Will Wollen

Experience

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  Actor/ director/ writer

  Jan 1998 - Jul 2015

  Actor/ director/ writer/ acting tutor

  I directed and commissioned five new actor-musician musicals in Margate. “Splendid… fresh and imaginative”, The Stage; “[Margate] has the second oldest theatre in Britain… which is now run by someone very imaginative (his name is Will Wollen)”, The Observer; “an unforgettable experience”, Isle Magazine; “A gem…gloriously funny”, “a story told with expert and skilled hands”, Isle of Thanet Gazette. My production of Twenty Thousand Leagues at The Watermill Theatre was the Guardian Critic’s Choice. The Times called it “hard to resist” and local press enthused: “In the premier league”, Newbury Weekly News; “Simply magical theatre” – Andover Advertiser; “The whole evening we were kept on our toes… Director Will Wollen is to be congratulated”, Hampshire Chronicle; “Bursting with energy”, Kick FM. Directing credits include: Starter for 10, Smoke and Mirrors, Sleeping Beauty, Ali Baba, The Ethanol Project, Henry V, The Winter’s Tale, The Snow Queen, Pinocchio, Hansel and Gretel (Theatre Royal Margate);The Fourth Fold, Shakespeare Shorts, River of Dreams, A Conspiracy of Furniture, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Shed, The Roof Project, The Odyssey, Donkey Hoo-ha!, Call to the Sky (Watermill Theatre); The Witch’s Spring, Christmas Lullaby (CreACTive); Permanent Daylight (Croydon Warehouse); Every Afternoon (Daddy Theatre); Peter Pan in Scarlet (First Staged Reading at Kensington Palace).Acting credits include principal roles in: The Legend of Tarzan (Warner Bros 2016); Smoke and Mirrors, Alien (Theatre Royal Margate);The Impossible Club, Roof Project (Watermill Theatre); The Hobbit (West End and no. 1 Tour); Fred and Madge (National Theatre); The Little Prince (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds); Brundibár (opera), Kafka’s The Trial, The Life of Edward II of England (Cherub Company London); Henry V (Oddsocks Productions) Silks, Spices and Spirits (Forest Forge); Hitchhhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Spyglass 2005). Various short film and commercials. Show less

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  Shakespeare's Globe

  Jan 1999 - Jan 2004

  Education Practitioner

  Working within a team of education practitioners to design and deliver dynamic practical workshops on all aspects of Shakespeare and performance. I personally led workshops, delivered talks and gave tours for over 10,000 children and young people - mainly from secondary schools but also international, degree-level and post-graduate students. For ten years I hosted the onstage celebrations on Shakespeare's Birthday.

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  Guildford School of Acting

  Jan 2003 - Jan 2007

  Visiting Specialist Tutor

  At GSA I taught regularly on both the MA and BA Acting courses, as well as occasionally on the MA and BA Musical Theatre courses.I designed and taught modules in Acting; Impro; Mask; Commedia

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  The Watermill Theatre

  Jan 2004 - Jan 2007

  Asst Director Outreach, Education & Touring

  As well as directing some main house productions (see directing credits) I was responsible for the theatre's education and outreach programme. I delivered hundreds of workshops and business training sessions to students from ages 5-75.I also led 1-2-1 corporate training for clients as part of our corporate sponsorship package offer. Key personal artistic output:4 new plays for young people professionally produced by the theatreAn innovative CPD programme in Voice and Shakespeare for teachers at primary and secondary levelsRaising Voices - a new writing competition which received hundreds of entries from across the U.K. I directed and acted as dramaturg on the winning entry, 'The Fourth Fold'.A theatre outreach programme that worked with more than 20,000 people each year Show less

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  Theatre Royal Margate

  Jul 2007 - Jul 2012

  Artistic Director & Chief Executive

  From 2007-2012 I was Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Theatre Royal Margate, a registered charity with annual turnover of £490K. Arriving at the Grade II* listed theatre when it was closed, I had overall responsibility for setting a new strategic and artistic direction for the theatre; leading the development of a new business plan; setting and sticking to project, production and business budgets; and programming the theatre. During those years I led the theatre in its transformation from a tired seaside venue into a dynamic arts organisation with an exciting main-house programme, a successful associate company scheme, a dynamic community outreach department and an excellent staff. Theatre Royal Margate became a key player in the artistic infrastructure of the South-East, well-respected by artists, stakeholders and its audiences. As a receiving house it punched well above its small-scale weight, growing audiences with new work from exciting new theatre artists as well as established companies such as The Watermill Theatre, Forkbeard Fantasy and Metamorpho and launching national tours for Shakespeare’s Globe and Paul Merton. My background in producing theatre resulted in a strong in-house production strand of family music theatre, large-scale community projects and a flourishing new writing programme.As Artistic Director at TRM I became a co-founder and member of the steering group for 'house', a new initiative entrusted by Arts Council East and South-East with an ambition of transforming the touring infrastructure of the region, through information-sharing and venue-led commissioning. Show less

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  PROPELLER THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED

  May 2010 - Jul 2015

  Education Consultant

  As Education Consultant for Edward Hall’s Propeller Theatre Company I expanded their profile nationally and internationally within the education sector through provision of a first-rate workshop programme accompanying shows on national and international tour and acclaimed education packs, featuring high on search engines, and downloaded by thousands of teachers world-wide.

