Meet The Team
Gavin Dickson Principal
Gavin has been a principal of stage schools for over twenty years and has seen many students go on to work in the performing arts. He is passionate about the creative education of young minds helping them develop and achieve to the best of their ability regardless of whether they continue within the profession or choose another path.
Students leave our schools to go to college and universities, studying a variety of subjects, with self-confidence and independence. Gavin takes pride in teaching acting, singing and dancing together with personal development and transferable skills through the performing arts to help them achieve their goals.
Gavin has extensive experience in music and theatre production from international touring productions, to the Dunfermline Alhambra theatre’s famous Pantomimes.
Zoe McRae
Zoe McRae is an Edinburgh based Drama and Singing Teacher, Performer and Musical Theatre Graduate from Aberdeen Academy of Performing Arts
Zoe also has her Trinity College of London LTCL in Musical Theatre Teaching as well as being trained in Estill Voice technique and specialised in Stanislavski Technique under the tuition of Luis Allan
Zoe is passionate about teaching children singing and acting through fun and creative techniques as well as making sure every student can achieve their best in ASDS’s safe and supportive environment. Zoe takes pride in her achievements and what she can bring to the students and their learning.
Her credits include: Fairy Godmother in Cinderella and Mother Goose (MacArts Theatre), Claire in Bare the Pop Opera, Alysha in American Idiot and Helen in And They Played Shang-A-Lang (Edinburgh Festival and International Tour) and Backing Performer for Plan B and Jack Whitehall among others.
She looks forward to welcoming students to ASDS and sharing that same passion for performing with them.
Piera McGonigal
Piera obtained a BA (Hons) Dance for Commercial Performance degree in 2019 and secured a teaching job in Montenegro before she had even graduated.
This sparked her love for teaching and was the start of her successful career as a performing arts teacher.
She has taught at multiple performing arts schools and provided choreography that has resulted in high placing competition teams, particularly in IFDPA's Disneyland Paris competition.
Piera is delighted to be part of the ASDS teaching team and loves working with all of the students.
Rachael Bell
Gavin has been a principal of stage schools for over twenty years and has seen many students go on to work in the performing arts. He is passionate about the creative education of young minds helping them develop and achieve to the best of their ability regardless of whether they continue within the profession or choose another path.
Students leave our schools to go to college and universities, studying a variety of subjects, with self-confidence and independence. Gavin takes pride in teaching acting, singing and dancing together with personal development and transferable skills through the performing arts to help them achieve their goals.
Gavin has extensive experience in music and theatre production from international touring productions, to the Dunfermline Alhambra theatre’s famous Pantomimes.
Sian Mannifield
Sian graduated from QMU with a degree in Drama and Musical Theatre.While there she was awarded The Sir John Gielgud Medal for most Promising Student. Since graduating she has gone on to a successful acting career in both Television and in Theatre.
Some of her Theatre credits include: Honk the Musical, Cinderella, Emma’s Child, The Winters Tale, Tristan and Mr Poppins, Waiting Room, The Bridge.Her touring productions include Six Black Candles and Get up and Tie your Fingers.
She toured both Nationally and internationally with the highly acclaimed National Theatre of Scotland’s The James Plays and helped devise and toured with Charioteer’s, A Bench on the Road where they played at the world famous Piccolo Theatre in Milan.She can also be seen in Amazon Prime’s ‘We are all immigrants’ ; a documentary of the making of the play ‘A bench onthe Road. She recently performed at Staffords Shakespeare Festival in Macbeth.
Sian’s Tv credits include: the award winning Palme d’or series High Times, RabC Nesbitt, Lip Service, and appearing twice as the same character in the brilliant Still Game.
Sian has also worked in radio, voice over work and in film and corporate theatre and media.
Sian has sung in various bands both nationally and internationally over the years and in various shows and cabarets. As a vocal coach, she teaches both trained actors and emerging young actors and singers. She has worked as the voice lecturer at QMUC teaching both voice for the actor and singing technique. Sian has taught at Stagecoach for eighteen years and loves working with the students and watching them gain confidence in singing and getting real joy from the sound they make make both individually and as a group!
Sian is also a registered Lamda teacher and has thoroughly enjoyed taking students through their exams and gaining a greater love of poetry, prose and drama! She is delighted to be joining ASDS and working with the talented advanced Students on their their acting skills and working towards Lamda Qualifications.
Clark Wallace
Clark is a performer, choreographer & creator from Ayrshire in the West of Scotland and a graduate of PASS, Edinburgh College in 2020, having successfully gained a 1st Class Honours Degree in Dance & Drama accredited by Kingston University, London.
