The artistic team

Mark Pettitt - Director

Mark's first professional theatre appearance came at the age of eleven playing 'Hopcroft Minor' in The Happiest Days of Your Life (Plymouth Theatre Royal). Pursuing his passion for performing he graduated from the Guildford School of Acting in 1994 and was immediately signed to Paul Spyker Management, where for the following six years he performed alongside some of the biggest names in musical theatre in such shows as: Evita (UK Tour), Tommy Steele's 'Oh What a Show' (UK Tour and Prince of Wales), Pippin (Bellairs Playhouse Guildford), Summer Holiday (UK Tour, Hammersmith Apollo and Blackpool Opera House), The Sound of Music (Plymouth Theatre Royal), What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (Brighton Theatre Royal), Tommy Steele in Concert (UK Tour), Drake (Plymouth Theatre Royal and George Square Theatre Edinburgh), Robinson Crusoe (Cardiff New Theatre) and Saturday Night Fever (London Palladium).

Television and film credits include GMTV (ITV), Pebble Mill (BBC), Crimewatch UK (BBC), National Lottery Live (BBC), Operation Jigsaw (Pretzel Films), Fighting Arizona (Music Video, Bo Bruce) and Madagascar Skin (Channel 4 Films).

In 2000, Mark's love of travel led him to Princess Cruises where he performed with the onboard production teams on several different vessels. This led to an offer of a teaching position at the Fine Arts Conservatory, Grande Prairie, Canada, where for twelve months he instructed students in acting, dance and musical theatre, as well as working as a freelance teacher and choreographer. However, Mark's passion for performing took him to Los Angeles in 2005, where he worked with Karen Bruce as part of the skeleton team for her brand new show 'Destination Anywhere'. Shortly after, he returned to Princess Cruises for a further three years.

Mark returned to the UK in 2008 and, after a short internship at Hubbard Casting, was employed as Casting Associate for Pretzel Films. This experience (along with the years spent struggling as a performer) was the catalyst for founding and creating In House Casting and Agency, in order to provide a much-needed support service to performers, teachers and employers.

Liam Knight – Executive Agent

Liam was born in Mons, Belgium, and spent most of his childhood growing up in Europe before returning to his parents' hometown in the UK. At ten years old Liam began to develop an interest and passion for dance and theatre and at thirteen he appeared in European Ballet’s Touring production of Coppelia.

When fourteen he was awarded “Most Promising Dancer Award" and the Jean McDonnell Bursary from the Royal Academy of Dance where he was advised by American Choreographer Gregory Apostolidis to seriously consider a future career in dance. At the age of sixteen Liam was awarded a scholarship to Bird College of Dance and Theatre Performance and focusing more on classical ballet he was again awarded a scholarship, this time to the Northern Ballet School from where he later graduated. His classical ballet repertoire includes Coppelia (Franz, Principal) Directed and choreographed by Victoria Westall, Nutcracker (The Nutcracker Prince) Directed by Lea Havas and Sleeping Beauty (Blue Bird Solo), choreographed by Paul Bayes-Kitcher.

Liam's theatre credits include A Chorus Line directed by Original Motion Picture cast member Charles McGowan, Flashdance (Workshop) choreographed by Wayne Sleep, West Side Story (Riff) directed by David Needham, Godspell (Father) directed by John Cooper, Balthasaar in Romeo and Juliet (Dancehouse Theatre, Manchester), Cinderella (Forum Theatre) and Aladdin (Newcastle Upon-Tyne).

Television and film credits include Stars in Their Eyes (Granada Television), Close Up North (BBC), Strumpet (BBC Manchester), Co Presenter (RCTV), Children in Need (BBC) and Atonement (Universal Pictures), while previous modelling campaigns include Saks, L’Oreal, Hair Sanctuary, Mint, Lindenberg, Diesel, Armani, Boss and Harvey Nichols.

Liam has appeared as a soloist and silks artiste for Royal Caribbean Productions, a soloist for International Touring Productions throughout Portugal and Holland and in 2008 performed in the Princess Productions collaboration of the Radio City Christmas Show in Los Angeles.

Craig McDermott - Photography

Craig graduated from Doreen Bird's College of Dance and Theatre Performance. Previous theatre credits include We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre), On Eagle's Wing (Ireland Tour), The Wizard of Oz (Mayflower, Southampton), Footloose (Playhouse Theatre), Saturday Night Fever (London Palladium), Starlight Express (Bochum Germany and Original UK Tour), Boogie Nights (UK Tour) and Footloose (Original UK and European Tours).

Craig has also appeared in a number of operas including English National Opera's La Traviata (London Coliseum), La Boheme (Royal Albert Hall) and Kenneth Branagh's The Magic Flute (Feature Film, 2006).

Television and video credits include Britannia High (ITV), Blue Peter Christmas Special (BBC), Sorry (Pop Promo, Madonna), X-Factor (ITV) and he was a member of the team who created the recent Evian Babies Skating Commercial.

After studying photography at St Martins College of Art and Design Craig has since photographed some of the top professionals in the industry and has been hired as a photographer for some top events including Wimbledon, Goodwood Festival and Lord's Test Matches. Working within many forms of the industry his images and work have been published in ‘A Place in the Sun’ (magazine) along with various other forms of media.

With over thirteen years' experience in the industry, Craig has a great insight as to how important your image is to promoting yourself as a performer. Devising bespoke packages and working in a relaxed atmosphere, Craig will provide a high quality professional service giving you the images you want.

