Artistic Director and founder of The Biz, Erika Vincent has been in show business for over thirty years since making her stage debut at the age of four in a Royal Gala in The West End.
Since then after training at the famous Bush-Davies School, her career has taken her to the English National Opera Company at the London Coliseum where she performed in La Traviata and Simon Boccanegra, to the Royal National Theatre where she performed in the European premiere and Olivier award winning production of Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park With George, and The West End where her credits include Maria Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes with Ron Moody at the Cambridge Theatre as well as numerous productions such as West Side Story, Mr Cinders, The Merchant of Venice, The Wizard of Oz and The Beggars Opera.
TV appearances include her television debut at the age of nine in Junior Showtime, several Royal Variety Performances and feature films such as Heaven's Gate with John Hurt and Kris Krisstoferson, (directed by Michael Cimino).
DIRECTOR and CHOREOGRAPHER for several Musicals including Annie, Grease, The Wizard of Oz, Tours , Summer Seasons and pantomimes. Erika is also an experienced drama, singing and dance coach and regularly coaches professionals for West-End auditions and drama school entry. Erika also directed and produced our recent successful productions of Guys and Dolls, Oliver! and The Wiz.
As an EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, Erika has been responsible for productions such as Lettice & Lovage, Huckleberry Finn, Kind Hearts and Coronets with Robert Powell and Colin Baker, The 39 Steps starring Simon Ward and George Sewell, The Ladykillers with Tim Brooke-Taylor, Dulcie Gray and Brian Murphy, Passport to Pimlico with Ian Lavender and Kate O'Mara as well as pantomimes and summer repertory seasons.
Anna Walker - dance, drama and singing
Anna trained at
Phil Winston's Theatreworks in Blackpool, from there she embarked on her
professional dance career. She has danced in many Pantomimes across the
country appearing with stars such as Julian Clarey, John Inman, Marti Webb,
Darren Day and David Essex. Anna has cruised in style on Silversea Cruise
Lines for Jean Ann Ryan as Dance Captain and Company Manager, cruising around
the Mediterranean, Baltic, Caribbean and Africa.
Anna was invited
to Dance and be Dance Captain of the Salto Ballet at the 'Cirque D'Hiver
'in Paris for a really enjoyable season. 'Spirit of the Dance'
choreographed by Alan Harding has taken Anna all over the world, travelling to
America, Australia, Israel, Europe, Far East and UK tours performing as Irish
Lead and Spanish Lead. Anna also danced in two of Alan Hardings other shows-
'Broadway!' touring UK and America and most recently 'Dancing Queen'
performing in the UK.
As a teacher Anna has taught all over the UK, teaching and choreographing shows for Dance and Educational Schools and taken workshops in all forms of Dance to ages 3- 63! She has taught at a number of Stage Schools and was even invited to teach Musial Theatre in Portugal for a Special Easter Course. Anna will be choeographer for our production of The King and I 2008.
Jo
began her dance training at the age of four and has high qualifications in RAD
Ballet and ISTD Tap and Modern. She has also studied contemporary dance,
acrobatics and Belly Dancing. She has gained LAMDA qualifications in Drama and
gained a BA (Hons) in Performance at Northumbria University. During her
studies she had the chance to work with the opera company Opera North and vocal
experts Cicely Berry (RSC voice coach) and Sally Haig (dialect specialist.)
After University she went straight into a touring company playing the title role
of Pinnoccio, staying for a second season to tour The Blue Bird.
Other Theatre Credits include Dusa in Dusa, Fish, Stas & Vi at the
Live Theatre, Newcastle; Boris the Pig/Gypsy for the National tour of Three
Little Pigs with Premier Stage Productions; Mother Goose/Vanity in a
national tour of the pantomime Mother Goose; Mr Greedy, Daisy & ASM
in Jack And The Beanstalk for Pantoni Pantomimes at The Doncaster Civic
Theatre; The Cop in the musical The Happy End! at The Lipmman
Theatre, Newcastle and Understudy/ASM for the national theatre tour of
Enjie Benjy with Premier Stage Productions.
Jo is competent in many disciplines including make-up, costumes and stage management. She has worked at the Gardner Arts Centre, Brighton for Earwig Productions teaching make-up and drama at their Summer School and for the last two years Jo has stage-managed the pantomime at the Leatherhead Theatre for Pantoni Pantomimes.
Jo also occasionally works as a voice artist. Her most recent work was voicing Little Miss Naughty and Little Miss Tiny for the stage tour of the Mr Men show.
Richard
Cartmale-Musical Director. Richard Cartmale L.T.C.L. is a native of Surrey,
and trained for four years at Trinity College of Music, London as a Joint
first-study in Conducting and Percussion, (with Composition and Piano), and
later as a joint-first in Conducting and Singing. He won the Ricordi Prize
for Conducting in 1982. After leaving College he worked as Musical Director
for the Imperial College Operatic Society and The Imperial Singers-
which won prizes at the Blackpool Festival. He also continued to play in
professional orchestral engagements and was a founder member of the English
Percussion Ensemble, whilst teaching percussion, working with youth
orchestras, and directing music courses for Kent Music School, London Borough of
Bromley and London Borough of Bexley. From the late 1980s he was a member of
English National Opera. In that time he sang and understudied a large number
of supporting principal roles, as well as major tenor roles with fringe
companies and in concert. Whilst contracted to ENO, he still managed to perform
a number of major operatic roles with smaller companies including appearences at
the Holland Park Festival. He also conducted a well-received "Cavalleria
Rusticana" at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon. His own compositions include
music for short films and plays. He now has his own purpose-built studio, where
he both writes and records. He left ENO in July 2007. As a farewell to the
company he was invited to conduct the ENO Orchestra on two occasions.
Since that time he has been working towards the completion of his Concerto
for Cello and Orchestra, as well as developing the facilities of his studio,
and a representative portfolio of music for film work. Richard will be MD for
our production of The KIng and I in 2008.
Marcus Suranyi - Musical Director
Marcus is currently Director of Music at Townley Grammar School. He studied music at Durham University where he was awarded the Rowena Gregory Arts Prize. He remained there as a post-graduate and also studied violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Gerhard Schmidt. Marcus has been Musical Director for a number of youth theatre productions including Oliver, Annie, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Oklahoma, Guys and Dolls and has recently conducted a contemporary production of The Magic Flute at Guildford High School. He has worked and played with numerous orchestras in and around the London area on a wide-ranging repertoire and is currently setting up a new community orchestra in Bexleyheath. Marcus has been MD of our previous productions of Guys and Dolls and Oliver! and The Wiz.