ABOUT The Young Entertainers Musical Theatre School
That’s what YEM stands for
HOW WE BEGAN
HISTORY OF YEM
A little bit about us and our tutors
The YEM Theatre School was founded in 1987 by Colin and Tricia Hawcroft. Having had many years experience working professionally within the entertainment industry (known as Tricia and Carl), they turned their hand to teaching and passing on their invaluable knowledge.
Initially, their school started by offering keyboard lessons only, with a performance once a year. However, thinking that the audience would appreciate something to look at whilst listening to the musicians, Tricia Hawcroft decided to draw upon her talents as a dancer and choreographer.
After auditioning for dancers, Tricia set up rehearsal classes which led to a performance and, later, to regular dance classes. Singing and Musical Theatre followed soon behind, with the school offering private tuition and group workshops. The school went from strength to strength, performing at local events and theatres.
Following the success of the theatre school workshops, YEM started its own choir. Under the musical direction of Colin Hawcroft, the YEM Choir started small but soon grew and now performs regularly throughout the local area. The choir was even invited to support Brian May in 2012 and again in 2014 at his “Wildlife Rocks” events.
Colin and Tricia moved to Peterborough in 2013, leaving the school to be run by its three current principals, all who were trained at YEM and qualified through the school’s examining bodies.
OUR PEOPLE
MEET YEMS TUTORS
Our tutors have vast experience from all aspects of musical theatre, dance and drama – read more about them below!
Lucy
(she/her)
Principal and Head Of Dance
A.L.C.M. | L.L.C.M. | F.L.C.M. | A.P.T.D. | L.P.T.D. | BA (Hons) PP (Choreo & Teaching Dance) | Trinity Diploma | Cecchetti DDE | Acrobatic Arts Qualified | Vocal Health First Aid
Lucy started out at YEM at the age of nine with lessons in keyboard. She soon went on to train in musical theatre, dance and drama.
Lucy began choreographing for the school at 14 years old and became a student teacher at 15. YEM led her to continue her training at London’s Urdang Academy, where she gained her diploma in Professional Musical Theatre.
She then went on to complete her BA (Hons) Degree in Professional Practice (Choreography & Teaching Dance) and her Fellowship in Music Theatre with the London College of Music.
Lucy now works professionally as a performer and choreographer in the performing industry, in addition to being one of YEM’s Principals.
Lucy thoroughly enjoys running YEM Theatre School and teaching her classes. Getting to watch her students develop both in skill and in confidence over the years is such a privilege!
Kim
(she/her)
Principal and Head of Singing
A.P.T.D | A.L.C.M | L.L.C.M | F.L.C.M | P. Dip. Teaching Contemporary Singing | Trained in the Estill Method | Vocal Health First Aid
Kim started training at the age of nine with the West End Centre’s junior, and then senior, theatre company. At the age of 18, she joined YEM to continue with her singing tuition and start her training to become a teacher.
In 2007, Kim was awarded her Fellowship in Musical Theatre by the London College of Music and has since gone on to achieve a Professional Diploma in teaching contemporary singing and an Associate with Professional Teachers of
Dancing.
More recently, Kim has achieved her Level 1 & 2 in the Estill Voice Training method which she incorporates into workshops and private lessons.
In her work as a Principal and Teacher at YEM, Kim loves to support her students to achieve success and she aims to inspire the next generation of musical theatre performers by helping every student to shine!
Alongside her work at YEM, Kim has worked as a professional singer for over 2 decades.
Kiah (she/her) – Head Of Drama – A.L.C.M. | L.L.C.M. | F.L.C.M. | A.P.T.D. | Vocal Health First Aid
Kiah has been a member of the YEM family for over fifteen years.
Whilst training in all dance disciplines, Kiah excels in musical theatre and drama. She has achieved her Fellowship Diploma with London College of Music and her Associate in Jazz with Professional Teachers of Dancing.
