About Centre Stage School of the Arts
Centre Stage School of the Arts was founded in 1999 by Peter Hodgson and Alison Tompkins to create an environment in which children can use drama to explore both the imaginative and the concrete world. Since then, the school has developed into a full performing arts centre and now offers creative programmes for babies and toddlers, drama, performance acting, musical theatre, dance, music and art and craft for children of all ages and adults too!
Peter and Alison started their careers as two London based actors, and very soon found their work to be dominated by educational and children's theatre. It was a natural progression then to build on experience and qualify as Speech and Drama teachers.
The aim was to create the "drama club" style of class so readily available in the UK, Australia and the US. This could only be done with a team of experienced facilitators. The strength of the school is in its staff. All of the full time teachers trained primarily as performers and completed courses in UK or Australian drama schools and universities, many have worked and continue to work in the theatre and on television. In addition, they are experienced teachers in their own fields and it is this combination of experience, practical application and theoretical expertise allows students a rich and vivid understanding of the numerous applications of the performing and creative arts.
Centre Stage is located on Portsdown Road near Holland Village and also provides outreach programmes to pre-schools, schools and organisations in Singapore.
The aim of all Centre Stage programmes is to Unlock The Creative Potential in Us All.
Staff
Ali Tompkins
Founder, Head of Dance and Teacher in Drama & Music
- Surrey University BA (Hons) Theatre
- Guildford School of Acting 3 year Dip.
- Guildhall School of Music and Drama AGSM (Teaching Diploma),
Alison co-founded Centre Stage School of the Arts in 1999. She is an actor, director, teacher as well as taking care of her two very lively boys, Alfie and Billy.
Theatre credits include “Jack and the Beanstalk”, Shirley in the spoof musical “Top of the Town” (Croydon Warehouse), Viola, Puck, Lady Anne, Cleopatra and Nicholas Tooley in “A Cry of Players” (UK -Tour), both Mum and Jo in “Too much Punch for Judy” (UK Tour), Ethel Monticue in “Young Visitors” (Mayfly Theatre Company, Oxford), Cecily “Importance of Being Earnest”, Katharina “Taming of the Shrew”, Georgina “Drunkards Dilemma” all with Wigan Pier Actors Company. More recently she played Sally in “Tissue” at the Black Box at Fort Canning. The Queen in “A Twist in the Tale”, Woman in “Night” by Harold Pinter, Jenny in “Answers from the Centre of the Universe”. And most recently Gail in “Teechers” by John Godber.
Peter Hodgson
Founder and Teacher in Drama
- Surrey University BA (Hons) Theatre
- Guildford School of Acting 3 year Dip.
- Guildhall School of Music and Drama AGSM (Teaching Diploma),
Peter co-founded Centre Stage with his wife Alison in 1999. He is a director, writer, actor and teacher. Originally from the UK, he worked for a number of years as an actor in the before re-locating to Singapore in 1995. Since being here Peter has continued acting appearing in Six of the Best with Theatre Works, Bit by Bit for Bit by Bit Productions, and Triple 9 for Media Corp. His most recent roles include A Christmas Carrot, A Right Rubbish Christmas and The Lost Star for Centre Stage, A Midsummer Night’s Dream for SRT, Harold Pinter’s Night and Ebeneeza Freeza in Centre Stage’s Christmas show, Snow Worries.
Teachers
Andy Tear
Head of Drama, Teacher in Early Years, Drama & Drumming
- University of Hertfordshire BA (Hons) Performing Arts
- University of Hertfordshire HND Performing Arts
- Guildhall School of Music and Drama Speaking Skills certificate
Andy has been involved in theatre, both acting and teaching, from a young age starting in his teens at the Gordon Craig Youth Theatre. He went on to train at Bretton Hall (University of Leeds) and the University of Hertfordshire. He has taught drama since 1993, running workshops in mime, devising, physical theatre, improvisation, clowning and script writing. Since coming to Singapore in 1999, he has taught a wide variety of ages from 18 months to adults. Andy continues to work professionally as an actor in Singapore with many local theatre companies. An experienced drummer/percussionist, Andy has performed and run workshops in Brazilian and African percussion since 1999. He has been working at Centre Stage since 2003.
Jules Nicholson
Head of Schools Programmes, Teacher in Early Years and Drama
- Surrey University BA(Hons) Theatre
- East 15 Acting School 3 yr Diploma
- Guildhall School of Music and Drama LGSM (Teaching Diploma)
- Guildhall School of Music and Drama Poetry Speaking Cert. (Hons)
- Guildhall School of Music and Drama Speaking Skills Cert.
