PQA Lytham St Annes.

Caroline Heywood

After graduating from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Caroline worked professionally as an actress with roles in for Russel T Davis’s TV series ‘The Grand’, in the National Theatre Tour of ‘A Little Princess’ and as ‘Foible’ in She Stoops to Conquer National Tour. Turning away from performing Caroline has spent the last 25 years directing, teaching and writing for theatre companies, universities and schools. She has returned to her love of Shakespeare by performing in outdoor productions of ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and directed an award winning production of ‘The Full Monty’ for The Christie Musical Theatre Company. Caroline currently has a screenplay and television comedy drama in development with Paul Coleman (creator of BBC’s The Power of Parker).

Courtney Bryan

Ed Rugman

Ed Rugman studied at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), specialising in organ, piano, and conducting, and held organ scholarships at Manchester and Blackburn Cathedrals. He went on to work with leading choirs including the BBC Singers, while also pursuing passions for musical theatre, jazz, and composing for TV and film. From 2014-17 Ed was Musical Director and Arranger for Russell Watson, touring the UK, performing at the BBC Proms, and appearing internationally. He later became Musical Director for Collabro - the world’s top-selling musical theatre vocal group - performing at over a thousand venues and accompanying stars including Sheridan Smith, Marisha Wallace, Ramin Karimloo, Kerry Ellis, and Lea Salonga. In 2018 he conducted West End Proms Live with full orchestra at Greenwich. Ed co-founded Ten Forward Music Productions, creating orchestrations, scores, and tracks for Collabro, producing their Top 20 album Road to the Royal Albert Hall, and working as vocal coach for Britain’s Got Talent. He has written for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC wildlife documentaries, and projects with the Chelsea Pensioners and Madness. In 2015, he became the first pianist broadcast in space, recording with Russell Watson for NASA’s Pluto New Horizons mission.

Emily Holdsworth

From attending weekly sessions at PQA Lytham St Annes, Emily went on to study at Performance Preparation Academy in Guildford, where she received a first-class BA Hons degree in Acting. As well as being an Actor, Emily is an event singer and has a huge love for travelling the world. Emily has always been drawn to getting creative and telling stories, whether that’s through a scene, a song, or other ways that allow her to connect with people. Since graduating, Emily has had the amazing opportunity to act in a short film ‘TORN’ that went on to win multiple awards. PQA allowed Emily to grow as both an individual and as a performer and she is so excited to be able to help young performers fuel their own love for the arts!

Erin Ward

Erin has been dancing since the age of five, performing in shows at theatres such as the Grand Theatre, and many more. Erin has taken exams in multiple dance styles and absolutely loves every style thrown at her, especially jazz! Having trained previously at her dance school for thirteen years, Erin moved on to dance A-Level and is now loving every moment of her second year of college training in dance and musical theatre. While Erin loves nothing more than being on stage and performing in front of huge audiences, her true passion and career aspiration is teaching. Having taught in schools, for charities, and of course in dance studios, she has discovered that teaching the next generation of performers and ensuring that they have the positive experience she did, is so important to her. For that reason, Erin is ecstatic to be a part of the PQA family.

Joseph McGuinness

Joseph is a former PQA Lytham St Annes student with a passion for the performing arts. During his time at PQA, he had the opportunity to perform in a West End show, attend Cinema Screenings and various other productions. He also studied A Level Drama, and successfully completed his Gold Medal LAMDA exams in Acting and Verse and Prose. Now studying Law at university, Joseph is excited to return to PQA and give back to the academy. He is thrilled to be part of the team once again and looks forward to helping students discover their own talents. Above all, Joseph hopes that everyone has fun and makes the most of their time at PQA, just as he did.

Leon Hardman

Olivia Kennally

Olivia has performed since the age of 3, competing and winning competitions and championships from a young age. She graduated from Phil Winston’s Theatreworks where she gained her IDTA teaching qualifications and has now been a member of their faculty for several years providing Tap, Musical Theatre, Jazz, Lyrical and conditioning. As well as performing and voiceover work, teaching has always been a passion of Olivia’s, teaching internationally in a variety of workshops and schools covering all genres of dance.

Savannah Hyman

Savannah has been performing since the age of seven and has always had a strong passion for musical theatre. Savannah has performed in several shows along the Fylde Coast and is eager to explore different performing and teaching opportunities. She is currently attending Blackpool Theatre Collective studying musical theatre, however Savannah has always wanted to pursue teaching. She loves being a part of the PQA family and is thrilled to help train the next generation of performers.