paris, Athens), Ensatt L’École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théatre (Lyon), The Danish National School of Performing Arts (Copenhagen), Prima del Teatro (Pisa) and multiple universities and correctional facilities across the USA. She recently directed FONACT London, a 3-Month Acting Intensive, Athens, Serious Play at GSMD and the Acting Diploma at Central.

Her current research investigates risk in effective actor training.

Jamie Bradley studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Chelsea College of Art. He has extensive experience in theatre, television and film and has performed with companies such as Complicite, Kneehigh, Transport and Fevered Sleep as well as at the National Theatre.

He has directed and devised multiple projects at Guildhall, Fontainebleau School of Acting and LAMDA and as a teacher has led workshops for Complicite, Transport, Selma Susanna Studio Amsterdam, Pro Corda and English Chamber Orchestra.

Lucinda trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and has worked for over a decade across theatre and television. Before training as an actor, she read History at the University
of Oxford and later completed an MA in Text and Performance at RADA and King’s College London.

She worked for many years as a teacher and director at Guildhall, with BA and MA classical acting students, as well as within the opera and music departments. She established and led the first two
years of the Preliminary Acting Course at the conservatoire, contributed to the Guildhall Summer School, and was part of the panel auditioning BA and MA actors, both in the UK and internationally.

She later became an Acting Course Director at the Fontainebleau School of Acting, where she held the role for seven years, before founding her own consultancy, The Baskerville Project. She now
returns to FONACT to deliver masterclasses and contribute to selected projects as a visitingdirector.

A core component of her work is the exploration of heightened text, including Shakespeare and poetry, as a conduit to emotional truth and human connection. She is curious about the states of
vulnerability and authenticity, their relationship to art, and how they function as relational conditions through which meaning takes shape. Her work draws on applied theatre practice, group
dynamics, complexity theory, and somatic practice, engaging the relational field as a site of artistic and social transformation.

Lucinda works across executive education, the arts, mental health, and public institutions, supporting individuals and groups to find a more grounded, responsive, and authentic voice.

Tom trained at The Guildhall School of Music & Drama. He has worked extensively in theatre, film and television with numerous highly regarded directors such as Mike Bradwell, Declan Donnellan, Owen Horsley, Ned Bennet, Michael Winterbottom and Stephen Merchant.

Theatre includes: DNA (Hull Truck), Outside On The Street (Pleasance/Arcola), Solid Air (Plymouth Theatre Royal), Shakespeare in Love (West End), POSH (Nottingham/Salisbury Playhouse), Buggy Baby (The Yard). Screen credits include: House of Dragons (HBO) The Outlaws (BBC), And Then There Were None (BBC), Casualty (BBC) Doctors (BBC) and The Trip To Spain (Sky Atlantic). Film credits include: The Bystanders, Ninilla Ninilla, Inmate Zero and, The Ian Banks Appreciation Society. He has also recorded numerous audiobooks and voiceovers.

Tom has a particular passion for movement and has worked as a movement director in both theatre and film, including the feature film ‘Inmate Zero’ and most recently on ‘SKRIK’ at The National Theatre of Belgium. Tom works in the Guildhall audition process and at East 15 Acting School.

Claudia is an award winning actor who trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama . Prior to this, she studied Ancient History at the University of Bristol.
As an actor she has worked extensively across Theatre, Film, Television and Radio. She was in the original cast of Girl from the North Country (Old Vic, West End) and her other theatre credits include: The Butterfly Lion (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest (The Watermill), Men (Arcola) and Girlband (Matchstick Piehouse). TV and Film credits include; On Chesil Beach (BBC), Endeavour (ITV), The Feed (Amazon) and NW (BBC).

Ed trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Prior to this he studied Drama/English at the University of Bristol and worked in the Education department at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Theatre credits include Dear Brutus (Southwark Playhouse), First Light (Chichester Festival Theatre), and Cheek by Jowl’s production of The Winter’s Tale (Barbican, BAM, International & U.K. Tour).

He has directed extensively for the award-winning Young Pleasance Theatre company. As of 2018, he has been on the audition panel at Guildhall for the BA and MA acting programmes.

