Ella is an Actor and Film & Theatre Maker from Teesside, North East England.
Graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and National Youth Theatre, Ella has trained in Acting for Classical and Contemporary text, Musical Theatre and Contemporary Dance. As a producer and director she recently founded Addis Playhouse while in Ethiopia, facilitating workshops and directing two plays, The Door and Under The Table. She directed Auto-Engrain at Clapham Fringe and The Pleasance and is taking it to Edinburgh Fringe 2023. Ella is an Activist and strives to create work with an impact. Ella is co-founder of Salty Pelican, an improv theatre company based in London with which she produces improv shows, open mics and facilitates improv workshops when in London.
Acting
Trained at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama 2020 and Ecole Philippe Gaulier 2023.
Film
2021 Please, Help Me (Short) - Lana - (dir) Katie O’hara
2020 UN75 Climate Sketch – Climate Youth Activist – UN75 Concert
2019 The Plant Whisperer (Short) – Fern – City Academy Short Film, London
2019 Ravensbourne (Short) - Girl - (dir) Ciara Ledward
2017 To Be a Captive Master (short) - Girl - (dir) Josh Montoro Bailes
2016 Annie (short) – Annie – Beijing Playhouse (dir) Susan Lee
Television
2013 The Village (BBC) – Villager – BBC, London
Theatre
2022 Two Beheaded Queens - Anne Boleyn - The White Bear
2021 To Be a Bat - Luna - with Distracted Rat -The Space, London
2021 Drip, Drip, Drip - Ember - Camden People’s Theatre, London
2021 The Door - Nurse - Addis Playhouse, Ethiopia
2021 Hamlet – Ophelia/Hamlet/Horatio – Illuminations (RCSSD), London
2020 The Government Inspector – Bobchinsky – RCSSD, London
2020 I Like Large Parties - Irri – New Writing Night - RCSSD, London
2019 Rabbit Hole – Becca – City Academy Actor’s Studio
2019 The River – The Other Woman – City Academy Actor’s Studio
2018 Protection Road – Ella/Dancer – City Academy, London
2016 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Nurse Flynn – Beijing Playhouse, Beijing
Education
2020 - The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama - MA Acting (Classical)
2019 - National Youth Theatre - Senior Course
2019 - City Academy Actor’s Studio - Acting for Theatre (London)
2017 - University of Westminster - Marketing Communications BA (Hons)
2016 - American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Musical Theatre Intensive (New York)
2016 - Beijing Foreign Studies University - Chinese Language (Beijing)
2016 - Beijing Improv (Beijing)
Directing and Producing
I have recently produced and directed two short plays in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where I collaborated with local artists and the National Theatre of Ethiopia. Following this I directed Auto-Engrain for Clapham Fringe and The Pleasance Theatre receiving 4 1/2 stars. I have recently also directed Leap of Faith, short film currently in Post-Production and have been shadowing award winning director Dan Thorburn on short film The Painter and The Poet.
Film
2022 Shadow Director - The Painter and The Poet - Lucy Heath and Tyler Conti - Dir. Dan Thorburn (Post-Production)
2022 Director - Leap of Faith - Faye Sirohi (Post Production)
2021 Director/Producer - Women in Addis (TV Series) - Link Up Addis (Post Production)
2021 Director - ShowUp (DJ Lady Hash) - LinkUp Addis
2021 Director - Zoya (Promo Video) - Link Up Addis
2022 1st AD - Remember Monday (Music Video) - Dir. Ellie Heydon (Post-Production)
2021 2nd AD/Line Producer - And I Eat Men Like Air - Tess Musky-Goldwyn and Silvia D ’Anastasio
2020 Production Assistant - Pragma (Short Film) - Silver Rose Productions
2019 2nd AD and Continuity - Age of Reason written by Edo De Bruijn - City Academy
Stage
2021 Director - Auto-Engrain - Bosstress Theatre, Clapham Fringe & The Pleasance Theatre
2021 Director/Producer - Under The Table - by Lauren Waugh
2021 Director/Producer - The Door - by Julian Kiprotich
2020 Director/Producer/Writer - The Venice Incentive - RCSSD
2019 Assistant Director - New Writers Showcase - City Academy
2019 Assistant Director - Actor’s Studio Showcase - City Academy
2019 Movement Director/SM - Exit Number 8 - by Katie Sherrard
2018 Assistant Director - Protection Road - City Academy
2018 Assistant/Movement Director - Notes on How to Kill a Chicken - City Academy
Under The Table, Addis Ababa
Age of Reason, (dir) Tom Colley
Workshops/Teaching
2020/21 – Acting Workshop Facilitator - Addis Playhouse - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ella has been running 2 workshops a week with both Adults and Teenagers in Ethiopia. She has been working with Improv, Augusto Boal and Laban exercises, while looking at Stanislavski and Meisner when approaching script work.
2020 - Acting and Climate Change Workshop Facilitator - Addis Playhouse
2018 - Content Creator for a Chinese Educational site - Developing creative learning videos which reached 5.7 million views
2016 – Workshop Leader for Chinese Nursery Teachers, introducing new ways of teaching and physical engagement.
2015/16 – Drama Teacher at Beijing City International School, China
2015/16 – Freelance English Teacher and Tutor for Adults and Kids in Beijing, China
Dance
2018 Dancer (Contemporary) - Protection Road by Tom Colley - City Academy
2016 Dancer (Street) - Live Fashion Official - Choreography by Mimmi Harding
2019 Performance Artist - Glastonbury Performance - Red Rebel Brigade (Extinction Rebellion)
2020 - 2021 Destino Dance Company, Ethiopia - Contemporary and Ethiopian Dance
2016 – 2020 Pineapple Dance Studios – Contemporary*, Street, Tap, Ballet, Jazz
2017 – 2020 City Academy – Contemporary*, Tap, Ballet, Jazz
1997 – 2010 Maloneys/Craggs – Contemporary, Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Modern
