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Education Overview Steve Roe and Edgar Fernando from Hoopla have teamed up with Peter Gordon and Helen Ferreira to perform improvisation shows and facilitate improvisation workshops in Primary Schools across the South-East. Steve and Ed have also taught improvisation at a variety of Secondary Schools, Sixth Form Colleges and Universities. Peter Gordon Peter was a professional actor (as Peter Ashley) for some years before he settled into a long-term teaching career, culminating in a thirteen year headship of a North London Primary School. He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating as a Drama teacher and Voice coach. As an actor, Peter appeared in Rep at Bracknell and Harlow, a summer season in Colwyn Bay and a Panto in Eastbourne. He did some film, television and radio work and, apart from stints at the Edinburgh Fringe and London pub theatre, Peter worked with the Young Vic at the Criterion Theatre in London’s West End. Over recent years, Peter has been pursuing an interest in singing with a London group, Voice Productions, and has taken part in themed presentations on Cole Porter, Rogers & Hammerstein, Noel Coward and Stephen Sondheim. He has previously sung with the North Camden Chorus, The Young Music Makers Choir and was a soloist with Hampstead Garden Opera. Peter is a member of Mensa, the high IQ society, and took part in the first Mensa Variety Show at the BBC Theatre. He has also worked as a magician for children’s parties and in schools. He uses magic and song in his Headteacher development presentation, "The Magic of School Leadership". With his wife, Janey Gordon, Peter has written children’s stories for radio which were published by Hutchinson, and computer software for young children, published by Longmans. He continues to write for educational journals. Since joining Hoopla, Peter has improvised at their venue in South London and in primary schools. Helen Ferreira Hoopla’s resident Canadian is fond of rhyming off the first 30 elements in the periodic table in under ten seconds, constructing poetry at the drop of a hat and speaking in seemingly perfect Portuguese whenever Portugal is offered as a location in any impro scene. Helen Ferreira graduated from the University of Windsor with an Honours BA in Communication Studies, where she co-hosted local televised news as well as a number of award winning radio programmes. Helen has performed on stage and in front of the camera in both Canada and the UK and has warmed up studio audiences in the U.S. as well as working on international film productions. Along with running script writing seminars and teaching television production at the university level, Helen has performed with and directed bespoke Canadian productions designed to adhere to various inner-city primary school learning objectives. A former producer for the Discovery Channel, Helen has a thorough knowledge of film and television production, post production and broadcast procedures, gained through international project coordination experience. Helen is a diplomatic and persuasive facilitator with international project management experience. She has a proven track record of success achieved through effective communication, building strong relationships and teams. Helen is skilled at implementing change and applying imaginative, creative and innovative thinking to problem solving. Helen is also certified to teach English as a foreign language. Her recent accomplishments are informed by a history of facilitating skill building workshops in the areas of leadership and communication and proactively exploring coaching and personal development tools. An energetic and charismatic part of the Hoopla! Improvisation group, Helen has regularly performed for audiences in Southwest London and Leicester Square. She’s recently returned from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with the four star-awarded Hoopla. Having stepped foot on all but one continent, when not amusing, entertaining or educating, Helen can be found jumping out of planes, throwing herself off bridges, abseiling down waterfalls, fishing for piranha and walking with lions. She looks forward to bringing that sense of adventure, playfulness, communication and creativity into your classroom.