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ISTA
Practitioners
Our practitioners include freelance ISTA staff members from all around the world and two full time staff members who have taught in international schools and worked in the entertainment industry.
Darren Scully, Drama
ISTA has been a big part of Darren’s life since the early 1990s. He is a former Vice President of ISTA and a trustee. You may have seen him as AD, Rep or host of ISTA festivals both in Europe and Asia. He’s the Director of Performing Arts at the Western International School of Shanghai.
Darren has directed a lot of theatre in over 30 years as a teacher, from classic musicals to edgy experimental work. More recently he has been working on re-interpreting classical texts through physical theatre approaches and devised work in immersive, site-specific venues. He is an experienced AD at over 10 festivals and Student Ensemble Leader at TaPS (the IB Theatre programme). He has also worked a lot with teachers as Artist-in-Residence and for professional development at festivals. He has hosted 6 festivals at MS, HS and TaPS levels. Darren has been a contributor to ISTA’s journal, Scene, and co-authored IB Theatre Arts training for teachers.
Anne Drouet, Executive Director & Music
Honorary Life Member - Founding member of ISTA Academy, Shanghai
Née Anne Wu, Anne has been teaching music and musical theatre since 1994 and her work in and outside the classroom has taken her around the world. As a freelance composer (Anne Wu), Anne has worked with music legend John Altman and recently performed with Andy Summers from the Police. She has also composed music for film (Weinstein Films) and theatre projects. Anne enjoys teaching students to compose with a variety of director's briefs and resources. Young people who may never have written a note before, learn to express themselves through music and write their own songs using instruments as industry software. Anne is most inspired by a drive to develop empathy and shape value in young people through powerful experiences in the Performing Arts.
Anne is the founding director of ISTA's first Performing Arts Academy which was based in Shanghai. She is now the Director of Visual and Performing Arts at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong and is hugely honoured to be setting up ISTA's second permanent home.
Juliette Simms, Drama & Physical Theatre
Juliette was inspired to join the ISTA community after observing the magic of one of their festivals at the ISTA Academy of Hong Kong. Since then she has gone on to work as an ISTA artist, ensemble leader, and festival artistic director, as well as having led several of their professional development sessions online and contributed articles to Scene, ISTA’s online journal.
With over 20 years' international experience in teaching drama and English, she is passionate about all types of story-telling, in particular giving young people a voice through the creation of original devised theatre. She has choreographed numerous performance pieces, ranging from pure dance and musical theatre numbers through to physical theatre. Juliette is also passionate about bringing Shakespeare to life through creative approaches that open the texts up to performers and audiences alike.
Moira Arthurs, Drama & Physical Theatre
Before moving to Asia Moira Arthurs had a hectic career in British theatre. Her roles included Youth Drama Director for the Royal Court Theatre, London and Assistant Director and Education Consultant for the Oxford Stage Company.
Moira is an examiner for ORACY Australia and a senior examiner for the International Baccalaureate. Since 2000 she has had an association with ISTA, working as Artistic Director and Ensemble Leader for Festivals and at many TaPS around the world. “ISTA is a vital part of my professional life and keeps me in touch with the possibilities of theatre and its power to transform lives.” Moira is the ISTA Regional Coordinator for Hong Kong.