Say hi to our fearless Act Three leaders, Andrew McPherson and Gavin Joseph
Joining us for his third year with Young Actors Company, Andrew McPherson is a theatre facilitator, director and playwright from Lincolnshire who trained on East 15 Acting School BA (Hons) World Performance course.
Andrew joined Act Three as director in 2018 and has since had a hand in writing and directing To Walk on Water (2019), Swipe Right (2019), The Picture of Dorian Gray (2020) and Isolation – A Short Film (2020).
Andrew’s other work includes project coordination, directing and facilitating for SPID Theatre Company, The Old Vic Theatre, East 15 Acting School, The Churchill Theatre and the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
“Act Three seems to attract brilliantly talented, inquisitive young people from across the borough of Merton,” Andrew says. “They are the reason I’m looking forward to this brand new season of work.
“Their ideas are always exciting, unique, thought provoking and fierce. Theatre may well be in lockdown or in a state of unsustainable social distancing, however, there’s a bucket load of hope when the next generation of creatives are this wonderful!
“In these weird times it’s pretty difficult to imagine what will happen in the future, so we’re turning our heads to the past for answers. We’re going to utilise live theatre and film to dig into the history of Merton and search for somesolutions to our current challenges.”
This year, Andrew is joined by assistant director, Gavin Joseph. Gavin is a multidisciplinary theatre practitioner. His work within the theatre world started first as an ensemble actor as part of the RADA Youth Company and the National Youth Theatre. Having completed a law degree, Gavin came back into the creative world, becoming an alumni of the Hackney Empire’s Writers room, the introduction to directing course at the Young Vic, and then part of the Lyric Ensemble where he performed in The Mob Reformers. He has worked as both an assistant director at the Lyric Hammersmith for the show Liar, Heretic, Thief and at Out of Joint on the show, The Glee Club.
Gavin’s directorial debut was on the show Ad Nauseum as part of the Lyric’s Evolution Festival. Most recently he has continued working on his podcast ‘BAME-ish’, as well as working as a freelance writer for the youth magazine ‘failsafe’ and as associate reader for the theatre company, WoLab.
Gavin says there are many things he’s looking forward to this season, especially as it’s his first time at the company. “The young people here are insanely talented and it’s already proving to be a privilege working with them,” Gavin says. “It’s going to be interesting to see how we all manage to survive this precarious time, but with this group of people, with their talent, drive, and passion, I am filled with optimism and I know we are on course to create something special.”