Training Consultants

Jo Ouston & Co draws on a team of experienced trainers who come from a variety of backgrounds, including the theatre, classical music, the media and the communications industry. Each is a professional trainer in his or her own field with experience of training in business and organisational environments. All trainers are kept up to date with regular briefings and development activity. They include:

	Richard Quine Richard read music at Trinity College Cambridge, where he held a choral scholarship. After graduating in 1989, he joined Redland Bricks on their fast-track sales management programme, selling bricks and design advice to architects and building contractors. In 1991 he took up a Foundation Scholarship to the Royal College of Music and subsequently went on to perform and to teach. Richard joined Jo Ouston & Co in 1996. I am always inspired when I see individuals schooled by life to work mainly from the head realise that they can also learn to use their physicality and voice, their values and their heart to express themselves. This balance gives greater confidence and presence but also clarity of thought, insight and creativity. And how infectious this can be - releasing the same potential in peers and colleagues.
	Barbara Houseman Barbara Houseman graduated with a BEd from Central School of Speech & Drama and is a Voice Specialist and Theatre Director with extensive teaching experience. She spent six years as a member of the world renowned voice department at the Royal Shakespeare Company and was Associate Director with responsibility for voice and body work at the Young Vic. Barbara has been working with Jo Ouston & Co since 1999. At Jo Ouston & Co, Barbara teaches both open and bespoke corporate courses on a range of subjects including Increasing Your Personal Impact, Developing Personal Presence and Releasing Creativity. Additionally Barbara is an executive coach particularly for speech and interview preparation.
	Darell Moulton Darell Moulton studied singing, violin and piano at The Royal College of Music. He played violin in many London orchestras and is well known in the music world as a lecturer and piano consultant working for the Royal College of Music in that capacity for 30 years and for Steinway from 1997 to 2000. He has also had a successful performing career. Darell's teaching experience is extensive including 32 years with the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. As Senior Singing Tutor at RADA he has taught many well known actors. He joined Jo Ouston & Co in 2001. I find it immensely rewarding and satisfying to use my experience to enable individuals to develop their physical presence and gravitas and to grow and develop the confidence to be themselves - which is when they are at their strongest. And I find that I too am still learning from the business people that I work with.
	Karen McLachlan Karen MacLachlan graduated from King Alfred’s College, Winchester in 1984 with BA Hons degree in Drama, Theatre and Television and has a broad range of experience in the creative media in production, performance and writing. After graduating she joined a post production facility house specialising in editing pop promos and commercials and has also worked with a design company creating award-winning narrative concepts for department store windows. In 1992 Karen started teaching movement at the Royal College of Music using her performance and physical theatre skills to help singers develop stage technique and presence. While teaching, she continued to perform with various improvisation groups. What validates the work for me is seeing clients ‘click’ and start applying the physical skills. A small physical adjustment can make a huge difference to a person’s impact and status and the way that they connect with others.
	Kenneth Rea Born in New Zealand, Kenneth Rea began his professional life in advertising, creating television commercials. He teaches at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (of which he is a Fellow) and is also in regular demand internationally and has taught in China, Indonesia, Singapore, India, Italy, New Zealand and Canada. He has also worked as a Journalist and Theatre critic for the Guardian. Ken works with business and professional clients on increasing their personal impact and on delivering effective, polished speeches and presentations. Most rewarding about my work with Jo Ouston & Co is seeing the results. Clients are often surprised as they unlock resources they never knew they had and begin to deliver on the core skills that people need in order to make a difference in their work.
	Jean-Félix Callens Born in Belgium, Jean-Félix, trained as a professional gymnast from the age of 8. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Business and Marketing from l'EPHEC, in Brussels, before coming to London to train as an actor. After several years of working on stage and as a voice-over artist he decided to capitalise on his varied expertise and joined Jo Ouston & Co as a training consultant. Since becoming part of the team in 2006, he has further developed his consultancy skills by gaining a coaching qualification in Paris and by training as a Transactional Analysis practitioner for Organisations and Coaching/Mentoring in Oxford. With his bilingual culture (French-English) and his varied training, Jean-Felix empowers individuals by developing their communication skills and their emotional intelligence in a variety of courses which he has delivered in France as well as in the UK. I love being part of the team at JO & Co with its strong ethos of care and respect for the individual client. It's about developing people to be truer to themselves rather than putting on a front.
	Tess Dignan Tess was born in Edinburgh but trained in acting and voice training with the Webber Douglas Academy and the Central School of Speech and Drama both in London. She graduated with distinction as a voice trainer. She has taught at all the major Drama Schools in London including, RADA, LAMDA and Central and at the National Theatre and the BBC. She has also worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford on Avon and at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada. Tess has extensive experience of training in voice and presentation to develop confidence. As well as actors, she has trained many professions including barristers, bankers, accountants and executives. Many professionals are expected to be effective communicators without ever having received any training so they find it daunting and uncomfortable when they are called on to speak or present. It is rewarding to see clients grow in stature and confidence as they learn to hold the attention of the room, speak fluently and listen with ease as they develop practical tools to apply in the world of work.