Penn

Principal: Toby Ross-Bryant

Hi my name’s Toby.

I’ve been passionate about acting ever since I was kid and was lucky enough to be part of a youth theatre from the age of ten where my confidence and love of theatre was able to grow.

I started acting professionally at the age of nineteen when I was given a part as a semi-regular character in the BBC drama The Vet, filmed in my home town of Plymouth. From there I managed to secure an agent in London and subsequently moved to the metropolis in search of acting work. After a short spell of telly marketing I managed to bag a lead role, playing Kevin McNally’s son and George Cole’s grandson in the sitcom Dad.

Appearances in comedy shows and dramas such as Chalk, Casualty, and Peak Practice followed, before I was cast in the hit BBC 1 drama Down to Earth playing the son of Pauline Quirke and Warren Clark. In between filming series of Down to Earth I had the privilege of working on Stephen Spielberg’s Band of Brothers and an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland for American TV. After stretching my acting muscles by taking these serious roles, I then went back to my “comedy roots” and was thrilled to work with Julia Davis on the hit comedy show Nighty Night. I then appeared in Kim Fuller’s radio comedy The Castle, going back to my “family roots” playing the West Country village idiot, Sam Tree.

I’ve always loved working with kids so I was thrilled when Pauline asked me to come and teach at PQA. After teaching Drama and Comedy for a year I was offered the role of Principal, a role that I relish with great enthusiasm. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with the kids at PQA, seeing them grow in confidence and helping to nurture their talents along with a team of amazing teachers.

Our Teachers

Anna

Comedy & Drama

Anna (Brook) is a professional actress and trained at Webber Douglas. Recent work has included ‘Holby City’ (with Toby!) and ‘Reuniting the Rubins’ – a feature film with Timothy Spall which will be released soon. Theatre as included ‘The Six Wives of Timothy Leary’ (Time Out Critic’s Choice) at Riverside Studios and ‘Special’ at The Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh. She has also worked on many shorts.

Anna also has a 1st Class Ba Hons degree in Media, Film and Cultural Studies from Sussex University.

Laura

Musical Theatre

Laura trained at Mountview Academy on the Musical Theatre course where she was lucky enough to receive a Dance and Drama Scholarship.

On graduating in 2003 Laura landed herself an agent and within weeks got her first role in the UK tour of The Boyfriend. Other credits include: Gone With The Wind (New London Theatre, Directed by Trevor Nunn) Criminal Justice (BBC) Rosemary and Thyme (ITV) Teechers (Singapore, Theatre Royal Basingstoke) Two Cities (Salisbury Playhouse) By Jeeves (Uk Tour) My Fair Lady (International Tour) House and Garden (Harrogate Theatre) Fairy Bow Bells (Salisbury Playhouse) Cabaret (Germany) Grease (West End International) Brenda Bly Teen Detective (The Bridewell) News Review (Canal Cafe Theatre) Girls? Eurgh! (Fortune Films) Thin Pale Foursome (MTV Pilot) and Snow (The Sound Theatre).

Laura is part of a comedy double act called CHECKLEY BUSH featuring our very own T.V and Film teacher Victoria Bush. The girls have been gigging all over London and have had sell out shows at The Camden Festival, Canal Cafe and The Soho Theatre.

Laura loves being part of the team at PQA and try’s to give the students a balance of how the profession works and having fun at the same time. She loves the sense of achievement that the job brings and seeing the students grow not just in performance but confidence makes that early morning drive from London every Saturday well worth while!!

Roz

Administration

Hi I’m Roz.

My role at PQA is to make sure all the children are accounted for on arrival and departure, general admin duties andmaking sure the environment is safe and thateveryone is having FUN!

From a very early age I was always a keen dancer and being part of a local dance academy I worked my way up to one of the top stages in dance. This however was not the career path a chose but I still attend a weekly class which I thoroughly enjoy and I have participated in shows held at the Wycombe Swan. 4 years agoI also joined a local drama group, Holmer Green Players, where I am no stranger to the stage performing regularly to an audience of many.

Watching the children learn and grow in confidence each Saturday has made working at the Pauline Quirke Academy an incredibly rewarding job.

Since joining the Academy back in June 2008 I have assisted in establishing a comfortable, relaxed and friendly atmosphere for the children to learn in which I feel is one of the best environments to make sure the children are getting as much as they can out of what they are being taught.

We are incredibly lucky to have such talented teachers within our academy who bring a lot of experience and knowledge to the modules we follow and of course answer any questions the children may have about moving in this direction later in life. The workshops are also a lot of fun and I have had to give in to having my face painted just so they could practice!

I thoroughly enjoy working at PQA and I couldn’t do it without the fantastic teachers and of course the amazing children!

Victoria

Film & television

Victoria has been interested in theatre and television since she could walk and talk! She belonged to various clubs and theatre schools growing up and competed In dance and drama at a national level. She finally got her first paid theatre job at fourteen and has been lucky enough to be involved with the industry ever since. Victoria trained at Mountview Academy, graduating with a first class honours degree in Drama & Performance. After graduating in August 2000,Victoria got her first major TV role as Tina O Kane in the hit ITV1 series Bad Girls in January 2001. When first offered the part of Tina it was originally for only four episodes playing the sister of another character, but luckily enough the audience liked her and she ended up staying for five seasons!

Victorias other credits include: Mary/ Miss Dilber in Scrooge the Musical (National Tour) Sylvia in Stepping Out (Theatre Royal, Lincoln) Lizy in Snow! The Musical (Sound Theatre Leicester Sq) Fairy Godmother in Cinderella (Rickmansworth, Watersmeet) Miss Cowper in Cash on Delivery (National Tour) and Victoria has been lucky enough to have made personal appearances on Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, The All Star Talent Show and Children in Need.

Victoria is part of a comedy double act called CHECKLEY BUSH with our very own Musical Theatre teacher Laura Checkley. The girls have been gigging all over London and have had sell out shows at The Camden Festival, Canal Cafe and The Soho Theatre.

Victoria loves teaching at PQA and enjoys seeing the kids having fun whilst learning new skills. Victoria says Drama is an incredibly important life skill regardless of where you want to take it, It brings with it a wealth of confidence and allows a person to be an articulate team player