Clark has worked across a range of industries and sectors from higher and further education to theatre, film, and TV, working with a range of people and personalities, from assistant and support roles to managerial and logistics.
Clark has previously worked on various High School productions at Paisley Grammar School and Arran High School working with the students at each school on dance and choreography for a full-scale musical production within the school.
Clark has also worked on various contracts with BBC, CBBC, Imagine Theatre Co., East Ayrshire Leisure and more. In 2017 he travelled to Alessandria, Italy to deliver dance workshops and create further opportunities for aspiring performers. Some performing credits include Jack Whitehall at Edinburgh Playhouse, Plan B at SECC, Commonwealth Games Official Store Opening, Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, Festival 2014 the Official Closing Party for the Commonwealth Games, The Dog ate My Homework with CBBC and various Pantomime contracts.
Clark is currently studying a master’s degree in arts, cultural and festival management at Queen Margaret University.
Aleisha McColl
Gavin has been a principal of stage schools for over twenty years and has seen many students go on to work in the performing arts. He is passionate about the creative education of young minds helping them develop and achieve to the best of their ability regardless of whether they continue within the profession or choose another path.
Students leave our schools to go to college and universities, studying a variety of subjects, with self-confidence and independence. Gavin takes pride in teaching acting, singing and dancing together with personal development and transferable skills through the performing arts to help them achieve their goals.
Gavin has extensive experience in music and theatre production from international touring productions, to the Dunfermline Alhambra theatre’s famous Pantomimes.
Lisa Muir
Sian graduated from QMU with a degree in Drama and Musical Theatre.While there she was awarded The Sir John Gielgud Medal for most Promising Student. Since graduating she has gone on to a successful acting career in both Television and in Theatre.
Some of her Theatre credits include: Honk the Musical, Cinderella, Emma’s Child, The Winters Tale, Tristan and Mr Poppins, Waiting Room, The Bridge.Her touring productions include Six Black Candles and Get up and Tie your Fingers.
She toured both Nationally and internationally with the highly acclaimed National Theatre of Scotland’s The James Plays and helped devise and toured with Charioteer’s, A Bench on the Road where they played at the world famous Piccolo Theatre in Milan.She can also be seen in Amazon Prime’s ‘We are all immigrants’ ; a documentary of the making of the play ‘A bench onthe Road. She recently performed at Staffords Shakespeare Festival in Macbeth.
Sian’s Tv credits include: the award winning Palme d’or series High Times, RabC Nesbitt, Lip Service, and appearing twice as the same character in the brilliant Still Game.
Sian has also worked in radio, voice over work and in film and corporate theatre and media.
Sian has sung in various bands both nationally and internationally over the years and in various shows and cabarets. As a vocal coach, she teaches both trained actors and emerging young actors and singers. She has worked as the voice lecturer at QMUC teaching both voice for the actor and singing technique. Sian has taught at Stagecoach for eighteen years and loves working with the students and watching them gain confidence in singing and getting real joy from the sound they make make both individually and as a group!
Sian is also a registered Lamda teacher and has thoroughly enjoyed taking students through their exams and gaining a greater love of poetry, prose and drama! She is delighted to be joining ASDS and working with the talented advanced Students on their their acting skills and working towards Lamda Qualifications.
Becca Wicksted
Clark is a performer, choreographer & creator from Ayrshire in the West of Scotland and a graduate of PASS, Edinburgh College in 2020, having successfully gained a 1st Class Honours Degree in Dance & Drama accredited by Kingston University, London.
Clark has worked across a range of industries and sectors from higher and further education to theatre, film, and TV, working with a range of people and personalities, from assistant and support roles to managerial and logistics.
Clark has previously worked on various High School productions at Paisley Grammar School and Arran High School working with the students at each school on dance and choreography for a full-scale musical production within the school.
Clark has also worked on various contracts with BBC, CBBC, Imagine Theatre Co., East Ayrshire Leisure and more. In 2017 he travelled to Alessandria, Italy to deliver dance workshops and create further opportunities for aspiring performers. Some performing credits include Jack Whitehall at Edinburgh Playhouse, Plan B at SECC, Commonwealth Games Official Store Opening, Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, Festival 2014 the Official Closing Party for the Commonwealth Games, The Dog ate My Homework with CBBC and various Pantomime contracts.
Clark is currently studying a master’s degree in arts, cultural and festival management at Queen Margaret University.