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  Freelance

  Oct 2012 - Aug 2015

  Creative Consultant

  Clients have included Castnet where I project-managed the relaunch of CastNet's new online casting website and building relations within the theatre, TV and film industry.

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  University of Kent

  Sept 2013 - Sept 2017

  Teaching on the following UG modulesActingPerforming Classical TextsIntroduction to MaskCreative ProjectArts Internshipand postgrad modulesMA Shakespeare PerformanceJoint Winner of Barbara Morris Prize for Learning Support 2016 Convening and teaching on the 1st Year Theatre Skills, 2nd Year Acting and 3rd Year Performing Classical Texts modules. Member of Drama Board.

  • Lecturer in Drama and Theatre (Acting)

    Aug 2015 - Sept 2017

  • Visiting Associate Lecturer

    Sept 2013 - Jul 2015
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  Company Gabrielle Moleta

  Jun 2018 - now

  Co Director

  We are a UK-based theatre company led by movement director Gabrielle Moleta. We make theatre with a unique starting point of animal observation to create intimate stories that emerge from painstaking physical exploration.We work with like-minded international creatives to make rich, surprising and physically extraordinary theatre that gently dissolves the boundaries between the human and the natural world.

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  University of Kent

  Aug 2018 - Apr 2021

  Leading strategy, development and delivery of undergraduate Education and Student Experience activity across the newly formed Division of Arts & Humanities. The Division of Arts & Humanities is the largest in the University, comprising 13 distinct subject areas and over 4,200 undergraduate students. Leading and managing Quality Assurance for the Division’s programmes and modules, and other relevant policies and processes, to ensure compliance; Member of the Senior Management Team of the Division of Arts & Humanities (comprising School of Architecture, School of Arts, Departments of English, History, Drama, Film, Media, Art History, Modern Languages, English Language and Linguistics, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Music and Audio Technology).Chair of the Divisional Education Committee; Member of University’s Education Board; Member of University’s Student Experience and Skills Sub-Committee; Member of University’s Programme Approval Sub-Committee; Member of Access and Participation Steering GroupI was a key member of the University’s Silver Command Covid response group, representing Academic Divisions. The group led the successful pivoting to online and blended learning provision, enabling and supporting thousands of Kent students to progress and graduate safely, meeting demanding programme learning outcomes in challenging circumstances. Show less I am an inspirational, insightful and constantly curious acting teacher and scholar with a provencommitment to teaching and actor training at undergraduate and postgraduate level in bothconservatoire and academic settings. Excellent student-centred teaching is backed up by a superbprofessional background and record as a working actor, theatre director, arts consultant,programmer and arts innovator.Faculty Director of Public Engagement in the Faculty of Humanities (from Aug 2018)Faculty of Humanities Planning GroupFaculty of Humanities Research & Innovation CommitteeSchool of Arts Planning CommitteeAcademic Lead for Employability in School of Arts (incorporating departments of Drama, Film and History of Art)Represents School of Arts on Faculty Student Experience and Employability CommitteeRepresents Faculty Of Humanities on University Employability and Skills Sub CommitteeCourses, units and modules taught:Undergraduate - Acting; Acting Shakespeare; Introduction to Mask; Shakespeare's Theatre; Stagecraft; Theatre Skills; Directing Theatre; Creative Project; Arts Internship - Learning in the WorkplacePostgraduate (MA) - Performance Project (Shakespeare); Creative Producing - The Business; Dissertation supervisionI also created a new module for the Film department: Working with Actors. The module deals with the practicalities and ethics of casting and directing actors and non-actors for film.Guest Lectures: Cultural Policy; Making Performance; Theatre Adaptation; Empty Space II;Texts for Theatre; Modern Theatre and Film Development Project.Joint Winner of Barbara Morris Learning Support Prize: University Teaching Prizes 2016Led team nominated by University of Kent for Advance HE's Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence 2018 Show less I led on issues surrounding student employability, and transformed the student and staff culture on employability in the School of Arts, improving communication, increasing collaborations with internal and external partners, and embedding employability concerns into the curriculum of School of Arts courses in Drama, History of Art, Media, and Film.My strategy for Employability in the School of Arts has since been used as the model for University's institution-wide strategy.In 2018-19 Arts students won more awards than any other school in the University's award-nominated Employability Points programme. Show less As TEF5 Co-ordinator I prepared, co-ordinated and managed preparations for the School of Arts' subject level TEF submissions. I represented the School of Arts on the University’s TEF Stakeholder Group and was the primary point of contact for Arts in the development of the overall University TEF submission. With the Head of School, Heads of Subject and Directors of Research and Education I was a member of the School of Arts Planning Committee.I was a reporting member of the University's TEF Stakeholder Group.I managed the review, analysis and synthesis of the School’s TEF metrics and datasets and took responsibility for drafting the statements/narratives required in order to complete subject TEF returns. Show less As Faculty Director of Public Engagement, a role which I carried out alongside my duties as Senior Lecturer, I led on the strategic development of research-based public engagement across Schools and Centres within the Faculty and contributed to strategy across the University, advising colleagues of areas of potential public engagement development.I supported, encouraged and further promoted public engagement activities, which could range from public talks and exhibitions to press and social media activities, liaising with partner organisations.I adjudicated on the University's Public Engagement for Research Fund.Member of Public Engagement with Research Action Group.Member of Kent Public Engagement with Research Network. Show less

