Acting coach
Act One
Performer
Act One
Performer
My journey began as a performer, training in the rigorous conservatoire system at the Central Academy of Drama. Immersed in both classical and contemporary techniques, I learned what the physical and emotional demands of acting actually ask of the body.
Yet, even as I inhabited roles on stage, I became increasingly fascinated by the mechanics of the craft: What truly allows an actor to bridge the gap between
text, lived experience, and the body?
I didn’t step away from performing, but this question slowly drew my work towards
working with actors in training.
Photos: selected performance stills across classical and contemporary theatre.
My journey began as a performer, training in the rigorous conservatoire system at the Central Academy of Drama. Immersed in both classical and contemporary techniques, I learned what the physical and emotional demands of acting actually ask of the body.
Yet, even as I inhabited roles on stage, I became increasingly fascinated by the mechanics of the craft:
What truly allows an actor to bridge the gap between
text, lived experience, and the body?
I didn’t step away from performing, but this question slowly drew my work towards working with actors in training.
Photos: selected performance stills across classical and contemporary theatre.
Academic Background:
BA in Acting – Central Academy of Drama
MA & PhD in Theatre Studies – Central Academy of Drama
Academic Background:
BA in Acting – Central Academy of Drama
MA & PhD in Theatre Studies –
Central Academy of Drama
My journey began as a performer, training in the rigorous conservatoire system at the Central Academy of Drama. Immersed in both classical and contemporary techniques, I learned what the physical and emotional demands of acting actually ask of the body.
Yet, even as I inhabited roles on stage, I became increasingly fascinated by the mechanics of the craft: What truly allows an actor to bridge the gap between text, lived experience, and the body?
I didn’t step away from performing, but this question slowly drew my work towards working with actors in training.
Photos: selected performance stills across classical and contemporary theatre.
Act Two
Transition: From Performer to Pedagogue
For nearly a decade, I led BA-level programs and directed productions at Shanghai Theatre Academy, while simultaneously applying my methods within professional rehearsal rooms and live productions.
Holding pedagogy and professional practice side by side pushed me to look for a way of bringing Eastern and Western performance traditions into the same working language.
Photos: selected works directed or creatively contributed to.
Teaching, Directing & Research Experience:
Full-time Lecturer, Shanghai Theatre Academy
(8 years)
Acting coach & director in professional settings
Act Two
Transition: From Performer to Pedagogue
For nearly a decade, I led BA-level programs and directed productions at Shanghai Theatre Academy, while simultaneously applying my methods within professional rehearsal rooms and live productions.
Holding pedagogy and professional practice side by side pushed me to look for a way of bringing Eastern and Western performance traditions into the same working language.
Photos: selected works directed or creatively contributed to.
Teaching, Directing & Research Experience:
Full-time Lecturer, Shanghai Theatre Academy (8 years)
Acting coach & director in professional settings
Act Three
Turning Point: Expanding Training Methodologies
To take this work further, I moved to London for my MFA in Training and Coaching at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD). Yet, working between these cultures kept revealing ‘lost in translation’ moments in the studio, where language and culture blur what a technique is actually doing.
This led me to develop a methodology using ‘rich picture-like diagrams’, playful, hand-drawn visual metaphors that bypass language to articulate and diagnose complex acting problems. Alongside this, I bring Traditional Chinese Opera into a rigorous, direct dialogue with Stanislavski, Laban, and Actioning, letting these diverse traditions inform and empower one another.
Filtered through a postmodern lens and the Daoist philosophy of Wuwei
(action without forcing), they became a unified language.
Photos: selected from studio practice and training contexts.
Academic Background:
MFA in Actor Training & Coaching, RCSSD
Act Three
Turning Point: Expanding Training Methodologies
To take this work further, I moved to London for my MFA in Training and Coaching at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD). Yet, working between these cultures kept revealing ‘lost in translation’ moments in the studio, where language and culture blur what a technique is actually doing.
This led me to develop a methodology using ‘rich picture-like diagrams’, playful, hand-drawn visual metaphors that bypass language to articulate and diagnose complex acting problems. Alongside this, I bring Traditional Chinese Opera into a rigorous, direct dialogue with Stanislavski, Laban, and Actioning, letting these diverse traditions inform and empower one another.
Filtered through a postmodern lens and the Daoist philosophy of Wuwei
(action without forcing), they became a unified language.
Photos: selected from studio practice and training contexts.
Academic Background:
MFA in Actor Training & Coaching, RCSSD
Act Four
Today: Intercultural Actor Training
Today, this intercultural and interdisciplinary framework defines my professional practice.
In practical terms, based in London, I work as a freelance acting coach and independent researcher at the intersection of performance and cross-sector innovation. Alongside leading intercultural masterclasses and practice-as-research projects as a Visiting Research Associate Professor at the Central Academy of Drama, I also run QI Performing Arts as its Founder and Artistic Director.
At the core of this work, I continue to work closely with professional actors and students, offering coaching that responds to the concrete demands of contemporary training and production – making the mechanics of acting visible, articulated, and immediately workable in the studio.
In parallel, I have begun extending this action-based approach beyond the stage, collaborating with technology and gaming companies on digital character development and interactive storytelling.
Photos: selected from work with professional actors in industry settings.
Professional Roles:
London-based Acting Coach & Researcher
Visiting Research Associate Professor, Central Academy of Drama
Founder & Artistic Director, QI Performing Arts
Act Four
Today: Intercultural Actor Training
Act Four
Today: Intercultural Actor Training
Today, this intercultural and interdisciplinary framework defines my professional practice.
In practical terms, based in London, I work as a freelance acting coach and independent researcher at the intersection of performance and cross-sector innovation. Alongside leading intercultural masterclasses and practice-as-research projects as a Visiting Research Associate Professor at the Central Academy of Drama, I also run QI Performing Arts as its Founder and Artistic Director.
At the core of this work, I continue to work closely with professional actors and students, offering coaching that responds to the concrete demands of contemporary training and production – making the mechanics of acting visible, articulated, and immediately workable in the studio.
In parallel, I have begun extending this action-based approach beyond the stage, collaborating with technology and gaming companies on digital character development and interactive storytelling.
Photos: selected from work with professional actors in industry settings.
Professional Roles:
London-based Acting Coach & Independent Researcher
Visiting Research Associate Professor, Central Academy of Drama
Founder & Artistic Director, QI Performing Arts
What follows is where my work actually happens.
What follows is where my work actually happens.
