Musical director Becki studied contemporary music at Dartington College of Arts in both performance and composition. She is a trained pianist and singer, and performs as a singer/songwriter (as well as teaching) in Oxfordshire.
She has been involved with theatre for the majority of her life and has extensive experience both on stage and off. Her credits (musical director/performer/backstage) include Marvellous Machine, Tiger's Bride, Songs for a New World, Creation Theatre's Christmas Carol, Kiss Me Kate, Carousel, Annie, Oliver, Charlie Girl, and Pirates of Penzance.
Choreographer - Samantha
Samantha began dancing at the age of three. Her education in dance began at the Sylvie Henry School of Dance, and continued there under the new guise of Kaleidoscope Theatre Arts, where she became an assistant teacher at 14! She continues to teach there today. Having trained to a vocational level in Ballet, Tap and Modern Theatre, she went on to further her training at The Dance College, Royston, Herts. Here she gained DDI/DDE Tap and Modern Theatre and also achieved her Advanced 2 ISTD examinations in both genres, with the guidance of ISTD examiner Penny Meekings. She also studied Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop and singing.
Samantha embarked upon the prestigious RAD’s (Royal Academy of Dance) Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies (CBTS), and following the completion of this (and receiving her graduation certificate from Darcey Bussell!) she became a registered teacher with the RAD.
Samantha is also the Principal of Dynamix Dance Academy in Oxford. She hopes to inspire the same love and passion for dance as well as enabling her students to take part in examinations and shows. In her spare time, she is a member of the Chameleons Amateur Dramatic Society, based in Wembley. She is also a member of The Fat Pack – a group of swing singers!
Samantha is delighted to be choreographing for Oxford Theatre Elites and looks forward to working with a team of extremely talented and enthusiastic people!
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Creative Director
Angela spent many years with one of the country's top musical theatre groups. At the age of eleven, she took to the stage in The Wizard of Oz. This was followed by Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, A Christmas Carol, Oliver, Andy Capp, Peer Gynt, HMS Pinafore ... the list is long! Youth theatre was exciting and she loved every second of it. Setting up her own theatre company has been an exciting challenge. She hopes to break away from the very traditional styles of performance that so many youth theatre groups offer. She believes in small numbers, thus giving each member a chance to develop and have the opportunity to perform solos. So often, young performers must wait until they are long established members to get an opportunity like this. Angela believes this is what makes OTE different. She is also a member of Oxford's Rock Choir! Angela's involvement with creative arts has also taken her to writing. She is the author of Hobbledown, an award-winning adventure park in Surrey. Her book characters can even be found wondering around the adventure park! She visits schools talking about her work, and also teaches creative writing in Oxford. She writes Gothic fiction, especially for the middle-grade and Young Adult market. Train, a YA dystopian novel was shortlisted for the Theatrecloud 'Tale of Two Cities' national writing competition in 2016. Having her work read by one of the cast members was very exciting!
Director - Claudia
Claudia started her directing career with Oxford University. Her theatre credits include: Valuables, (co-producer), A Christmas Carol, (production manager), Thark (producer, assistant director), The Weir, (producer, assistant director), Pripyat, (producer, marketing). and most recently, Much Ado About Nothing.
Claudia is very excited to bring her directing skills to OTE. We want to branch away from traditional styles of youth theatre by developing new and exciting ways to present our talented cast members. Our puppet scene and Chaplin scene are perfect opportunities to experience quirky theatre!