Oscar trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he was awarded the Gold Medal for Acting on graduating in 2015. Since then, his theatre credits include: Richard III and All’s Well That Ends Well (RSC), Tina: The Musical and Noises Off (West End), The Suppliant Women (Young Vic/UK tour), Trevor Nunn’s Shakespeare histories trilogy The Wars of the Roses (Rose, Kingston) The One That Got Away, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Whale, 1984, and Emma (Theatre Royal Bath) Stella (LIFT/Brighton Theatre Royal) Skylight (Theatr Clwyd) The Other Boleyn Girl (Chichester Festival Theatre) A Christmas Carol (Birmingham Rep) and Egyptians (Gulbenkian).

On television he can be seen as DC Carmoody in ITV’s new drama Gone, as well as in Truelove (Channel 4) Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints (Fox Nation), The Death of Bunny Munro (Sky), A Spy Among Friends(ITV) and Obsession (Netflix).

He has worked in radio and voiceover on numerous projects for BBC3, Global, Big Finish, Penguin and Audible.

Oscar is a visiting practitioner at Fonact in France as well as on their short courses in London and Argentina. He is also a visiting acting tutor at University College London.

Charles is a filmmaker, music producer, and head of film at FONACT.
He studied Music at both l’École ATLA and The American School of Modern Music in Paris.

After twelve years performing on stage as a singer, he founded his production studio Firgun Recordings in 2013, specializing in music production, sound design, and video creation.

He is the founder of actoreel.com, a platform dedicated to creating high-end showreels for actors. Through this work, he has collaborated with and directed dozens of actors, crafting cinematic material that meets the highest professional standards and helps position them within the industry.

Alongside this, Charles has developed a strong voice as a director. He has written and directed more than a dozen short films, several of which have been selected in international festivals and awarded for their artistic and cinematic quality.

A core member of FONACT since its creation, Charles leads all film-related work within the school. He directs student films, production teasers, and visual content, shaping the school’s cinematic identity and ensuring that actors are trained to meet the demands of on-screen performance at a professional level.

He also oversees sound design and original music composition across FONACT’s productions.

Jeremy Banster is a French actor, writer, director and producer.
His acting career began at the Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, Paris in 1995. His teachers were Jean-Pierre Martino, Tsillah Chelton, and Didier Sandre. Jeremy co-produced and co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film Pure Life, which he shot in French Guiana, Brazil, Surinam, Paris and Toulon, France. The film was selected in many film festivals around the world and won numerous awards including Best First Feature movie and Best Young Actor at The Lumieres Awards, Prize of the Foreigners World Press.

In 2016, with his film company, Cantina Studio, he worked on the Canadian TV series, X Company (CBS) and on feature movies in France such as The Sleeper by the River by Manuel Sanchez (Cesar Nomination) and The Hand of Fatma by Ahmed El Manounni (Best Director in the Tangier International Film Festival). In the same year, he began teaching cinema to our students at Fonact and The European City Of Cinema of Luc Besson.

Daniel McGrath is a distinguished former Head of Movement and Programme Leader for Acting Studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, blending rigorous classical training with innovative techniques. He’s an alumnus of Guildhall’s Acting Programme, further refined by Philippe Gaulier’s teaching in Mask, Buffon, Play, and Clown. McGrath’s expertise is also shaped by movement pioneers like Trish Arnold and Shona Morris. His professional journey encompasses both acting and movement choreography, contributing to notable productions across prestigious venues like Birmingham Rep and the Old Vic London.

Marc Proulx trained at the National Canadian School of Circus and has a degree in Fine Arts. After a long career in circus, opera, dance theatre and arts installations he has taught for over 20 years in top national circus and theatre school, such as the National Theatre of Strasbourg where he is a core teacher.

His research in the field of acting training led him to develop many physical tools using floor work, stick work, mask work and other devices as a mean to free the actors imagination and movement.

