Our Approach
At Curtain Call School of Speech & Drama we believe that every student should feel as though this is their Curtain Call. Every session is their moment to shine, their moment of elation and their time to be recognised for their strength and talent.
Every child is unique and at Curtain Call all of our students are treated equally and given the opportunity to shine, regardless of their level of confidence or ability. We don’t have auditions and we like to ensure that all our students feel encouraged and supported within all the different types of classes thus enabling them to develop at their own pace.
We focus on a personal approach to learning, for LAMDA sessions in particular, each student will be reviewed by their teacher within their sessions and have a personal development plan in place to aid their blossoming talents.
We all aim to make all our sessions an exciting and fun-packed environment for students where they are able to develop social interaction and communication skills, engage creatively and express themselves confidently, both physically and vocally.
Jo Ellis trained with Hull University based at the High Melton Performing Arts campus in her home town of Doncaster. Completing her Performing Arts with Digital Media (Theatre) degree in 2006.
On the euphoria of a summer teaching project with Yew Tree Productions in Wakefield, Jo went straight into education before she had even completed her graduation ceremony , landing a job as a drama specialist teaching assistant.
Then in 2008 she became a Secondary School Drama Instructor in state & academy education. As part of her role Jo was also the Drama Transition Teacher developing the schools relationship with upcoming pupils and local primary schools. It was then she realised how little exposure to quality drama education many primary schools have and set out to open Curtain Call in September 2012.
Since then she has run a highly successful Youth Theatre, She has been an A Level specialist in theatre studies and an AQA examiner for A Level Drama & Theatre Studies. She has wrote numerous schemes of work for exam boards and professional bodies and is an Arts Award trained tutor and advisor.
Jo has also taught the LAMDA syllabus for over 12 years and worked with numerous performing arts companies. As of September 2023 Jo Ellis and Curtain Call will be providing all the performing arts provision for the prestigious Mylnhurst Prep School & Nursery in Sheffield.
“Mainstream education doesn’t always give the freedom and creativity that specialist drama education can provide. Children & adults need to feel positive and engaged with a personal plan that is developed just for their needs and abilities, that is what we aim to do” - Jo Ellis