Jules started teaching at Centre Stage in 2002. She runs programmes for our very youngest Centre Stage students in Baby Stage (6 Months +) to our oldest in her adult drama class, where many of her students have acquired distinctions in the Guildhall/Trinity exams. When she joined Centre Stage, she spearheaded our Outside Schools’ programmes and we are proud to say that we have taken our programmes and workshops to over 15 international schools in Singapore. Before becoming a mother, Jules performed extensively in theatre in England and Singapore. Now with her two little ones taking priority, Centre Stage has become her main outlet for her creative talent. Once her children are a little older, Jules plans to tread the boards again. Jules is a caring nurturing teacher who always strives to bring out the best in all her students.
Lydia Graham
Head of Musical Theatre
Teacher in Early Years, Drama and Music
- University of Hertfordshire HND Performing Arts
- University of Hertfordshire 1st Class BA Honours Performing Arts
Lydia graduated in 2000 having majored in music during her degree. She then went on to work as a singer, actor and dancer in the UK and abroad for many years before moving to Singapore and Centre Stage in Nov 2005. At Centre Stage, Lydia is fortunate to be involved in a variety of disciplines. Aside from teaching drama classes and Playstage, she specializes in music and so teaches Music Box and is the singing coach for Theatre Workshop. She is also proud to run Popstars and is enjoying seeing the music department as a whole grow from strength to strength.
Shahnaz Alkaff
Head of Early Years, Teacher in Early Years and Art
- South Australia University BEd(Hons) Early Childhood Education (Undergrad)
- Froebel Acacdemy Diploma in Early Childhood Education
- Singapore Polytechnic Diploma in Science Technology
Shahnaz was a founding member of Centre Stage School of the Arts in 2000 and has enjoyed seeing the company grow from strength to strength since then. She started work as an assistant teacher and was involved in planning all art and craft activities. Since then, she has grown with the company, initially being in charge of assistants and resources and now moving on to teaching. She has now been promoted to Head of Playstage and also runs the art and Fun Factory programmes.
Daniel Jenkins
Teacher in Early Years and Drama
- Surrey University BA (Hons) Theatre
- Guildford School of Acting 3 year Dip.
- Guildhall School of Music and Drama LGSM (Teaching Diploma),
- Certificate in Verse Speaking, Certificate in Public Speaking
Daniel has been at Centre Stage since 2002 teaching all levels of drama from Playstage (aged 18 months) through to On Stage (aged 12). A sought after professional actor, Dan continues to work extensively in theatre, film and television in Singapore, supporting theoretical knowledge with sound practical experience of the profession today. He first began acting as a teenager with The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and went on to train at the Guildford School of Acting, where he received the Yvonne Arnaud Award for Acting. Singapore theatre credits include: Lonely Planet, Popcorn, The Physicists, Quills (luna-id), The Deep Blue Sea, Death and the Maiden (Escape), A Christmas Carrot, A Right Rubbish Christmas, The Lost Star, Bouncers (Centre Stage), Cabaret, Shanghai Blues (Toy Factory). A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Pillowman (Singapore Repertory Theatre). Daniel has twice won the coveted Best Supporting Actor Award at the Straits Times Life Theatre Awards, for his roles in Quills (2006) and Cabaret (2007). At the 2008 awards Daniel was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in The Pillowman.
Becky Clarke
Teacher in Dance, Drama and Music
- University of Winchester BA (Hons) Performing Arts
Becky is from Sussex, England and is trained in ISTD Modern, Tap and Ballet. She also has vast experience in Street Jazz, Hip Hop, Singing and Acting. Prior to arriving in Singapore, Becky’s teaching experience included working in Shanghai, China and in schools in the UK. In the past, she has taught a variety of courses, from Ballet and Street Jazz to Drama and Musical Theatre, including training children for exams in ISTD and RAD dance and Trinity Guildhall Performance and Drama courses. Her students’ ages range from 16 months to 18 years! Becky is also a skilled choreographer, having choreographed for events such as the turning on of the Christmas lights in Times Square, Shanghai, numerous promotional events, school productions and Pantomimes, including Snow White.
Becky is a talented performer herself having appeared in productions such as The Blues Brothers Party, The Ragged Child, The Full Monty Musical, The Boyfriend, Aladdin and Dick Whittington.In addition to her passion for the performing Arts, Becky also loves to draw and paint in her spare time. Her other interests include cooking, reading and traveling.
