Michael Kantola

I started studying music at the age of five and performing at the age of ten. With the Chamber Orchestra Singing Strings we performed all around the United States, Australia, in Finland and in the former Soviet Union.

In 1997 I moved to London to study acting at Mountview Academy and graduated in 2000 with BA(hons) in performance. I then went on to work as an actor, as a session musician and director on several theatre and musical theatre productions, before achieving the position of Musical Director in 2009. I worked as an MD on several productions in the following eleven years - including Dreamboats & Pe`coats (Universal Music and BKL Ltd) West End produc4on from 2009 to 2013 - as well as a studio musician and guest MD lecturer at ICMP. I toured all around the UK, made several appearances on television and also started to produce music releasing Greta Harlow’s debut EP in 2020 on Spotify.

Since 2000 I have also worked extensively as a music teacher (singing, guitar and bass) and a vocal coach, mainly with professionals but also with children in performance schools such as Mountview, Ridgeway and BritKids.

I was also Resident Director on all touring productions I worked on from 2015 onwards. Working for Bill Kenwright Ltd for nearly ten years I was involved in dozens of castings, conducted all music rehearsals, took part in all production meetings and arranged a large part of the musical content. Before moving to Finland I was mainly concentrating on producing music (during lockdown) and want to now fully direct my focus on creating and producing original material together with my partner Erzsébet.

Erzsebet Tamás- Bizsi (click here)

I am an artistic practitioner with more than 30 years’ experience of working in the field of puppet theatre.

I was lucky enough to be a part of a team who established Kaboca Puppet Theatre (Hungary). I worked there for 20 years and as the lead actress I played thousands of shows. I also undertook a variety of managerial and directing duties. In the UK I have worked as a freelancer, started my own puppet theatre company and collaborated other theatres and produced 3 puppet shows performing in London.

I hold a BA degree in Pedagogy, and Master`s Degree in Cultural Policy and Management. Both my degrees are officially recognized by Opetushallitus/ The Finnish National Agency for Education and I am a fully qualified Early Years Educator. I also hold a diploma in Puppet Acting and Directing.

I have researched the puppet theatre sector and explored the intersection of success, artistic self-assessment and organizations social responsibilities.

I worked in recruitment and management at the 2018 MIME-festival at the Barbican Centre, London.

My theatrical and puppetry skills, my knowledge and practice, the understanding of children`s behaviour and need, experiences in the Early Years Education field in Finland, in the UK and in Hungary, as well as my cultural management and project management theoretical background provides a deep understanding of the field.