Marc has been a visiting movement teacher at Fonact for the last two years. His work has exposed the students to a high level of expertise allowing them to understand movement and space with the aim to increase their physical awareness and maturity

Wendy trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She held the post of Head of Movement at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for 25 years and is a founder member of L’Oltrarno, Acting School in Florence. Other teaching credits include: Colorado College USA, Conservatoire Stratford Ontario, Canada, Penn State summer schools, Laboratorio Internationale Teatro Degli Astrussi in Montalcino/St Mineato, l’Accademia SilviovD’Amico, Rome, LAMDA, Colby London Programme, BESG and BADA.

Wendy has worked extensively as an actress, including West End, RSC, repertory theatre and tours across the USA, UK and Sweden. She is best known as Jennifer, Ronnie Corbett’s fiancé in Sorry, and Wendy, the ex-wife in Dear John. Other TV includes The Regiment, Rough Justice, Juliet Bravo, The Bill and many others.

Her film credits include: Oh What a Lovely War, When Eight Bells Toll, Tales from Beyond the Grave, All Coppers Are, Priest of Love, Wuthering Heights, and Il Rosario.

Movement Director: Sky TV’s Fungus the Bogeyman (2016), BBC’s Walking with Cavemen, and The Iceman Murderer. Wendy has been the Master of Movement at Shakespeare’s Globe 1st season and recently Henry V1 parts 1, 2 and 3. Revival choreographer for Welsh national Opera’s Magic Flute, (Out of Joint / RNT) She Stoops to Conquer and A Laughing Matter, Romeo and Juliet & Private Lives (Mercury) Brothers Karamazov, Maybe and Private Lives (Manchester Royal Exchange) India Song (Clywd), Goliath, Voyage in The Dark, and A Wedding Story (Sphinx).

Directing: Mozart Project Live and Leave My Hair Alone. Wendy has also directed numerous internal drama school projects with,1st, 2nd and 3rd year productions at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Choreographer and dance teacher specializing in contemporary, jazz and dance theatre.

Following training in jazz and classical dance and winning a lot of medals in international competitions with the JCDM school, as well as an apprenticeship in theatre, music and lyrical singing, she joined the Centre’s educational training CHOREIA in Paris in 2005 and graduated as a professor in 2007.
Since then, she has taught and created projects at multiple structures (conservatories, and private schools, Theatre Vocational Training Schools, Film Production Societies, Theatre, Singing, National Education, Sportsmen professionals …).

With the desire to develop her choreographic writing and teaching, she regularly attends contemporary dance and dance-theatre workshops in Norway and Portugal with internationally recognized performers and choreographers such as Inaki Azpilaga, Maté Meszaros, Dymitry Szyspura, Ricardo Ambrozio (Cie Ultima
Vez), Ted Stoffer (Aphasia Dance Co,Les Ballets C de la B ..), Rakesh Sukesh (Sidi Larbi Company), Samuel Lefeuvre (Cie Peeping Tom), Sam Coren (Hofesh Sheshter Co.)
Eager to develop her creativity, she decided to set up her own company “Le Ballet Désaxé” in 2011 where she developed a choreographic language described by the public as “singular and poetic” mixing the energy of jazz with the gestures of contemporary dance and dance-theatre. In 2013, she founded her own Dance School “The Dance School of the Ballet Désaxé” in Fontainebleau (77).

Marta Horyza follows the creative path – seeing it as an active way of meeting life and humanity in its full potential. She shares her creative experience as a performer, musician, practitioner, pedagogue and a linocut artist.

Marta graduated from Fontainebleau School of Acting in France (Two-Year Professional Conservatoire Training), where she currently continues to pursue her interest in leading voice work as a member of Voice Department under the mentorship of Nia Lynn.

After 13 years of classical music training, studying jazz, performing in musical theaters and at Polish sung-poetry festivals, she finally found a home for her voice in traditional polyphonic songs through encountering the work of ‘Singing as Life Practice’ led by Emma Bonnici; which she actively participates since 2016.

In the years of 2016-2023 Marta was part of Studio Kokyu (Grotowski Institute in Poland); where she took part both in the performative aspect of work; participating in daily practice and performing in pieces such as ’Halo?’, ’I Come to You River – Ophelia Fractured’, ’Action Medea’ and in the first phase of research on ’Trinity’, as well as in the educational programmes of the Studio, where she co-led the voice work. Her focus as a teacher comes from the principles of physical and vocal ensemble work.

