Eastleigh

Mike Evans – Academy Leader

Mike’s passion for the arts started at the age of 7 when he joined his local drama club and then continued to be involved in performing arts groups through to the end of his time in education.

At the age of 18, Mike started his arts career at Mayflower Theatre where he spent 9 years working across the theatre in a variety of roles, but with a focus on community arts and education.

During the summers, Mike would spend time in Pennsylvania, USA, where he led the drama and performing arts department at a co-ed private summer camp for children and young people aged 6-19. Mike’s passion for acting continued throughout his twenties and he spent time working on productions such as EastEnders, Star Wars, The Witcher and most recently The Batman and Fantastic Beasts which were released in 2022.

In 2017, Mike found employment at Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane, Australia where he worked alongside the Chief Executive at Australia’s largest arts centre.

Mike co-founded Sound Pop Academy in 2018, with the aim to offer contemporary, affordable and high-quality arts to children and young people across the whole of the UK.

Grace Warne – Academy Assistant

Grace has always had a love for performing, growing up in a musical family helped her grow this love into a passion.

Through her youth, Grace took part in many different choirs and youth theatres around Southampton and used any chance she could to sing and dance.

In 2019, Grace attended the University of Chichester Conservatoire studying Musical Theatre Performance, where she was trained in vocal technique and different dance styles including ballet, tap and jazz.

Having performed and worked with young people as a teenager, Grace is excited to see how a young person’s passion can grow as their confidence does.