Kiah delivers high energy musical theatre, drama and dance with heaps of fun to be had. Where there’s a Kiah, there’s a pun! Kiah teaches over 250 of our students each week and expertly tailors her lessons to every child’s individual learning journey. She has taken on the role of Head of Drama with confidence, supporting the wider teaching team in delivering the LAMDA Drama programme and helping many of our students to achieve fantastic exam results!
Kiah has expanded her qualifications with her training in Vocal Health First Aid and is beginning to learn British Sign Language, which she is greatly enjoying.
Outside of YEM, Kiah loves going on adventures with her friends and family! She can often be found performing with her husband, Graham (Broad Entertainments), at weddings, parties and events of all kinds.
Tasha (she/her) – Head of Under 5’s Programme – A.P.T.D. | BA (Hons) Early Years Education and Practice | P.G.C.E.
Tasha has been at YEM for over 20 years. She started age 4 with Ballet and Jazz before joining our Theatre Workshops at age 7. Since then, she has taken exams in tap, ballet, jazz, drama and musical theatre.
She received her PTD Student Teacher qualification at age 18 before going to University, where she studied for her Early Years Education and Practice degree. She later returned to YEM as the Tap Teacher of the Alton workshops, whilst working towards her Associate in Tap, achieving the qualification in May 2022. Tasha continues to teach in Alton alongside her full-time job as a Nursery Teacher.
Tasha is also Head of the Under 5’s programmes, developing the curricula and themes for our Boogie with Baby, Melody Monster’s Music Makers and Preschool Workshop classes. She is passionate about early learning and development, helping our students to develop the gross and fine motor skills needed for a lifetime enjoyment of dance and musical theatre.
Megan (she/her) – Administration and Enrolment Officer – A.P.T.D. | Dip. L.C.M. | MEd Primary Education | QTS | MA Education
Megan has been part of the YEM family for over twenty years, training in tap, ballet, musical theatre and drama with YEM – but her heart will always belong to tap!
Megan first helped as a student teacher before gaining her Associate in Tap Dancing in 2018. She now teaches for YEM, specialising in Tap dance and running the Adult Tap programme. She also loves assisting at the shows, ensuring all is running smoothly backstage.
Megan graduated with her MEd Primary Education from The University of Winchester in 2019. In 2024, she returned to the University to complete her Master of Education degree, this time specialising in supporting social and emotional development in the Early Years. Megan is passionate about supporting students’ social-emotional learning and creating inclusive learning environments for all students within our classes at YEM.
Recently, Megan expanded her performance qualifications by achieving a Distinction in her Diploma in Music Theatre with the London College of Music in March 2023. She participated in an amateur production of “Honk!” as a choreographer and cast member in November 2023, which raised £2,400 for the Royal Surrey Hospital’s “TYAC” charity.
Alongside her teaching and administrative work at YEM, Megan works part-time in local nurseries.
Morgan (she/her) – Head Of Student Progression – BBA Education Studies | BTEC (Level 3) Childcare and Education
Morgan is another loyal YEM family member who joined the school at a young age, first in dance classes and later in Theatre Workshops. Morgan is a keen Jazz, contemporary and lyrical dancer, working towards her APTD qualification in Jazz Dance.
Morgan graduated from the University of Winchester in 2022, receiving her BA (Hons) Education Studies degree. She also holds a Level 3 qualification in Childcare and Education. Outside of YEM, Morgan works full-time as a Teaching Assistant.
Miss Morgan is also YEM’s Head of Student Progression, leading our team in recognising student achievements and celebrating individuals’ progress towards their goals. Miss Morgan loves helping every student to set targets for their learning and to feel proud of their unique strengths and talents.
Iryna (she/her) – BA Pedagogical Education | BA Teacher of Choreography | MA Teacher of Classical Dance | former Ballet Master at Odessa ATMC
Iryna is a professional ballet artist. She trained in classical ballet, modern jazz dance and folk stage dance in Ballet School for ten years and is a former soloist of Odessa Academic Theatre of Music Comedy, with more than 16 years of performing experience. She has professionally choreographed three shows for the theatre stage.