Since 2024 she has been a freelance artist; following her own creative practice and research as well as stepping into new creative collaborations with both independent artists and internationally renowned institutions.

Nia Lynn MA Voice /MMus BMus/Jazz Dip.Yoga

Nia has a Masters in Voice from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, following a Masters in Creative Learning from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Nia is a leading voice practitioner, with over 18 years experience working with Professional Actors for Theatre, Radio, Film and Television. She works in a professional theatre context, working with companies such as the RSC, Donmar Warehouse, Young Vic to name but a few. Her role often integrates voice coaching, body and breath work as well as accent and dialects. She has a keen understanding of vocal health and the anatomy and physiology of the speaking voice. She is a Visiting lecturer at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, The Royal Welsh College of Music and drama, and is an Education Associate Practitioner at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Nia is the Principle Study Jazz singing teacher at The Royal Academy of Music, London and Royal Welsh college of Music and Drama Since 2004. She travels internationally, and has a peerless educational and performance reputation with a varied and eclectic performance CV. Her ability to train and facilitate music workshops, choirs and ensembles on a large scale or an intimate setting takes her around the world as a performer and sought after teacher/facilitator. Nia is also a Honorary associate, for her service to education at The Royal Academy of Music London

Zoe is a voice, text and dialect coach based in London. After ten years of working as an actress, including a variety of UK and International Tours, The Arcola, Buxton Opera House (including Dance Captain and Assistant Director), Vienna English Theatre and The Young Shakespeare Company, as well as working as a voice- over for audiobooks and commercials. Zoe decided to focus her skills into Voice and Dialect coaching for Actors, creatives, and professional voice users. Whilst training at Bristol Old Vic, Zoe has been fortunate enough to work as the assistant voice and dialect coach on Sammy and the Sea Morgans (Tour) and Catastrophe Bay (Bristol Old Vic Theatre). Zoe has also been the Voice and Dialect coach on Bull and Hamlet (Wardrobe Theatre), as well as continuing to coach private dialect and voice clients, and teaching text and voice at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

A selection of Zoe’s Theatre Credits include; Summerfolk, Ballet Shoes (2025) and The Land of the Living at The National Theatre. Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Playboy of the Western World (as assistant) at The National Theatre. Into the Mouth of the Wolf, Double Double and Men Behaving Badly for The Barn Theatre.

Dr Semmelweis at Harold Pinter and Matilda the Musical for the RSC. The Promise at Birmingham Rep; and Art at Repertory Philippines, Manila.

After her conservatoire actor training at The Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, Ellen went on to gain an MA in Shakespeare and Theatre from The Shakespeare Institute, and an MA in Professional Voice Practice from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Ellen has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company for over seven years. Recent work for the RSC includes Voice and Text work on: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry IV – Rebellion (Royal Shakespeare Theatre), Hamnet, Romeo and Juliet – Next Generation (Swan Theatre), Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night – First Encounters (National Tours), and Hamlet – Next Generation (The Other Place). Work for Shakespeare’s Globe includes Voice and Accent work on Princess Essex and Text Consultation on The Taming of the Shrew.

Other Voice and Text support for theatre includes: The Allesley Silas, Club B2 (Coventry Belgrade), and Crongton Knights (Coventry Belgrade with Derby Theatre & York Theatre Royal).

Voice and Dialect support for theatre includes: Becoming Nancy (Birmingham Rep), Of Mice and Men (Birmingham Rep with Leeds Playhouse inc. National Tour) and Freeman (Birmingham Rep, Edinburgh Fringe, National & International Tours).

In addition to her professional work, Ellen has taught on both acting and professional voice practice degree courses up to MA level. She has taught all areas of voice and text at drama schools including: Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, Performers Collage, and Leeds Conservatoire. Ellen has a particular interest in creating, developing, and promoting inclusive practice, particularly in relation to supporting a neurodivergent actor’s access to effective text exploration.

