ACADEMIC DIRECTOR
Marcella trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama on the BA Music course and at the Royal Academy of Music, London on the post-graduate musical theatre course where she received the Ian Fleming Musical Theatre Award and the Musicians Benevolent Fund Award.
Theatre Works: A Little Night Music (Jack Lyons Theatre), Evita (Zouk Amphitheatre, Beirut), Richard Rogers Centenary Celebrations (with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall), Les Dialogues Des Carmelites (Edinburgh Festival Theatre), Manon (New Athenaeum). Marcella has also worked as a backing singer for Elton John, performing at Birmingham NEC, The Royal Albert Hall, The Royal Opera House and Wembley, and appearing on BBC 1. Other works include session singing and New Music Theatre Writers workshop.
Marcella’s teaching experience includes; Musical Supervisor for Montage Theatre Arts, London. Vocal Coaching for Forth Children’s Theatre and Musical Director for Edinburgh council’s Musical Theatre Summer School.
Vice-Principal
Laura Proudfoot is the Vice Principal at the MGA Academy of Performing Arts. Before being appointed at MGA in August 2018, Laura was a Co-Founder and Co-Director of Morningside Advanced Training, providing the delivery of HND Professional Dance Performance qualifications to dancers in full-time vocational training. Prior to embarking on her own business, Laura worked in the Dance department at Edinburgh’s Telford College, where she progressed from Lecturer to Head of Department within her 15 years of employment.
Throughout her professional career, she has been actively involved in the development of dance education within the Scottish Secondary school Curriculum, and has worked with the Dance Development Team at the Scottish Qualifications Authority as an assessor and advisor for the Higher Dance Qualification.
Laura was awarded a First-Class BA (Hons) Dance Degree through Northumbria University, and continues to be an active teaching member of the Royal Academy of Dance, and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing.
Academic Coordinator
For over a decade Rebecca Wallace performed internationally with various musical theatre shows such as ‘Guys and Dolls’, ‘Broadway!’, Qdos Pantomimes and on Costa and Cunard Cruise Lines. She was Dance Captain and Company Manager for several international dance tours including ‘Spirit of the Dance’ and ‘Dancing Queen’. And although her performance career predominantly kept her in theatre she also had the opportunity to perform in music videos and television programmes.
She continues to choreograph internationally having created the dance element of musical theatre and cabaret shows in Dubai, UAE and across Europe.
After retiring from performing full time Rebecca now delivers classes in 9 styles of dance to an extensive range of abilities in both mainstream and private sectors including inclusive classes for adults to holistically support their physical, emotional and intellectual wellbeing.
Having completed her MSc Dance Science and Education with an additional teaching diploma at Edinburgh University her experience includes educational leadership, curriculum design, research, pedagogy and initial teacher training.
Head of Dance
MA Dance Practices
BA (Hons) Literary & Cultural Studies
Lisa is a highly experienced theatre practitioner with advanced skills in dance techniques and diverse theatre knowledge.
As a choreographer and director she has worked extensively in theatre, the cruising industry and the corporate commercial sector.
Previous teaching includes, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, Guildford School of Acting Conservatoire.
Lisa’s passion for dance and all genres of the performing arts, is coupled with her commitment to excellence in the delivery of dance training to MGA’s future professionals.
Head of Acting
Molly trained at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly RSAMD) and has been an actor for over twenty years. During this time she has received a commendation at the Ian Charleson/National Theatre Awards (for Electra), was nominated for a Stage Award for Acting Excellence (for her role in Moving Objects) and was nominated for a Best Actress CATS award (One day all this will come to nothing). Her theatre work includes stints at The National Theatre of Scotland, The Traverse, The Royal Lyceum, Dundee Rep, Perth Rep, The Citizen’s and the Royal Court as well as many touring companies.
Film and television credits include: Rebus, Taggart, Holby City, A Mug’s Game, Psychos, Takin’ over the Asylum, Rab C. Nesbitt, Lovesick, River City, The Bill, Ratcatcher, Strathblair, The Ferguson Theory, Stella Does Tricks, Afterlife and Karmic Mothers. She has also performed in numerous radio plays for BBC Radio 4.
Molly was one of the Traverse Fifty writers. She received a New Playwright award from The Playwright’s Studio, Scotland in 2014. She has had rehearsed readings of her short plays Legacy and Roads of Grace. Her translation into Scots of Michel Tremblay’s Thérèse and Pierrette and the Wee Hanging Angel was presented by Stellar Quines as part of their Rehearsal Room. Her play Mother Ease was performed at the Traverse during the Edinburgh Festival.
Molly was Associate Director on 13 Sunken Years, a co-production between Stellar Quines and Lung Ha Theatre Companies. She directed the first rehearsed reading of her translation of Thérèse and Pierrette and the Wee Hanging Angel at the Traverse and has directed Five Kinds of Silence for Beyond Broadway Productions.
Molly is also a fully qualified secondary school teacher.
Head of Musical Theatre
Kris graduated with a First Class BA Honours in Musical Theatre from Mountview Academy of Performing Arts, London.
After graduating he went on to perform in London’s West End and on both National and International Tours. Roles included Rusty in Starlight Express, Narrator in Blood Brothers and Jamie in The Last Five Years.
Most recently Kris performed on BBC 2’s Friday Night Is Music Night live from the London Palladium with the Royal Symphonic Orchestra.
It has been my great privilege and pleasure to be a tutor here at the MGA Academy of Performing Arts for the last four years and I cannot wait to continue working with our students.