Leonisha Barley
Leonisha (she/her) is a multi-talented artist known for her contributions to acting, writing, and poetry. Raised in Liverpool, Leonisha’s journey into the arts began with training in African and Caribbean dance as part of Merseyside Dance Initiative (MDI). She is passionate about creating work for stage and TV that celebrates culture and life experiences while addressing important societal issues.
Leonisha has been part of the YEP Writers Programme, Writing on the Walls ‘Write to Work’ programme and Skywriters 8 Week Writing and Wellbeing Project. Her first full legth play ‘Deported in a Windrush’ was performed as part of WOW’s Black History Month events and has been shortlisted for Tip Tray Theatre’s What Happens Next competition.
Previous acting experience: Random (20 Stories High); Babes in the Wood, A Hot Dog on Bonfire Night, Nearer Than You Think, Mother Goose, Dick Twittington (Valley Community Centre); Moment of Truth (Liverpool Fringe Festival); Seven Deadly Sins, Shakers (St Hilda’s C.E High School).
Socials – insta – @leonishacr8s
Claire Beerjeraz
Claire Beerjeraz (She/They) is a Liverpool based freelance Spoken Word Artist, Writer, Performer, and Creative arts Psychotherapist. She strives to use her creative mediums for activism, positive change, and healing.
Previous acting experience: Deported in a Windrush (Liverpool); Hear Me Now (Liverpool Everyman); Kaleidoscope (Flood Theatre); Diverse Stories for a Diverse World (Writing on the Wall); Merseyside Academy of Drama Writing Showcase (Hope St Theatre).
Socials – @Clairebeerjeraz
Molly Hannah
Molly (she/her) is an actor, writer and comic from Liverpool. She went to LIPA Sixth Form, during this time she was in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream playing Bottom, which sparked her interest with Shakespeare. She has recently completed a comedy writing and performance degree in Salford university. Molly has just completed a three week Epic Stages Course with National Youth Theatre.
In the future she would like to put on her own stage productions and write sitcoms.
Socials – insta @m.haann
Marcella Rick
Marcella (they/them) is a writer, theatremaker & spoken word artist.
Marcella’s work is unapologetically scouse, queer, and dead funny. Alongside their freelance career in arts marketing and facilitating creative workshops, they are keen to develop a path for themself as a writer and performer. Their first full-length play, Potato Milk, was staged as a shared reading as part of Unity’s 2022 Open Call and has been programmed in Liverpool’s Playhouse Studio in June 2024, with a. view to further development and a potential tour.
Marcella is a Homotopia QueerCore alumni and recently graduated from CripTIC Arts’ Reach programme. They have shared work such as Sober Curious (Hope Mill Theatre 2023, Old Diorama Arts Center 2023) and Lydia McManus and the Red Headed Girl (Homotopia Festival 2022). Alongside developing as a writer, performer and theatremaker, they are working with grassroots DIY venue Birkenhead Arts Palace to expand the offering of their safe space for performers to explore new ideas, alongside their good friends and mentors The Unusual Arts Sourcing Company.
Socials – insta @marcy_rick and twitter marcellarick
Mary Savage
Mary Savage is an actor, singer, musical theatre performer and director.
Her credits include The Boy and The Bird; Fear and Misery of the Third Reich (Liverpool Theatre Festival); Playtime (Edinburgh Fringe & Hope St Theatre); Mother’s Ruin (Hope St Theatre).
Mary directed Florence Keith-Roach’s dark comedy Eggs at the Everyman Theatre as part of her involvement with the Young Everyman Playhouse (YEP) Director’s scheme (2021).
Training includes The National Youth Theatre, North West End, Young Everyman and Playhouse (YEP), Rare Studio and Act Up North.
Actors Lab: A Space for Play & Experimentation
Actors Training and Professional Development
Sep-Nov 2023
20 Stories High is proud to introduce Actors Lab, an actors’ training and professional development programme.
This brand-new programme is led by our amazing Associate Director Ameera Conrad and has been designed to train, develop, and promote the next generation of professional working class, culturally diverse, Deaf/Disabled and neurodivergent Actors in Merseyside.
We know the theatre landscape isn’t equal, and at 20 Stories High we will continue to strive to redress the balance.
From September to November, 5 actors have developed as practitioners and performers, taking part in weekly creative skills workshops facilitated by world-class professional practitioners from across the UK.
Practitioners include Ameera Conrad, Nathan Powell, Lou Platt, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell and The Artists Partnership, Keziah Joseph, Paislie Reid, Alina Burwitz, Lee Corner, LAMDA, and Declan Baxter.
These weekly workshops are followed by a paid rehearsal process culminating in a showcase performance at the Unity Theatre to invited audiences and industry professionals.