SHAUN WINTERFLOOD

Principal

Shaun has been involved with the theatre since the age of three and has now nearly 50 years stage experience in Acting, Singing & Dancing.

Encouraged by his father (Len), who with his comedic talents was a well-known face amongst Amateur Theatre goers during the Occupation and also later with GADOC, Shaun competed in Dance Festivals and Eisteddfods every year from an early age and still regularly competes in the Eisteddfod where he is also a member of the Speech & Drama Committee.

Shaun started tap dancing lessons at the age of 3 with The Hazel Rowe School of Dance and then moved on at 5 to The Joysdon School of Dancing where he remained until 18 years old adding Modern Dance to his repertoire. During this time Shaun was fortunate enough to win many classes in the Channel Island Festival of Dance for Tap and Song & Dance. He has since taken his Senior Bronze and Silver Medals gaining Honours on both occasions.

Shaun embarked on singing lessons at the age of 4 with Muriel Luckie moving on at 8 years old to Janet Bran and her choir. Recently he spent a two-year period with Val McInnes as his singing coach and immediately won the trophies for Folk Singing and Old Familiar Songs in the Eisteddfod together with a 1 st and 2 nd placing in the Songs from the Shows class.

Shaun commenced Latin American and ballroom dancing at the age of 19 and gained Honours for all medals taken up to Gold Star status. This is where he also met his wife, Jenny, while taking lessons with Wilf & Pat Cochrane and Carol Tucker. Shaun also took part in 3 Channel Island Latin competitions with his partner, Debbie Duport, and became champions on all three occasions.

Shaun is a well-known face in GADOC productions and has appeared with the club since the age of 8. His 1 st role was in “Carousel” as one of the Snow children. He then played Friedrich in “The Sound of Music” followed by the role of Prince Chululongkorn in “The King & I”. Some of Shaun's favourite roles include The Family Solicitor in “Me & My Girl”, The Bullfrog in “Honk”, Buttons in “Cinderella” and Hines in “The Pajama Game” together with the role of Reverend Humphries in the farce “See How They Run”. Not content with performing, Shaun has also directed for GADOC the highly successful productions of “Annie” and “Annie Warbucks together with the two pantomimes “Jack & The Beanstalk” and Aladdin”.

Shaun is a long-serving member of St Stephen's Players being involved for over 25 years. He has been Chairman for the club on 2 occasions and has taken on the roles of Secretary and Public Relations Officer. He has also served on the committee many times. Well known for his comedy roles Shaun has performed in numerous Pantomimes and Plays for the St Stephen's Players and has successfully directed 8 pantomimes for the Society plus 2 Three-Act Plays and 2 One-Act Plays.

After having gained so much experience over the years and teaching for others, Shaun is now delighted to have fulfilled his ambition by opening his own Drama & Tap Academy and to give some of his knowledge back to the younger generation and train them, to help continue Amateur Theatre on the island.