Alongside her professional work, Iryna has trained at an art college, receiving Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in dance and choreography. She also trained for three years at a pedagogical university, gaining valuable experience and education in the teaching of dance.
Iryna has taught ballet, modern jazz dance and theatre jazz dance for many dance studios and theatre schools. She has also taught Theatre Jazz as a resident teacher for a university’s Musical Theatre programme. Iryna is excited to join the YEM teaching team to share her passion for dance with our students.
Ella – (she/her) – BTEC (Level 3) Performing Arts | LCM Dip. Music Performance
Ella has been with YEM for over 10 years. She first started taking lessons in singing, drama, tap, jazz and ballet, participating in exams and achieving high level results in each discipline. As a YEM student, Ella achieved her Diploma in Music Performance with the London College of Music in 2022.
Ella also took on the responsibility of being a student teacher at YEM for 6 years. She is pleased to now be employed as a teacher.
Alongside teaching, Ella is currently in her third year of training at the Performance Preparation Academy in Guildford, on the 3 year Diploma in Musical Theatre course.
Recently, Ella has taken her skills to a professional standard, performing as the female lead in the Fleet Pantomime in 2023 as well as performing in her professional third year shows at Drama School. She is excited to see where this industry takes her!
Sophie – (she/her) – Dip. L.C.M. | BTEC Performing Arts with Distinction
Sophie first became part of the YEM family as a student in September 2016, attending Musical Theatre workshops. Over the years, she signed up to more and more classes, eventually having lessons in jazz, tap, ballet and private singing, as well as joining the YEM Choir.
Sophie has taken several exams with YEM in Drama, Jazz, Tap and Ballet. Her proudest achievement was receiving her Diploma in Music Theatre with the London College of Music in December 2023. She is currently working towards her Associate in Music Theatre.
Sophie is grateful that YEM provided her with so much support during her training, helping her to gain places at Artemis College of Performing Arts and now at the Performance Preparation Academy (PPA), where she is currently studying.
Sophie feels absolutely privileged to now be a teacher herself with YEM! She’s thrilled that YEM has recently introduced Street Dance to the class programme. Street is such a unique style of dancing that allows students to let loose and have fun, experimenting with new ways to move to the music!
Sophie has experienced training in Street Dance for a few years and on top of teaching, she’s currently taking a Street Dance teaching course to ensure that she’s up to date with all the skills that she can pass on to her students.
Sophie loves to perform and tries to find as many opportunities to take part in shows as possible. Sophie’s future goal is to become a professional Musical Theatre Performer when she graduates.
Claryssa – (she/her) – BTEC (Level 3) Performing Arts | A Level Dance
Claryssa joined YEM as a student in 2016, studying drama, musical theatre and dance. She went on to become a student teacher, and is now part of the teaching team, teaching ballet, tap and her favourite: jazz dance!
Claryssa’s hobby is netball; she used to coach the children’s team as part of her club and achieved the first level of qualification to be an umpire for netball games. Her coaching skills help her to support her YEM students to progress towards their goals, by focusing on each individual’s unique strengths and targets.
Claryssa is currently a student at the University of Chichester on the Musical Theatre (Cabaret) course. As part of the course, she’s been learning aerial hoops and silks which she has really enjoyed. She loves performing in different types of shows at university, especially in Cabaret-style settings.
Lottie – (she/her) – BA Musical Theatre
Lottie has recently graduated from Italia Conti with a degree in Musical Theatre and is really excited to get back into teaching. At University, she studied a wide range of disciplines including vocal technique, acting, ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary. Her passion lies in contemporary and musical theatre jazz.
Before attending drama school, Lottie taught various musical theatre and dance classes in her home town Taunton, including at her local dance school, the youth drama school attached to her college, and a well-known franchise.
Alongside working for YEM, Lottie works part-time for a before- and after-school childcare provider, as well as pursuing her performing career in the theatre industry.
OUR STUDENT TEACHERS
Safeguarding and First Aid
All of our teachers hold qualifications in First Aid and Safeguarding, which they regularly refresh in line with current guidance. Additionally, our teachers are all licensed chaperones.
