Chris Marlow BA MA PhD LLCM PGCE PGDip
Chris trained at the universities of Manchester and Oxford, winning, as an undergraduate, The John Osborne Award, and qualifying as a teacher of English, 11-18 years. Subsequently, he obtained a specialist diploma in Speech & Drama from the London College of Music (LLCM) before completing a PhD in educational research at Lancaster University.
A member of Equity and the Society of Teachers of Speech & Drama, he is also a Life Member of the Oxford Union, the eminent university debating society. He's been a working professional with radio, television and theatre experience; credits include 'Born & Bred' (BBC One), Granada Reports (ITV), BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC Radio Merseyside and The Sound of Music (UK theatre tour). As a speech and drama teacher Chris enjoys teaching a wide range of pupils, from absolute beginners (children and adults), to professional performers and teachers, as well as coaching business clients to develop their communication/presentation skills.
Chris is a member of the British and International Federation of Festivals and enjoys adjudicating at speech and drama festivals throughout the UK and overseas, including in 2022 at the Hong Kong Schools' Festival. He also has extensive experience as a speech, drama and musical theatre examiner for the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA), the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD) and Trinity College London (TCL), travelling nationally and internationally to assess communication and performance skills. He co-authored
'Speaking Matters', a practical textbook for developing dynamic communication skills, published by LAMDA in 2010, and has enjoyed running a series of popular summer courses, workshops and teacher seminars on speech, drama and devising. Chris is now a Senior Examiner in Speech, Drama and Musical Theatre for the London College of Music, part of the University of West London. He is a member of the British Voice Association, the multi-disciplinary professional association for voice specialists in education, medicine and the performing arts. In 2021 he was elected to the Council of the Society of Teachers of Speech & Drama, the specialist body for the profession. He holds an enhanced DBS check and is fully insured.
Before embarking on a freelance career, Chris was a Head of Department in both state and independent schools, a GCSE English/English Literature Examiner and a Senior Examiner/Moderator for A level English Literature. Drawing on his expertise in performance and speech, Chris coached debating and public speaking teams to national success in several competitions - one being a finalist in the Cambridge Union Schools' Debating Competition while another was runner-up in the national final of the BPW Public Speaking Competition.
Chris's directorial credits include an array of plays and musicals. The former include: A Doll's House, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antigone, Confusions, Dracula, Habeas Corpus, Macbeth, Medea, Talking Heads, The Tempest and Twelfth Night. Musicals include: Blood Brothers, Grease, Hairspray, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Oliver, South Pacific and West Side Story.
Chris is married to Alison, who is CEO of the National Performing Arts Alliance Ltd, a performing arts awarding organisation (see
www.npaa.co.uk)
. They have a son, Alex, a London-based actor and poet (see
www.alexmarlow.co.uk ). Sharing the Marlow home is Kipp, a three-legged Lurcher from Romania (via Animal Care, Lancaster) and Dolly, a black Labrador Retriever from Chorley!
Enquiries about tuition are welcome - please contact Chris by phone/text 07792 30992, or by email
ctmarlow@outlook.com or by using the website Contact form .