Youla Boudali is based in Athens, Greece. She studied theatre and cinema in Athens (B.A.), Crete (M.A),
Utrecht, London and New York.
Since 2011 she is working in theatre and cinema as actor, writer, director, and producer.
Her theater work has been presented in collaboration with independent theaters, the Greek National
Theatre, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, the SGT Onassis Foundation and All of Greece one
Culture (Greek National Opera).
In cinema she has written and directed with the German director Elke Lehrenkrauss Mothers of
Daughters, a docu-fiction short film for Eleusis European Capital of Culture 2023 (Thessaloniki Film
Festival 2024), she has co-signed the scripts of the acclaimed feature films Homeland (Venice Critics’
Week 2010) directed by Syllas Tzoumerkas, A Blast (Locarno International Film Fesrival 2014), directed
by Syllas Tzoumerkas, The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea, directed by Syllas Tzoumerkas (Berlin Film
Festival 2019).
She has collaborated in the development of the script of the film I will cross tomorrow by Sepideh Farsi
and To a Land Unknown by Mahdi Fleifel (Cannes Film Festival 2024)

Her film credits as an actor include among other roles in Homeland by Syllas Tzoumerkas, Babeldom by
Paul Bush (Rotterdam IFF 2012), In the Fade by Fatih Akin (Cannes Film Festival 2017), Her Job by
Nikos Labot, The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea by Syllas Tzoumerkas (Berlin Film Festival) and The Arc
by Aristotelis Maragkos (Thessaloniki Film Festival 2025) Patty is such a girly name by Giorgos
Georgopoulos (Tallin Black Nights Film Festival 2025).
She is a member of the Greek Film Academy as actor and screenwriter.

Born in Athens, at the age of eighteen she moved to Munich Germany to study opera with Kammersänger Joseph Metternich and Marilyn Schmiege. She continued her studies in opera in Paris at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris where she graduated in 2007 as a mezzo soprano. On the meantime she studied musicology at the universities Sorbonne Paris IV and Paris 8.

In 2008 she returned in Athens and created the company oper(o) (www.opero.gr) , one of the first independent opera companies in Greece which experiments with opera and music theatre. She has since created various performances both in major greek institutions ( Greek National Opera, Greek National Theatre, Athens Megaron etc) as well as in alternative, non-theatrical spaces, site specific and street performances.

In 2011 she received the Fulbright Artists Scholarship and went in New York at the Manhattan School of Music to continue her work on opera. From 2011 to 2016 she directed the community theatre company of the KETHEA rehabilitation centre and from 2015 to 2019 she taught theatre arts in the International Baccalaureate IBDP of the Hellenic American Educational Foundation in Athens. In June 2016 she received a scholarship from the university of Barcelona to participate in the workshop and performance “Sobre la Memoria” of the company La Fura Dels Baus in Barcelona. Since 2017 she runs and directs two community theatre companies of amateur actors while in 2019 she directed for the Onassis Youth Festival. She Working on an online interactive performance named “AψURDISM” released in May 2021 and for a site specific creation of contemporary music theatre in collaboration with the Greek National Opera. She is a founding member of the WOM.A – Women in Arts initiative, for the support, empowerment and fight against gender discriminationsof women in the arts in Greece.

Edward Bennett has been an actor for 17 years. His passion is Shakespeare having been born and raised close to Stratford-Upon-Avon.

He has played leading roles for the RSC including Hamlet, Benedick and Berowne.

He has appeared in leading roles for the National Theatre and others nationally and internationally as well as appearing in film and television. He has just finished filming the New Ridley Scott film about Napoleoan starring Joaquin Phoenix and will shortly be filming the 3rd season of ‘Cobra’ on Sky.

In 2023, Edward will be at the RSC, further developing the ideas of rhetoric within the artistic process with a series of residencies.

https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/edward-bennett-0

Jo first trained as an actor at Drama Centre London. He worked extensively in theatre, film and television in both England and France, with Tony Richardson, Nick Roeg, Mike Newell, Anthony Page, Bill Douglas, François Truffaut, Roger Michell and Peter Brook.

He then studied film at The National Film and Television School. His film Fragments won: Outstanding Film of the Year, at the 1984 London Film Festival.

