IN THE ROOM – Details, episodes & analysis

Suzanne Bell is currently the New Writing Associate and Dramaturg at the Royal Exchange Theatre. She has worked on a number of award-winning productions of new work and has led writer development workshops at Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, Royal Court Theatre, Soho Theatre, Live Theatre, Gate Theatre, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Theatre West, various universities and for companies in Brazil, Turkey, Canada and the USA. Suzanne was the first Literary Manager and Dramaturg to be appointed at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, where she worked with a number of playwrights including Jonathan Harvey, Chloe Moss, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Esther Wilson and Lizzie Nunnery. She also worked on the award-winning production of UNPROTECTED, winner of the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award. In her role at the Royal Exchange Theatre, she oversees the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, Britain’s biggest national playwriting competition.

A partnership between the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and property company Bruntwood, the Prize is an opportunity for writers of any background and experience to enter unperformed plays to be judged by a panel of industry experts for a chance to win part of a prize fund totalling £40,000.

At the heart of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is the principal that anyone and everyone can enter the Prize – it is entirely anonymous and scripts are judged purely on the basis of the work alone and with no knowledge of the identity of the playwright. Since its inception in 2005 over 15,000 scripts have been entered, £304,000 has been awarded to 34 prize winning writers and 26 winning productions have been staged in 38 UK wide venues. In 2015 it celebrated its 10th anniversary and is now recognised as a launch-pad for some of the country’s most respected and produced playwrights.

Each winner enters into a development process with the Royal Exchange Theatre in an endeavour to bring their work to production. It is not guaranteed but we aspire to produce each play and find co-producers to give the plays a longer life and further reach. There have been co-productions with Lyric Hammersmith, Live Theatre, Soho Theatre, Bush Theatre, Orange Tree Theatre, Sherman Theatre, High Tide and the Royal Court Theatre. Work has also gone on to be produced internationally from Australia, USA, Germany, France, to Canada and Sweden.

InTheRoom Series Three is sponsored by Actors Coaching International. An Acting school with an ethos of trust, authenticity, and connection. At ACI, everyone has a voice, everyone will be seen and heard. Please visit: actorscoachinginternational.com/#home to find out more.

Actors Matthew Philip Harris and Christian Lee Smith, want to try and answer the question “how do I get in the room?”

While it’s a multifaceted question they believe every creative can find their answer. They hope to do this for themselves and their audience.

Discussions packed with advice, motivation, and entertainment from the top professionals in our industry. Casting Directors, Agents, Actors, Directors, Writers, Producers and more!

Come and join Matthew and Christian, InTheRoom.

JBR has been in the industry for almost 40 years, having made their West End debut at the London Coliseum in 1985.

Interposed with a long career as a performer, JBR picked up degrees in Film, TV & Drama from Bristol University, a PGCE in English, Media & Drama from London Met and an MA in Performance from Mountview.

They have been Editor of The Drama Student Magazine, a theatre journalist for First Act Magazine, Musical Stages and The Irish Tribune. They have been a judge on the Olivier panel, the Amateur Stages playwriting competition, a recurring judge for the Stiles & Drewe New Musical Award and adjudicated on various film festival panels. They have also been a venue manager, a comedy host, a drag queen, a cabaret performer, a producer and a director.

After retiring from performing, JBR joined Simon & How Agency building their musical theatre book and developing the company as Chief Operating Officer.

With a wealth of industry experience across a number of fields JBR launched JBR Creative Management in 2019.

In 2021 Nick Hern Books published JBR’s first book, Getting, Keeping & Working With Your Acting Agent - a complete guide for actors which explains everything actors need to know about agents.

JBR also teaches at Associated Studios Drama School on the BA and MA Musical Theatre courses.

They became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2022.

InTheRoom Series Three is sponsored by Actors Coaching International. An Acting school with an ethos of trust, authenticity, and connection. At ACI, everyone has a voice, everyone will be seen and heard. Please visit: actorscoachinginternational.com/#home to find out more.

Actors Matthew Philip Harris and Christian Lee Smith, want to try and answer the question “how do I get in the room?”

While it’s a multifaceted question they believe every creative can find their answer. They hope to do this for themselves and their audience.

Discussions packed with advice, motivation, and entertainment from the top professionals in our industry. Casting Directors, Agents, Actors, Directors, Writers, Producers and more!

Come and join Matthew and Christian, InTheRoom.

Daran is a passionate advocate for queer story telling. He is a hugely experienced BAFTA and Royal Television Society award-winning TV drama writer and producer. He is the only writer to have written more than 100 episodes on both of the UK’s flagship prime time drama serials EASTENDERS and CORONATION STREET. He was also the only television writer (of any genre) listed in the BBC’s High Earner list published in 2017.

His 2010 single drama THE ROAD TO CORONATION STREET swept the board in all of the UK award ceremonies, as well as winning the New York Film and Television award for Best International Programme. It also won Daran a BAFTA for Best Single Drama as well as the Royal Television Society’s award for Best Scriptwriter 2011.

