GET SERIOUS: Stage & Screen
Tuesday 25 February, 5.30 - 9.30pm (Doors Open 5pm)
FREE ENTRY
Galleon Arts Centre, Boundary Road, Barking IG11 7JR
BSL Interpreted Event
For young people aged 13-19 interested in a career in Theatre, TV and Film.
Packed with invaluable insight for aspiring young actors, writers, directors and all young people considering a creative career in stage & screen.
Join six top professionals from the world of Theatre, TV and Film.
From acting and directing to producing and casting, our special guests will share their wealth of experience, knowledge, personal stories and advice on different career paths into the creative industries.
Designed to be informative and practical, Get Serious includes an acting working led by a stage and screen professional, and the chance to talk directly with our special guests at a variety of small discussion groups. Learn more about different routes and journeys into the industry, discover some top tips and get answers to your questions.
Get the knowledge you need to GET SERIOUS about stage and screen, with our six guests:
Heather Basten - Casting Director
Ros Attille - TV professional, Head of Children’s & Young Audiences, Big Little Fish TV
Jason York - Actor
Daniel Bailey - Stage & Screen Director and Associate Artistic Director of Bush Theatre
Sydney Aldridge - Casting Director
Ashley J - Presenter, Actor & Writer
MEET OUR GUESTS…
Heather Basten - Casting Director
Heather Basten is a Royal Television Society nominated casting director for Film, TV & Theatre. She is best known for casting the A24/Showtime, International Emmy® nominated TV series Dreaming Whilst Black.
Heather has cast for notable directors and producers such as James Watkins, Jada Pinkett Smith, Rob Savage, Luca Guadagnino, Darren Aronofsky, Koby Adom and more. Recent works include Speak No Evil for Universal/Blumhouse, the BIFA-winning stone age film Out Of Darkness; the sophomore feature from UK producer Oliver Kassman (Saint Maud), and US feature House Of Spoils For Amazon Studios/Blumhouse (co-cast with Terri Taylor & Ally Conover - ‘Get Out, Whiplash’).
Theatre & Musicals Includes: Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming for The Young Vic, directed by Matthew Dunster. Red Pitch on west end Soho Place & Bush Theatre, as well as Fair Play for The Bush & Sonia Friedman Productions, and God of Carnage at Lyric Hammersmith.
Past casting associate credits include Netflix’s The End of the F**King World and Robert Egger’s The Lighthouse starring Willem Dafoe & Robert Pattinson.
She is a member of the Casting Directors Guild UK, and the Casting Society of America. In 2023 she was nominated for a Royal Television Society award for best casting. She has been recognised as a Screen International 'Star of Tomorrow', a BAFTA Breakthrough Artist, and a CSA Artios Nominee, and a CDG Award Winner.
Photo credit: Sarah Harry-Isaacs
Ros Attille - TV professional,
Head of Children’s & Young Audiences, Big Little Fish TV
Ros is an experienced TV professional with over 25 years’ experience, Ros has worked for a variety of broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, Disney Junior, Sky, STV and GMTV Kids. She has also worked on many iconic children’s brands including Doctor Who, Art Attack and Teletubbies. She is currently working as Head of Children’s & Young Audiences for indie production company Big Little Fish TV.
Formerly Head of Preschool Development at BBC Studios, Ros’s many successful commissions include multi-award-winning animation JoJo & Gran Gran, award-winning Yolanda’s Band Jam and Catie’s Amazing Machines, Kit and Pup and Daydreams.
Photo Credit: Big Little Fish TV Ltd
Jason York - Actor
Jason York is a London based actor appearing on stage, screen and online in a variety of roles from dramatic performances to comedic characters. Jason is also an associate artist with Kestrel Theatre a charity that employs professionals to work creatively in the criminal justice system.
TV credits include Mood (BBC), Dreaming Whilst Black (A24), House of Spoils (Blumhouse). Jason is currently filming a new BBC1 drama called Wild Cherry.
Daniel Bailey - Stage & Screen Director and Associate Artistic Director of Bush Theatre
Daniel Bailey is a Director, Dramaturg and Writer for stage and screen. He is currently Associate Artistic Director at the Bush Theatre, London, having joined the team in 2019. Prior roles include Associate Director at Birmingham Rep Theatre (after initially joining as part of the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme), Resident Director at the National Theatre Studio, Associate Artist at Theatre Royal Stratford East, Resident Assistant Director at The Finborough Theatre, and on the Young Vic’s directing programme.