In 1994 he went back to the theatre as a director. He has directed many plays both in Continental Europe: Brussels, Paris, Venice, Stockholm and Rome, and in England at: Hampstead Theatre, The Gate, Riverside Studios, Manchester Royal Exchange, The White Bear, The Southwark Playhouse and The Arcola Theatre.

As well as directing in the professional theatre he has directed over 100 productions with graduating students at leading Drama schools, including: Rada, Lamda, Drama Centre London, Arts Educational School, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, Guilford School of Acting.

In the late 70s he was asked to teach acting to dancers at Maurice Béjart’s academy (Mudra) in Brussels, and subsequently to opera singers at The Verbier Music Festival and at The Banff Centre for Arts in Canada.

In addition to directing and teaching he has run many workshops at The National Film and Television School, The National Theatre Studio, Room One, The Actors Centre, Caravancerai Productions, Prima Del Teatro and The Royal College of Art.

He joined Fonact at its very inception in 2015.

Kirsty is an actress, director, writer and teacher. She studied English Literature at QMW, and trained to be an actress at LAMDA.

Kirsty has worked extensively in theatre and television, playing lead roles at the RSC, National Theatre, The Globe Theatre, The Royal Court, The Bush and many other British Theatres. She has worked internationally with Ivo Van Hove and Out of Joint, as well as working with many prominent directors that include: Peter Gill, Michael Grandage, Daniel Kramer, Josie Rouke, Lyndsey Turner, Sean Holmes, Maria Aberg and Jonathan Munby.

Kirsty has also had the good fortune to work alongside exceptional writers such as: Caryl Churchill, Simon Stephens, Ayad Akhtar, David Elridge, David Grieg, Dennis Kelly, Sam Holcroft and Morgan Lloyd Malcolm.

On leaving drama school, Kirsty was trained to lead Shakespeare workshops at the National Theatre and it was here that her desire to teach was born. She has worked at LAMDA for the past 13 years and has directed many productions. Laurent de Montalembert was one of her first students at LAMDA, and she was delighted when he asked her to join the Fonact staff. Kirsty has been teaching at Fonact regularly for the last 4 years.

Michelle Loucadoux Fraser is a multi-hyphenate, multi-passionate artist and educator. She has performed in five Broadway musicals including playing the role of Hope Harcourt with Sutton Foster and Joel Grey in the Tony award-winning Anything Goes, originating the Broadway cast of The Little Mermaid as Adella and eventually playing the title role of Ariel, performing the role of Babette in Beauty and the Beast, originating the Broadway cast of Mary Poppins, and singing alongside Paul McCartney in Chance and Chemistry. Previous to joining Broadway, she danced professionally for New Jersey Ballet, Greensboro Ballet, Lexington Ballet, and was a trainee at the Richmond Ballet, performing roles from the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker to Balanchine’s Serenade. She studied ballet at the American Ballet Theatre School in New York and Nutmeg Conservatory and vocal performance with David Castonguay at Radford University. On screen, Michelle starred in films including Across the Universe and The Bounce Back and has appeared on television in shows including Criminal Minds, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and The View.

Michelle is the co-founder of Danscend, a company that provides mental health resources for dancers and dance educators. With Danscend, she travels around the world speaking about how dancers can both cope with the stressors related to dance and train their minds to help them perform at their highest level. Michelle has an MBA  from Western Governor’s University, a BA in English from Virginia Commonwealth University, and she is a published author (Roman and Littlefield – Making it Werk: A Dancer’s Guide to the Business of Dance). She is currently co-chair of the dance division at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles (AMDA) and in her spare time, she enjoys long-distance running, reading, and spending time with her family. 

Diane Le Maire, is a certified clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, who has worked with both adults and children in mental health for the last 20 years, within different health institutions and privately.

The “Fonact Psychology Support” sessions allow all students to have access to a professional psychology consultant during their course for personal mental support in the different aspects of this training experience as an actor/actress where different issues from subjective to interactive problematics may emerge.

We believe this enhances the student’s creativity and further develops the acting talent during the training course by getting to know more about the student’s personality and how they function mentally, by acknowledging issues and working through them. In doing so, the aim is that these issues do not hinder the student during his/her programme.

