Colin Fraser
Colin is a dance and music specialist for Peculiar Productions. After learning the trumpet and singing, Colin went on to Middlesex University to study Performing Arts. Having an interest in all of the performance arts, he had a little change of direction, ending up concentrating on Contemporary dance for the three years he was there. While there he also pursued his music, writing, arranging and performing in a variety of different music projects, as well as donning his leotard to perform in numerous pieces of choreography.
He then went off into the world of musical theatre. He has been in “Five Guys named Moe”, “Smokey Joe’s Café”, “Soultrain”, “Simply Heavenly” and “The Lion King” to name a few. For a few years he was also the bass singer for the a capella group called “The Flying Pickets”, and appears on their album “Vox Pop”.
Colin has also been involved with the group “Emperors of Soul”, who appeared in 2009 on the BBC’s Eurovision program, “Your Country Needs You”
Currently, as well being a singing teacher in a number of Bedfordshire schools, he is also the Bass singer for another successful a capella group called “The Magnets”.
Colin has been sharing his expertise and enthusiasm for the arts in schools for the last five years.
Emma Orr
Emma is a dance and drama specialist for Peculiar Productions. After gaining her BA degree in English and Drama at Birmingham University, Emma went on to gain her teaching qualification at The Institute of Education, University of London. Emma has taught Performing Arts since she was 15 years old, she has taught drama, dance, musical theatre and physical theatre for a variety of organisations throughout Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and London. When Emma is not teaching, she can be found both on stage and working as part of the production team for local amateur shows. Emma has been lucky enough to take part in a number of drama festivals and participated in the National British Drama Festival.
Fred Broom
Fred is a drama specialist for Peculiar Productions. He initially studied Performing Arts at Middlesex University, before moving to Bedfordshire to become a Drama teacher. Since his departure from mainstream education, he has established himself as a performer, freelance director and music director and recently trained at Guildford School of Acting Conservatoire as a performer in Musical Theatre, where he gained the Post-Graduate Prize for Musical Theatre. Since training, he has performed in the West End, in America, and appeared on adverts both in the UK and internationally, and most recently, his Pirates of Penzance, in which he was the Major General, won the Whats On Stage award for Best Off West End Production.
Fred has maintained his link with arts education by regularly tutoring for Peculiar Productions and also directing and then designing for Bedfordshire Youth Opera.
Helen Preddy
Helen is a drama specialist for Peculiar Productions. Helen graduated from Goldsmiths College, University of London with a BA in Drama and Theatre Arts. From there she joined Artis Education as a performing arts specialist, delivering weekly sessions to primary school children in and around London. Working with such a wide range of children has been enormously fun and hugely inspirational for Helen and she thoroughly enjoys being part of something that allows everyone involved complete freedom to exercise his or her creativity and learn so much from one another.
Mellissa Morgan
Mellissa is a drama specialist for Peculiar Productions and is a performing arts practitioner with a background in physical theatre. Hailing originally from Canada, she has been working with children in the UK for the last eight years. Mellissa takes a holistic approach to her work employing the use of drama, music and dance in her sessions. She has worked with a variety of companies including Peculiar Productions, Artis Education and Creative Parterships to create devised and script based shows for children. Mellissa has experience working with children aged 3-18 in the school system, at youth clubs, and in holiday arts schemes
Sadie Hunt
Sadie is a dance specialist for Peculiar Productions. After training from the age of 3 in ballet, tap and jazz Sadie went on to Roehampton University gaining a BA degree in Dance Studies. She went on to study at The University of Bedfordshire to gain her teaching qualification in Dance at Secondary Education. Sadie followed this with a Masters Degree in Choreography from Middlesex University.
Whilst Sadie teaches many dance styles, her main area of expertise is in contemporary dance. For the past five years Sadie has been teaching in schools throughout Hertfordshire as well as working on dance community projects.
Sadie has choreographed for numerous Youth Dance Groups and amateur theatre companies as well as delivering dance workshops for the County. She is also actively involved in dance research projects and teaches technique classes at local universities. She has a small dance company 'Shunt Dance Company' for which she is choreographer and performer and is now also an academic lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire teaching on the Dance and Professional Practice degree.
Nicola Graham
Nicola is a drama and movement specialist. After completing a BA in Classics at Bristol University, she returned to her original passion for dance and theatre, training for four months at Delphos School of Contemporary Dance in Mexico before returning to England to undertake an MA in Movement Studies at The Central School of Speech and Drama.
Her research into the benefits of embodied learning during her MA motivated her to seek out arts educational companies. After a year working as Movement Director on theatre projects she discovered Peculiar Productions.
She finds great enjoyment in combining the arts to facilitate a truly holistic, creative and confidence-inspiring experience for the children she works with.
Thom Woolley
Thom is a music and movement specialist with an unconventional set of professional skills. After becoming deeply involved in the study and performance of Capoeira, the Brazilian dance-marshal art, he graduated with a masters in Jazz Performance from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and embarked on a career as a professional musician and performing arts educator, while honing various different types of circus, juggling and movement disciplines.
He cut his teeth in education as a music composition and improvisation workshop leader with the Lloyds TSB Note for Note project. Thom’s passion for movement, dance and more unusual performance disciplines has led him to perform as a musician, fire dancer and fire juggler at numerous European festivals, as well as create his own movement and circus skills based workshops designed to empower and inspire young people in movement and the physical arts.
Thom is a passionate believer in the power of performing arts education and is delighted to be part of the Peculiar Family.