In the US, Daran was nominated for two Daytime Emmys in 2008 and 2009 for his work as Associate Head Writer on ALL MY CHILDREN, and in 2020 for his work as Story Consultant on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS.

Daran helped create ‘structured reality’ in the UK. In 2010 he was part of the small team that set up and cast the multi-award winning THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX. He went on to set up the BAFTA winning MADE IN CHELSEA for Channel 4 and has remained in charge of story and introducing cast for all 23 of its seasons.

InTheRoom Series Three is sponsored by Actors Coaching International. An Acting school with an ethos of trust, authenticity, and connection. At ACI, everyone has a voice, everyone will be seen and heard. Please visit: actorscoachinginternational.com/#home to find out more.

Actors Matthew Philip Harris and Christian Lee Smith, want to try and answer the question “how do I get in the room?”

While it’s a multifaceted question they believe every creative can find their answer. They hope to do this for themselves and their audience.

Discussions packed with advice, motivation, and entertainment from the top professionals in our industry. Casting Directors, Agents, Actors, Directors, Writers, Producers and more!

Come and join Matthew and Christian, InTheRoom.

Rachel's new album …You’re Already Home is out now to stream on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music etc. If she wasn't already busy enough, Rachel is also currently sharing the role of 'Norma Desmond' in Sunset Boulevard with Nicole Scherzinger, directed by Jamie Lloyd.

Rachel Tucker is an Olivier nominated actress who starred in Come From Away at the Gerald Schoenfeld theatre on Broadway playing Annette/Beverly Bass, the role she originated in London’s West End, and for which she received a nomination for best supporting role in a musical at the 2019 Oliviers and best supporting actress in a musical at the 2020 What’sOnStage awards.

Rachel is arguably best known as the actress with the most performances in the lead role of Elphaba in Wicked both on Broadway and in The West End. Beyond Wicked and Come From Away, Rachel has starred in Farragut North in London, John & Jen at the Southwark Playhouse, on Broadway in Sting’s The Last Ship, Annie Get Your Gun at the London Palladium and Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy Theatre.

InTheRoom Series Three is sponsored by Actors Coaching International. An Acting school with an ethos of trust, authenticity, and connection. At ACI, everyone has a voice, everyone will be seen and heard. Please visit: actorscoachinginternational.com/#home to find out more.

Actors Matthew Philip Harris and Christian Lee Smith, want to try and answer the question “how do I get in the room?”

While it’s a multifaceted question they believe every creative can find their answer. They hope to do this for themselves and their audience.

Discussions packed with advice, motivation, and entertainment from the top professionals in our industry. Casting Directors, Agents, Actors, Directors, Writers, Producers and more!

Come and join Matthew and Christian, InTheRoom.

Actors Coaching International have returned to sponsor our third series at In The Room. Daniel Dresner and Danny Clifton have been hard at work, growing ACI and providing actors with a multitude of training opportunities. From early career actors and graduates to professional veterans, there will be something at ACI for you.

InTheRoom Series Three is sponsored by Actors Coaching International. An Acting school with an ethos of trust, authenticity, and connection. At ACI, everyone has a voice, everyone will be seen and heard. Please visit: actorscoachinginternational.com/#home to find out more.

Actors Matthew Philip Harris and Christian Lee Smith, want to try and answer the question “how do I get in the room?”

While it’s a multifaceted question they believe every creative can find their answer. They hope to do this for themselves and their audience.

Discussions packed with advice, motivation, and entertainment from the top professionals in our industry. Casting Directors, Agents, Actors, Directors, Writers, Producers and more!

Come and join Matthew and Christian, InTheRoom.

In this festive special, InTheRoom will be taking you through industry related segments inspired by famous Christmas films and stories. From skills to monologues, anecdotes to gifts for actors, we’ve got you covered. Each section also has a mini-Christmas quiz for Christian, Gareth, and Jack to go head-to-head once more.   

Grab a festive drink for this one, you are going to need it...

ITR Christmas Special 2022 is proudly sponsored by MAJO MEDIA SELF-TAPES.  

MAJO believe every actor deserves a chance at having a professional self-tape. They have a studio set up with lights, cinema cameras and sound kits, so when they are not using them on large scale media projects, they want to put them to good use; helping talented actors have a professional selftape for the audition that gives them their acting break! Majo offer this service from £50 for an hour session, and they can’t wait to be your selftape solution.  

Please visit www.majomediaproductions.com and click on MAJO SELF-TAPES for more information.

Olissa Rogers is currently working as a Freelance Casting director. She began working in the industry back in Germany in 2008. She worked there until 2016 mainly on TV Series. In 2016 she met casting director, Jeremy Zimmermann, and went to be casting assistant for him on several films until 2018. She then moved on to become casting assistant to Kharmel Cochrane for commercials and TV/Film projects. Other offices Olissa has worked for as a Casting Associate were for Theo Park and Amy Hubbard where she worked on projects e.g. Emmy Award Winning TV Series Ted Lasso, Anthony, Criminal S2 etc.