Glyn Connop
Teacher in Early Years and Drama
- Rose Bruford College of speech and Drama (Training) BA Degree Community Theatre
Glyn was born in Worcester in central England. He trained in drama at Rose Bruford Academy in London and did extensive training in clowning the world renowned Phillip Gaulier. Glyn has had a successful career as an actor and teacher. His professional roles include Sebastian in The Tempest and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream for the English Shakespeare Company. Other companies he has worked for include The National Trust Theatre Company, Cambridge Touring Company as well as performing in Ape Theatre's Too Much Punch for Judy. He is a co-founder of Hush Theatre Ensemble which aims to make classical theatre more accessible. He has also regularly toured Europe with various circus troupes. In 2001, Glyn joined TNT Theatre Britain based in Munchin (Germany). This was the start of a long collaboration with the company, which saw Glyn tour theatre and run theater workshops in over forty countries, from Japan to Iran, Costa Rica to Holland, England to Singapore. In 2004, Glyn was a member of the TNT Hamlet company that won a Singaporean Youth Arts Achievement Award. In September of 2008, Glyn was delighted to join the teaching ranks at Centre Stage. You may well have seen Glyn in the Christmas shows playing the part of Lord Piliwocket and Old Nicky Norbutter.
Andy Keegan
Teacher in Early Years and Drama
- National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) Bachelor Dramatic Art Acting
- Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) Certificate in Musical Theatre
Andrew started at Centrestage in 2007. He is involved in classes from the toddlers all the way up to the young teenagers. Andrew loves directing the plays for the Onstage course and is looking forward to developing the Musical Theatre Onstage course as it gives him a chance to exercise his musical muscles and get back to his roots as a performer. Andrew was drawn to Centrestage after meeting Pete during the SRT production of ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’ in which he played Snout ‘the wall’ Tinker. He produced the theatre show ‘Second Chances’ which was the first production in the Centrestage Theatre and is looking forward to producing more shows in the future.
Vicky Lee
Teacher in Dance, Tap and Jazz
- Urdang Academy of Performing Arts – Higher National Diploma (Scholarship)
- Imperial Society Teachers of Dancing - Associate Ballet (Honours)
- Broadway Dance Center – International Student Visa Program Certificate
Vicky graduated from Urdang Academy of Performing Arts in Professional Dance and Musical Theatre. While in her third year of training, she earned a position as an Assistant Teacher at Carol Straker Dance Foundation in London. Upon graduation, she freelanced as a teacher in Vancouver and was invited to coach Ballet for Canada's top Five Champion National Rhythmic Gymnasts for two years. Her work with all her students include choreography, competitions, examinations and performances. She has also trained extensively in Vancouver, Los Angeles and most recently with Broadway Dance Centre in New York City. She's been actively performing on stage and TV and is grateful for the opportunity to work with top choreographers and dancers from all over the world. Her work also includes being involved in the Rover British Fashion Awards as a dancer and being one of the dancers working with Nicky Bentley in a pioneer video for the company, Pineapple Dance Studios. Vicky just started here at Centre Stage (Oct. 2008) in the Jazz and Tap Department. She looks forward to exciting years of dance with the students here.
Support Staff
Leeza Kulasingam
Class Co-ordinator
Leeza has been with Centre Stage since 2005 and working in the same field since 1993. Leeza is the person you are most likely to talk to when you call on the phone. She runs the office and assigns students to classes.
Nur Hudah Alwi
Assistant Teacher
GCE N Level - GCE O Level
Hudah started working with Centre Stage in 2008, as an Assistant Teacher. She assists in Baby Stage, Play Stage and Intro classes. Before joining Centre Stage, she spent five years studying Speech & Drama in her secondary school. Music, Dance & Drama was also her co-curricular activity (CCA). She has participated twice in Singapore Youth Festival and has performed a few times in theatre.
Hudah loves working with Centre Stage and feels that Centre Stage has paved the way for her to learn more about Speech & Drama. Her motto in life is "Believe In Your Dreams."
Shameem Ahmad
Head of Resources & Assistant Teacher - 19 June 1981-23 March 2010
We are so sorry to have to announce that Shameem, our friend and colleague, lost a two year battle with cancer.
Meem has worked with us since 2003 and will be so very sadly missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. Many of you will have met her in Play Stage and more recently in the office. Our thoughts are with her friends and family and especially to her cousins Shahnaz and Aqila and best friend Lydia who also work with us here.
