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ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Shiona Carson
Shiona Carson began her journey with Shakespeare4All in 2012 as a freelance guest artist, tutor and director. Since December 2014 she has taken on the role of Artistic Director being the heartbeat, driving force and quality control manager of all our creative performances and experiential learning programme material.
Shiona studied Drama and Dance at Q.U.T in Brisbane, Australia. After completing her bachelor’s degree in Drama with Distinction she has been working for 16 years in Hong Kong as a professional freelance Actor/Drama Tutor/Public Speaking Coach and voice-over artist. She is a Speech and Drama trainer for Trinity and Guildhall Speech and Drama Exams and for the H.K Speech and Drama festivals winning numerous awards since 2009.
She has written a variety of shows for LCSD, ACDFS and SCOLAR. Her ground-breaking theatre for the very young show, ‘HUBBUB’ ran for 3 consecutive years being commissioned by Swire Properties for the rerun in 2019 due to its high success rate and popularity.
Shiona has also conducted numerous workshops and lectures at HKU and CAISE as well as professional development workshops for local teachers throughout Hong Kong specifically designed to suit Hong Kong Students using the medium of drama instruction.
She is renowned for her ability to develop a learning environment that is encouraging and stimulates a deep desire for students to want to learn. Shiona’s impact on young people, is to draw out their natural talent and ability to work together as one, especially in large groups. Their passion and determination to work together as a team and to be the best they can possibly be in all they do, will always be Shiona’s inspiration. She envisions that Shakespeare is the Everest of the English Language and if a young person can not only understand but can perform Shakespeare, then they can climb the highest of mountains that life has to offer.
Each year since 2016, Shiona has directed the annual gala production that has evolved into one to the highlights of ‘children performing for children’ performances of the year in Hong Kong. It’s spectacular quality level and passionate driving force of both the children and Shiona has caught the attention from numerous sponsors such as the HKJCCT, SWIRE TRUST, FIF, The Jessie and George Ho Charitable Foundation, Vincent and Lily woo Foundation, The Royal Society of St George Hong Kong and 3812 Art Enterprise limited and numerous individual sponsors.
Her dream is that every child in Hong Kong deserves the opportunity to have access to quality arts learning opportunities and performances to build a brighter future for themselves and thanks to those who support us, Shiona has made this dream come true and continues to thrive.