Edmund is a psychodynamic therapist, with experience working as a psychotherapist in a North London NHS Trust. He now runs his own private practice in Fontainebleau. He holds an MSc with distinction in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy from Birkbeck, University of London, and is a registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP). He has professional experience in the creative arts, having spent the last 15 years as a songwriter and performer.

Thomas graduated from the French National University for Sports Studies and Development in 2005. He has been a personal trainer and fitness coach for the last 10 years, Thomas has trained hundreds of people to help them achieve their physical goals. He has been a member of the French Boxing Federation for over 9 years. His holistic approach engulfs all aspects of life including, nutrition, recovery, and tailored training plans.

Since joining the Fonact team he has injected his values into the core of our students training, pushing them to their limits in a safe environment enabling them to gain a real sense of confidence. Joy, work, rigor, intensity, cohesion, persistence, pleasure… are some of the ingredients of Thomas’ work with our students.

Andrew Bunsell is a composer, director and cultural producer published by Mute and Hands In The Dark. He is the founder of Dalston Studios, Dalston Music Festival, Hakisac Records and directs the Open Sound programme. His work has been shown internationally and has grown to include sound design and music composition for film and theatre. Andrew works with a dedicated production team including writers and filmmakers.

Aurelien is a filmmaker, photographer, musician and music composer.
He performed on stage for 12 years as a guitarist before joining Firgun Recordings Studio in 2017.
Aurelien is a specialist in videography for projects in music & theater live screening, clips and short films. He also specializes in photography, in particular portraits, live music sessions & theatre.
He joined the Fonact staff 3 years ago and has assisted several directors for short movie projects & cinema courses

Charlotte is a French and English speaking Stage Manager and was trained at the Chichester College in Stage Management and Technical Theatre. She has worked as a location marshal on various
series and films such as Gangs of London and Operation Mincemeat alongside the Location Manager, Ben Mangham.

She has also worked at the Chichester Festival Theatre as props maker and costume maker since 2016 and has helped on their youth productions such as Peter Pan and Wizard of Oz.

Charlotte is now a freelancer in both the film and theatre industry and since December 2020 has worked alongside Joseph Blatchley and Kirsty Bushell on their projects at FONACT

Helene is a set designer based in Paris. She works extensively with Fonact on stage productions combining
creativity and practicality by collaborating with directors and actors, as well as closely studying the
scripts. She also works on graphic design for Fonact, and is a graduate of the 2 year professional
conservatoire training.
When she’s not working on Fonact projects, she also designs interiors for commercial, residential, and naval
projects.

Helene graduated from the London KLC School of Interior design in 2017.

Jojo is a Performance Designer based in London and Paris whose work predominantly focuses on costume and character. She collaborates closely with actors and directors throughout the process to produce work which embodies narrative through materials and movement. Jojo is a graduate of Central St Martins in 2017 where she was awarded fist class honours. Over the last four years she has been working predominantly in theatre, making work with organisations such as Rambert School, Disney and Fonact, however has also began branching out into film.

Marie d’Elbée is an artist and cultural producer specialising in developing creative communities around ambitious art projects. Having worked with hundreds of artists and participants, she is also the founder of London’s Open Source Contemporary Arts. She has led the Gillett Square Gillett Square Arts Centre proposal for the urban renewal project commissioned by Hackney Council and Academy of Urbanism, founded the Gillett Square London platform for collaboration and exchange as well as Stamford X Studios. She holds an MA from Central Saint Martin’s and has worked as an art critic and writer for a decade.

Pia studied at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD) and the Beaux Arts de Paris (ENSBA).

She has worked for the past 10 years as a scenographer for theatre productions and as an exhibition designer. She collaborates regularly with Elise Capdenat on productions which are shown in leading theatres around France and festivals such as the Festival d’Automne à Paris. Pia also freelances for institutions such as the Theatre du Chatelet, La Grande Halle de la Villette and the Theatre de L’Odéon. She is an active member of Scénogrrrraphie, a research group created in March 2020, that aims to develop eco-friendly design practices and teaching in theatre and exhibition design.