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About Our Teachers

Our diverse faculty of coaches have trained and taught all over the world. This cosmopolitan mix of respected industry professionals ensure all HCAC workshops are of an international standard.

Kamil Haque

Kamil Haque is the founder and artistic director of Haque Centre of Acting & Creativity (HCAC). After 8 years working and coaching in Los Angeles Kamil returned to his native Singapore in 2013 to establish HCAC, Singapore’s first professional acting centre and Asia’s first centre to teach the preeminent Lee Strasberg’s method of acting.

Kamil graduated top of his class from the American Musical & Dramatic Academy (AMDA) with a BA(Hons) in Acting. He was the first student in half a century to be awarded Latin Honours for this subject. He is also the first and only Asian to be given the privilege to train and then coach at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. He is the only coach in Asia experienced in teaching the Lee Strasberg Method of Acting.

In 2011, Kamil was bestowed the honour of being invited to become a working observer at the world-renowned The Actor’s Studio. He was the first Singaporean ever to be part of the studio.

In addition to these accolades, Kamil was appointed as the Head Acting Instructor at East West Players, the USA’s oldest Asian American Theatre group, as well as the role of Internship Director at the Company of Angels (CoA), Los Angeles’ oldest repertory theatre company.

In addition to being an award winning actor and storyteller, Kamil has coached well over 2000 students, many of whom have appeared on stage as well as in major motion pictures, television shows and national commercials around the world. He has also produced, directed and acted in several award-winning and critically-acclaimed productions in USA, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.

Prescott Gaylord

Prescott Gaylord is the former Artistic Director of the Baltimore Improv Group, and creator of ‘Unscripted – an improvised play in two acts,’ a show that has enjoyed sold out runs in Baltimore for many years. He has directed large and small scale improvised projects in several cities in the US including, ‘Skinesthesia - Body Painted Improv’, 'The Movement' (with modern dance troupe "The Collective"), and ‘Secrets’ (improvised storytelling and secret sharing).  He has performed in and directed shows in improv festivals in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Bethlehem, Washington DC, Austin, New York, Manila, Singapore, Shanghai, and Chicago. Before escaping to Singapore, Prescott was a performing member of Lekker, and Evan the Loyal (in which he performed fully wordless sets from time to time). In Singapore, he has performed mostly  with The Latecomers and NotOK and sometimes a show called "One of Us Is Drunk." He has taught in Baltimore and in Singapore at The Improv Company, The Singapore American School and Haque Centre for Acting and Creativity.
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Mark Wong

Born and bred in Malaysia, Mark is a Melbourne-based Voice, Text and Dialect Coach. He holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London and has taught voice in the UK, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore. He has been teaching at The University of Melbourne since 2016 and is currently Head Tutor for Clear Speech and CommunicationMark has also taught at Federation University's Arts Academy in Ballarat as well as at Film & Television Studio International. As a theatre practitioner, Mark has voice and dialect coached on numerous productions such as NEXT TO NORMAL (Pursued by Bear), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (Ballarat Lyric Theatre Company), TITANIC: THE MUSICAL (StageArt), THE COLOR PURPLE (StageArt), ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS (Heidelberg Theatre Company), PASSING STRANGE (Antipodes Theatre Company), LAURINDA (Melbourne Theatre Company) and K-BOX (Malthouse Theatre). Despite his busy work schedule, Mark continues to run an active private studio and regularly conducts workshops throughout Asia and Australia. More info on these workshops can be found at markwongvoice.com.au
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Alys Hill

Alys has a Bachelor of Education specialising in Perf Arts. She is a registered dance and specialist Performing Arts Teacher. Alys has trained in Brisbane with Zen Zen Zo since 2008, and is now Associate director for Zen Zen Zo Brisbane Company and Director of the New Zealand arm of the company, having trained extensively alongside the founding directors, Simon Woods & Lynne Bradley. A regular teacher at the annual Stomping Ground in Brisbane she assists and leads the quality training, also expanding her development of Lecoq pedagogy with frequent annual training with Steph Kehoe. Alys has workshopped with Frantic Assembly and taught as a guest artists in a number of companies around the world, including The Court Youth Company in Christchurch. She has performed and studied with founding Butoh company Dairakudakan, in Hakuba Japan and Brisbane Australia. Alys as director of Zen Zen Zo NZ, currently runs the weekly Actor's Dojo adult and youth classes at The Piano centre for contemporary performing arts. Alys has travelled around New Zealand, Singapore, Australia & Europe to run Zen Zen Zo workshops and residencies for high schools and professional theatre companies. She runs teacher training programs in New Zealand, has been a specialist tutor at LAF (Lyttleton Arts Factory), directs performances in Christchurch and has trained as both a Les Mills BodyJam Instructor, worked for eight years as a tutor with Jolt Integrated Dance company and been the Head of Drama at New Zealand high schools throughout her teaching career.
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Kamil Haque