Tas Emiabata - Showreels and Voicereels

Tas has extensive experience working in many areas of the performing arts industry. Some of his previous acting credits include work at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, The Royal National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company and the BBC as well as a short stint on the Australian TV series Neighbours.

As a director, Tas regularly facilitates workshops with Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the Southwark Theatres Education Partnership, Talawa, Emergency Exit Arts and The National Youth Theatre. In 2008 Tas directed an Arabic adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in Jenin Refugee Camp, Palestine.

Tas has also written and performed with the band The Boots Collective and was signed to BMG records. Tas owns and is the managing director of Purple Room Studios, an independent production / post-production company specialising in sound design, radio and voice-over work. As well as directing voice-over artists and producing the music group Dame K, his clients include the BBC, Tender, the Soho Theatre and Coca-Cola.

Ada Kan - Accompaniments

Ada Kan graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music with Distinction, specialising in piano performance and accompanying.  From a young age Ada showed musical promise after winning ‘South West Young Musician of the Year' and being appointed City Wait by the Lord Mayor of Bristol, whereby she was awarded a music scholarship.  She was also a regular winner at the local Eistefford and ABRSM High Scorers’ Concerts.

Since winning the EPTA (European Piano Teachers Association) competition, she has performed as an EPTA artist in venues such as St Martin-in-the Fields in London, the Prestwich Music Club in Manchester and Warwick Arts Centre. Ada was awarded the Special Prize in the Ruislip-Northwood Concerto Competition and commended in the Leslie England Prize at the Royal Academy of Music for her final recital.

Although classically trained, she had always been involved in musical theatre performance.  Whilst at college, she worked as an accompanist at the Central School of Speech and Drama for the MA Music Theatre department, accompanying students in their classes and performing in their shows. Since graduating, Ada has been an active performer, giving classical piano recitals, accompanying choirs, playing for ballet schools, accompanying auditions, and recordings for new musicals and musical theatre singers. She has worked extensively for singers in cabaret shows in venues across London such as Battersea Barge, the Hot August Fringe Festival at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, Leicester Square Theatre, Cellar Door, Soho Theatre and Wilton’s Music Hall.  Ada is the pianist for the much loved Tiny Wallops theatre troupe who have performed sell out shows at Wilton’s Music Hall and Jackson’s Lane.

Aside from performing, Ada teaches piano in schools giving private tuition to adults and children up to Grade 8. She also provides private musical coaching and training for professional musical theatre singers and artistes.

Anne-Maria Slater - Counselling

Anne-Maria’s extensive career portfolio in psychotherapy has developed within the public and commercial sector, with a crucially important emphasis on working with media personnel and the full range of psychosexual and addiction therapies.

She spent ten years as Personal Liaison Manager within the high-powered world of media event management including fashion public relations and production, which introduced her into the world of the celebrity circuit and entertainment industry. This revealed the psychological impact of this lifestyle on individuals when dealing with anxiety, depression, rejection, addiction and loss, and created the backdrop to her service that specialises managing those in the spotlight and entertainment industry and centres around personal and working relationship issues for individuals and couples, often with sexual psychotherapy requirements placed at the heart of the issues.

Anne-Maria offers a breadth of experience in dealing with acute and chronic psychological conditions, issues and traumas through her one-to-one therapy, group therapy, call handling on help lines and presenting her bespoke AM at PM radio programme in West Yorkshire. She has developed her work with performers and actors to deliver a training package tailored to assist performers of live events to manage stage fright and performance anxiety. This has created the bedrock of her understanding of the personal impact on performers of delivering live performances within the entertainment industry and the considerable impact it can have on their personal lives.

Anne-Maria utilises her psychotherapeutic expertise through her Co-directorship of Drumroll International, an events and talent management business dealing with major companies such as Walt Disney Group, Playboy, Body Power and Erotica UK. She has recently established a subsidiary of this company which specialises in the psychosexual therapeutic support of those in the entertainment industry.

Matt Anastasi - Tax and Accountancy

Matt was born in Malta and spent his entire childhood longing to be on stage. At the age of sixteen he started to perform for Malta’s National Theatre and credits include Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Gideon), Into The Woods (Cinderella’s Prince), Dracula (Nick), Johnny Don’t Jump (Johnny) and The Rocky Horror Show (Brad).

At eighteen Matt went on to read an undergraduate degree in Accountancy and Management and graduated in 2003 from the University of Malta. Whilst studying he started teaching for Stagecoach Malta and went on to be Assistant Musical Director for the 400 strong National Stagecoach children’s choir.

Having always wanted to study performance professionally, he came to the UK in 2007 and read a Masters Degree in Musical Theatre at the Guildford School of Acting. Matt focussed his career on teaching and for two years taught for Italia Conti Theatre Arts School, Debbie Fyffe Theatre Arts as well as privately. In 2008 he decided to start his own business merging both of his degrees – accounting and performance, and has successfully run his own business since then. His services are known by his clients to have a personal touch as well as being set at a price which is reachable, particularly by first year graduates who are struggling financially.

Matt has worked with industry professionals for over three years. His broad portfolio includes clients who are currently in or have been in La Traviata (Royal Opera House), The Devil’s Double (Feature film), Legally Blonde (West End), Les Misérables (West End), All Angels (Crossover Band), Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (UK tour), Evita (Uk tour), The Rocky Horror Show (European Tour), Pirates of Penzance (UK tour), and many others.