His directing work at the Bush Theatre includes Beru Tessema’s Wolves On Road; Lenny Henry’s August In England (co-directed with Lynette Linton) Spring 2023; Red Pitch by Tyrell Williams (Stage Debut Award Winner 2022) in 2022 and 2023; and Temi Wilkey’s The High Table (Stage Debut Award winner 2020). In 2024 Daniel made his West End debut as Red Pitch transferred to @SohoPlace and he has been nominated for Best Creative West End Debut at The Stage Debut Awards 2024. His production of I Wonder If (presented with YV Taking Part) had a run at the Young Vic Theatre in late 2022 before going on a community tour, and Daniel was the Creative Associate on the UK Premiere of Bootycandy at Gate Theatre. His work at Birmingham Rep includes Joe Penhall’s Blue Orange; Concubine; Stuff; I Knew You; Abuelo, Jump! We’ll Catch You; Made In India/Britain; and Exhale.
His film and TV director credits include: Dropped (Mothers Best Child/Ch4), Malachi (S.E.D), Floating on Clouds (Kingdom Entertainment Group) and Y.O.L.O. Therapy (S.E.D).
Photo Credit: Roy J Baron
Sydney Aldridge - Casting Director
Sydney Aldridge Casting has been running since 2018 casting projects for stage, TV, film and commercials.
She has cast multiple films and short films for production companies such as Academy Award Winning Production Company Slick Films, The BFI, Film London, Red Productions, Flumeri Films, Heretic Productions, AK Productions & Sonder Pictures to name a few.
Her stage work includes multiple projects for The Barn Theatre Cirencester, Papatango, Royal & Derngate Theatre, Red Rose Chain, The Park Theatre, The Arcola & Vault Festival.
Sydney's TV credits as an associate include Hotel Portofino (ITV), Churchill At War (Netflix) FDR, Lincoln, Roosevelt & Ancient Empires (History Channel).
Ashley J - Presenter, Actor & Writer
A talented Presenter, Actor and Writer born in Newham, East London wrapped in his St Lucian heritage.
Presenter credits: Ashley J has presented the Saudi Arabia Formula E Concerts, for Live Nation where he has introduced artists such as Usher, Akon, The Black Eyed Peas and many more. Other Presenting work includes: The Caribbean Summertime Ball (Oval Cricket Ground), The St Lucian Prime Ministers Gala (Royal Kensington Palace Gardens) Love Music Hate Racism Festival, Lovers and Friends, The Sir Ashley J & DJ B-Radz Live Nation takeover show, The World Hip-Hop Championships (SSE Arena), Latitude Festival, Dubai Music Week (Live Nation), MTV Base, BBC’s Radio1 Hackney Weekend Festival, The 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, torch relays (BBC & CH4), Serious About StreetDance Championships (Indigo o2) and the UK Street Dance Challenge Dance Championships. The international Hip-Hop show BLAZE (Holland, Bahrain, Belgium, Berlin and Dubai). He is also the presenter and cocreator of the UK hit improvised comedy show, ACTing Up!
Acting credits: Clank in Robin Hood (CBeebies & BBC Films), Gary in the award-winning series Justins House (BBC), Doctors (BBC), Amazon Prime, Al Cowlings in Nicole and OJ, All About the McKenzies (ITV2), Laur and Disorder (Masked Pony Productions), Lenny Henry’s Funny Black Singles (Leopard Films, BBC Comedy) and EastEnders (BBC). Ashley writes for and voices the role of Jared in the first Black British-St Lucian BBC animated series JoJo & Gran Gran which can currently be seen on CBeebies and BBC iplayer and has won a multitude of awards. He has performed at many Theatres across the UK including Theatre Royal Stratford East, where his training began in the Youth Theatre. Ashley was Co-Associate Director for the Olivier award winning West End Production Get Up Stand Up and was recently in the West End Hit Shifters.
Writing work for screen and stage includes: Series 2 & 3 of the Award- winning BBC series JoJo & Gran Gran. Series 1 and 3 of Dog Squad on CBeebies produced by Hello Halo and Silly Sundays produced by Cartoon Saloon for RTEjr Ireland, Cartoon Network and HBO Max. He is currently writing on a new animated TV series for Channel 5 and Jellyfish pictures, plus three new BBC series as well as developing his own TV series and Theatre show. He recently finished writing and directing the live show of Supertato for the Discover Arts Centre in Stratford. Ashley is also a Royal Television Society award winning writer.
Follow him on his NEW Instagram: @Sir_AshleyJoseph (The last one got hacked – he’s still emotionally recovering from the violation).
