Funlola
Olufunwa
Actor / Writer/ Educator
Biography
Acting & Singing
I trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and have worked extensively in theatre with voice-over, motion capture, musical theatre and TV credits also under my belt. In 2022 I performed in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of All's Well that Ends Well as Widow and understudied the role of Countess. In 2021, I appeared in No Return for ITV and played Dr Curtis in Emmerdale.
I joined the a capella singing group NitroVox in 2016 and have performed with them publicly and privately (at gigs and functions). One notable production was Protest and Struggle: Voices of Change, at Theatre Peckham which was a mostly verbatim piece with songs interspersed throughout that reflected on the impact of regeneration and gentrification on communities in South East London. I am a Mezzo-Soprano.
Teaching and Directing
I obtained a masters in Actor Training and Coaching from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2012 and have taught/sat on audition panels/directed shows in a variety of drama schools and universities including: The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Goldsmith's University, University of West London, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Liverpool Theatre School, Oxford School of Drama, MTA and Arts Ed. I also work with individuals and with non-actors for corporate or confidence-building purposes.
During my year as Associate Acting Teacher at LAMDA, I directed (in the form of extended scene study) second year students in scenes from plays in their Iconic Americans term. I also co-directed the third year showcase (2022). In the summer of 2021, I directed two productions during an eight week Shakespeare course: A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Changeling. Prior to moving into the role of Associate Teacher, I freelanced at LAMDA as a Michael Chekhov teacher.
At RADA, I directed A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Vanbrugh Theatre in Autumn 2020. In previous years, I have led ten weeks of extended scene study that culminated in an in-house performance of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure with second year students at (2018) and directed a staged reading of my own project: A Cord of Three Strands for the RADA Festival (Gielgud Theatre) in 2019. I continue to teach and direct when not performing or writing.
I teach a host of skills as per client needs (ie: text analysis, scene study or acting for screen) and work with a variety of psycho-physical techniques, especially Michael Chekhov Technique, and am available for 1-1 coaching online or, on set.
Writing
Using the myth of Cassandra as stimulus, I wrote Keeping Up With Kassandra, a project commissioned for Creation Theatre's Digital Theatre season in 2021, as a follow-on to their creative inquiry into climate change.
I accept commissions, and am currently working on a play for Level 6 students on the BA in Acting & Theatre-Making at the University of West London.