Kamil Haque is the founder and artistic director of Haque Centre of Acting & Creativity (HCAC). After 8 years working and coaching in Los Angeles Kamil returned to his native Singapore in 2013 to establish HCAC, Singapore’s first professional acting centre and Asia’s first centre to teach the preeminent Lee Strasberg’s method of acting. Kamil graduated top of his class from the American Musical & Dramatic Academy (AMDA) with a BA(Hons) in Acting. He was the first student in half a century to be awarded Latin Honours for this subject. He is also the first and only Asian to be given the privilege to train and then coach at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. He is the only coach in Asia experienced in teaching the Lee Strasberg Method of Acting. In 2011, Kamil was bestowed the honour of being invited to become a working observer at the world-renowned The Actor’s Studio. He was the first Singaporean ever to be part of the studio. In addition to these accolades, Kamil was appointed as the Head Acting Instructor at East West Players, the USA’s oldest Asian American Theatre group, as well as the role of Internship Director at the Company of Angels (CoA), Los Angeles’ oldest repertory theatre company. With first-hand experience of the demanding industry standards of Hollywood, Kamil is well-acquainted with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed internationally. In addition to being an award winning actor and storyteller, Kamil has coached well over 2000 students, many of whom have appeared on stage as well as in major motion pictures, television shows and national commercials around the world. He has also produced, directed and acted in several award-winning and critically-acclaimed productions in USA, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. HCAC is the culmination of 23 years of working towards fulfilling a childhood dream. Kamil was born and bred in Singapore with a rich cultural understanding due to his multi-ethnic origins. He found his passion for drama at the tender age of 7 and has spent his life dedicated to the craft of acting. HCAC has been created to enrich lives and inspire actors and non-actors alike. It is part of Kamil’s great vision to elevate and progress acting as well as other forms of creative expression in Singapore. As part of the growth of HCAC, in 2014, Kamil started Method Productions, a presenting production company across all mediums. Kamil has also overseen the inception of several flagship productions including Metaphors Be With You, a curated-true-personal-essay-showcase, Pioneer Passages a regular dramatized reading series of plays by pioneering playwrights and The Singapore Monologue Slam which is Singapore’s first monologue competition.
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Giovanni Ortega

Giovanni Ortega is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and public speaker who believes in creating an accepting and inclusive relationship with artists and international communities. In 2016, Ortega started The Body Series at the Haque Centre of Acting and Creativity in Singapore. The devised plays include Creation of My Body, Words of My Body, Thoughts of My Body and Map of My Body. They have also been workshopped at the National Theatre of Parramatta (Sydney) and East West Players (LA). Written commissions include The Butterfly of Chula Vista (San Diego Rep), Poetry Festival Singapore plays Benches, Palindromes and films Belonging, Atlas and Nomads (July 2022as well as East West Players' Criers for Hire & ALLOS, The Story of Carlos, BulosanGiovanni is currently the Artistic Director for FilAm Arts Teatro. For more information: www.giovanniortega.com
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David Glass

David Glass has performed, directed and taught in over sixty countries. Trained at the Lecoq school in Paris, David has also worked as a soloist performing in forty countries, before establishing the David Glass Ensemble which has won international awards including TMA award for Best Director. In 1998, he established the Lost Child Project, where he used theatre as a tool to allow children on the streets around the world to tell their stories. In 2000, he established the Centre For Creative Development in Cambodia, training aid agencies in Creative Practice. David now teaches around the world. He is a visiting Tutor at Bournemouth University of the Arts and LAMDA Drama School. He continues to write and has recently established the Centre for Creative Practice in London to help creative workers, development agencies and education organisations to become more successful. David has nurtured many working actors. Past students of David’s include Emma Thompson, Stephen Daldry (Billy Eliot), Simon McBurney (Theatre de Complicite), Amit Lehav (Gecko Theatre), Jim Chim (Theatre Ensemble Hong Kong), Tina Ellen Lee (Opera Circus), Tom Morris (Director Warhorse) and Adam Sunderland (Sticks Theatre).
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Darren Foong

Darren Foong is an improviser, comedian and instructor. As an improviser and part of The Latecomers and the Modern Schemers, he has performed at the Night Festival, the Singapore Comedy Fringe and LOLFest Malaysia, as well as in delighted audiences in Israel, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manila, Bangalore, Singapore and Malaysia. Darren has also performed at the Art Science Museum, the Esplanade and the National Library Board. As a comedian, Darren is a regular performer on the Singapore live comedy circuit, as well as writing and contributing to TV, radio and podcasts. He also hosts the sold-out monthly presentation comedy show PowerPoint Karaoke. An enthusiastic instructor, Darren has conducted Improv workshops for high-performing corporate teams, lively youths,  varied crowds, the general public and the People’s Association, in such varied places as art studios, corporate boardrooms, the ballroom of a giant cruise ship, half a painting studio, the streets of Tel Aviv at midnight and coworking spaces.
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Simon Purse

Simon is an actor, film and theatre director, and teacher based in London. He began his training at the University of Durham as an undergraduate Chemist but quickly realized that he and science were not going to be friends. He gained his first degree in Philosophy and Psychology, then won a scholarship and trained as an actor at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts. He was a member of the Original Shakespeare Company (OSC) for seven years and was an OSC workshop leader and verse nurse and now trains actors in OSC cue-script techniques around the world, including Stanford University, Oxford University, LAMDA, NAFA, and Berridge Programs where he also teaches film-making. He teaches screen acting workshops based on the work of Patrick Tucker. He has written and directed four short films with Simon Jarvis and is working on a feature project.
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