James has worked in theatre education for over ten years. His work has been based in a variety of settings including touring a play in Liverpool, running a Musical Theatre Academy in south-east London, on a youth theatre exchange in Texas, project managing in Switzerland, administrating in Plymouth and teaching in Nepal! James is responsible for the management and strategy of the Creative Learning department, and is also Associate Director of the Lyric's Captial Project. He is on the board of governors at Jessop Primary School (near where he lives!) and the William Morris Academy (near where he works!). He regularly speaks at events, acting as an advocate for young people. In his (rare!) spare time he likes hanging out with his friends and family and watching trashy TV.

As you can see from his photo, David was a looker when he was younger and he’s still got that glint in his eye today. His journey from an adventurer on the streets of Birmingham to co-running the Lyric’s Creative Learning department has been dynamic! After training as an actor, he worked extensively in theatre, film and television all over the country. Alongside acting, David also lead drama projects in schools, community centres and youth clubs: this is where he developed his passion for working with young people. David first came to the Lyric playing the role of ‘Puck’ in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream in 1997, and six years later he came back - after a quick rise through the ranks, he is now responsible for artistic delivery on all Creative Learning projects.

Serina's school report aged 7 said: 'She likes talking - she will achieve more if she can talk less. Always cheerful and most often very noisy, she likes to take the lead in drama'. Years later, people who work with Serina will say nothing has changed! She now focuses her energies on her passion for performing arts and working with young people. This has led her to work within social work, school and theatre settings. Born and bred in London's East End, Serina's favourite things about working at the Lyric are: 'No two days are the same, the young people keep me inspired and make it colourful and fun' followed by: 'the big Primark round da corna innit!'.

Selina has been working with young people for a number of years now, previously at Docklands Outreach in East London.  It’s there that she became hooked on the enthusiasm, thirst for life, and distinctive, individual and innovative styles of working that young people have. With a degree in film and media, Selina enjoys exploring and merging theatre with different art forms. Having grown up in Shepherds Bush, she feels very at home in West London and is thrilled to say that working with young people at the Lyric, anything is possible!  Oh and how can we forget, it should be noted that she has a slight obsession with jewellery, the more out of the ordinary, the better!     

Ruth is happiest when she is surrounded by young people, noise and all things theatrical. Having grown up in the cultural vacuum of Croydon, without a theatre or arts centre in sight, she loves being able to give young people the opportunity to come to the Lyric and experience the theatre first hand. She has worked with young people for the past five years and often gets mistaken for one due the fact that she is quite small. She has written and contributed to numerous theatre education research projects such as Dancing, Learning, Dancing, for Slough Creative Partnerships. Ruth has been working at the Lyric as a dance and drama practitioner for over a year - she loves it.

Deepak (we call her Dee for short) was born in West London and grew up Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria and the equally exotic Hounslow. Since finishing her Drama degree, Dee has worked with young people on a variety of projects, including volunteering with the Air Cadets, running workshops at Helen O’Grady’s Drama Academy, as well as working as a Teaching Assistant at a school in Shepherds Bush. Dee joined the Lyric in 2007, and is responsible for assisting the Project Managers and Co-Directors in their work with young people. If you give us a call, she’ll be the one most likely to pick up the phone. Her skills include high-speed envelope stuffing, typing 90 words per minute and an impeccable taste in handbags!