  • Member of University Senate

    Sept 2020 - Apr 2021

  • Director of Education and Undergraduate Student Experience (Division of Arts & Humanities)

    Jun 2020 - Apr 2021

  • Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Studies (Acting)

    Oct 2017 - Apr 2021

  • Director of Employability (Arts)

    Sept 2015 - Apr 2021

  • Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Coordinator for School of Arts

    Aug 2018 - Feb 2021

  • Chair of Exam Board - LAMDA

    Feb 2019 - Jan 2021

  • Interim Cover for Associate Dean for Education (Faculty of Humanities)

    Jan 2020 - Dec 2020

  • Faculty Director of Public Engagement in the Faculty of Humanities

    Aug 2018 - Jul 2020
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  University of Essex

  Dec 2018 - Aug 2022

  External Examiner

  External Examiner for East 15 Acting School, University of Essex

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  LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)

  Apr 2021 - Dec 2023

  Executive Dean of the Drama School

  In this role I provided strategic leadership and operational management of the Drama School across a period of change.A world-leading Higher Education provider, LAMDA offers exceptional vocational training to actors, stage managers, technicians, directors and designers, regardless of their background or economic circumstances.I was responsible for a team of 38 permanent staff and over 100 fixed-term tutors and freelance practitioners each year. I was responsible for operational and financial planning of the Drama School, including budget and target setting, monitoring and strategic resource deployment for an annual departmental budget of £2.9 million.I led on the development of teaching staff, and Drama School admin staff, and the building of a collaborative and supportive environment for staff and students. I arrived at LAMDA towards the end of the 20-21 academic year which saw LAMDA receive some of the lowest Student Satisfaction scores in the sector. In response, I led a Student Satisfaction strategy across two years. In the summer of 2023 LAMDA’s National Student Satisfaction scores ranked top among UK Drama Schools.I represented LAMDA in the Federation of Drama Schools U.K., the Conservatoires UK Deputy Principals Forum and the Hammersmith & Fulham Cultural Strategy Steering Group. Show less

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  University of East London

  Sept 2023 - now

  External Examiner

  External Examiner for BA Acting Course at Italia Conti (validated partner institution)

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  Gaiety School of Acting

  Feb 2024 - now

  Director & CEO

  In this role I provide strategic, operational and artistic leadership for all the Gaiety School’s activities.The Gaiety School of Acting – The National Theatre School of Ireland (GSA) provides the space, tools and expertise to empower creative journeys inclusive of all ages and backgrounds. From professional training to individual growth, reaching across communities and cultures, we strive to deliver excellence through innovative approaches to the dramatic arts.The School has been providing professional actor training in Dublin for over 35 years and its many distinguished alumni include Colin Farrell, Olivia Wilde, Colin O’Donoghue, Aidan Turner, Eva Birthistle, Charlie Murphy and Sarah Greene, Catherine Walker and Rory Nolan.The Gaiety School of Acting is Ireland’s leading drama school. We deliver over 20 full-time and part-time courses for adults, courses for children, and a wide range of creative corporate training and community outreach options. Our course offerings include:• Two-year full-time Professional Actor Training course• MA in Theatre Practice in collaboration with UCD• One-year part-time courses• Adult short courses• Young Gaiety• GSA in Business• GSA in Education• Shakespeare in Schools Show less