Olissa has fully earned the description of being one of the nicest people in our industry. A genuine ray of sunshine that leads to a podcast filled with heart and packed with useful information. Our series two ‘rapid fire’ section here was solely on self-tapes and is some of the most vital content we’ve recorded so far.

InTheRoom Series Two is sponsored by Actors Coaching International. ''A revolutionary way of working, an exciting community and sanctuary for actors.'' Use code: INROOM20 for 20% off all their classes.

Actors Matthew Philip Harris and Christian Lee Smith, want to try and answer the question “how do I get in the room?”

While it’s a multifaceted question they believe every creative can find their answer. They hope to do this for themselves and their audience. 

Discussions packed with advice, motivation and entertainment from the top professionals in our industry. Casting Directors, Agents, Actors, Directors, Writers, Producers and more! 

Come and join Matthew and Christian, InTheRoom. 

Domenique Fragale is an actress (most notably in HBO's 'The Nevers'), Executive Producer at DBK Studios (most recently in association with Sky Studios), BBC Radio Presenter, Award Holder and Ambassador for the Diana Award Against Bully and MQ Mental Health Charity.

You can understand why Domenique has been so successful in this industry, across a vast array of mediums. Genuinely likeable as a human being, there’s a warmth and enthusiasm combined with hard graft and ability. This episode covers classic topics from drama school and auditioning but also looking at the benefit of projects being close to your heart, working at a production company and anti-bullying. We encourage all our listeners to check out the amazing work The Diana Award have done and continue to do, https://diana-award.org.uk.

InTheRoom Series Two is sponsored by Actors Coaching International. ''A revolutionary way of working, an exciting community and sanctuary for actors.'' Use code: INROOM20 for 20% off all their classes.

Actors Matthew Philip Harris and Christian Lee Smith, want to try and answer the question “how do I get in the room?”

While it’s a multifaceted question they believe every creative can find their answer. They hope to do this for themselves and their audience. 

Discussions packed with advice, motivation and entertainment from the top professionals in our industry. Casting Directors, Agents, Actors, Directors, Writers, Producers and more! 

Come and join Matthew and Christian, InTheRoom. 

Christopher Bartlett-Walford is Head Agent at Bartlett-Walford Associates. After a 15-year performing Career and working in the Casting industry for many of those too; in 2019 he made the permanent move to the other side of the laptop and became an Agent. Now, alongside Co-Agent (& wife) Jessica, Christopher manages the careers of numerous artists working on Stage, Screen and Beyond.

Bartlett-Walford Associates are climbing the agent ladder faster than seems possible and there are so many reasons why. They are personal, hardworking, know their clients back to front, industry savvy and put actors’ health both mental and physical, first. Christopher is charming and honest when talking about his work before Bartlett-Walford Associates and since. This episode is packed with advice for actors on the actor/agent relationship, networking, agency emails, being ‘right’ or not for the job and more.

InTheRoom Series Two is sponsored by Actors Coaching International. ''A revolutionary way of working, an exciting community and sanctuary for actors.'' Use code: INROOM20 for 20% off all their classes.

Actors Matthew Philip Harris and Christian Lee Smith, want to try and answer the question “how do I get in the room?”

While it’s a multifaceted question they believe every creative can find their answer. They hope to do this for themselves and their audience. 

Discussions packed with advice, motivation and entertainment from the top professionals in our industry. Casting Directors, Agents, Actors, Directors, Writers, Producers and more! 

Come and join Matthew and Christian, InTheRoom. 

Ryan Early is an actor. Best known for his roles as PC Tom Nicholson in Heartbeat, as regular character Dan in BBC series Almost Never and as Lee Bryce in The Archers. Additional credits include Grantchester, The Crown, Knightfall and Radio 4. As well as recently playing the angst-driven husband, Laurence, in Abigail’s Party at The Park Theatre.

The title of this episode comes from one fantastic section in this podcast where Ryan goes through three ‘sentences’ that he learnt from his time at Drama Centre and still uses in his work today. You’ll get more from this one part of the podcast than you will from an entire book on acting theory.

Ryan is a great example of a brilliant ‘working actor’. Someone who has found consistency in his career, as evidenced by his credits across every medium you can think of; they are like clockwork since he graduated from Drama Centre. We talk about everything from radio drama and networking, soap opera dayplayer roles and Ryan’s approach to his work. Oh, and eight-year-old Ryan’s critique of his older brother’s performance in ‘Little Red Riding Hood’.

InTheRoom Series Two is sponsored by Actors Coaching International. ''A revolutionary way of working, an exciting community and sanctuary for actors.'' Use code: INROOM20 for 20% off all their classes.

Actors Matthew Philip Harris and Christian Lee Smith, want to try and answer the question “how do I get in the room?”

While it’s a multifaceted question they believe every creative can find their answer. They hope to do this for themselves and their audience. 

Discussions packed with advice, motivation and entertainment from the top professionals in our industry. Casting Directors, Agents, Actors, Directors, Writers, Producers and more! 

Come and join Matthew and Christian, InTheRoom.