Spotlight Prize: Meet the Judges

Meet the judging panel for the Spotlight Prize 2017

The Spotlight Prize 2017 is just around the corner! Before this year's stage showcase at The Underglobe on 11th July, the nominees will be taking part in a screen acting showcase this weekend with award-winning director Shimmy Marcus.

Screen showcase panel

The judging panel for this year's screen showcase will be:

Gemma Sykes

Downton Abbey (Carnival), Captain Phillips (Scott Rudin Productions), Jason Bourne (Captivate Entertainment), The Professor and the Madman (Fastnet Films), Churchill (Salon Pictures), The Hippopotamus (Electric Shadow Company), Fanny Lye Deliver’d (Pull Back Camera Ltd). 

Lucy Jenkins CDG 

The Kite Runner (Playhouse Theatre), The Play That Goes Wrong (Duchess Theatre), The Comedy About a Bank Robbery (Criterion Theatre).

Jane Anderson CDG

Jane Anderson has worked in casting for over a decade, and casts action packed & gritty dramas, through to fun-filled comedies.

Features include ‘The Whistleblower’, ‘Hard Boiled Sweets’ & the Cymru BAFTA winning ‘Convenience’. She has just completed casting ‘Viking Destiny’.

Her small screen credits include ‘Spying on Hitler's Army: The Secret Recordings’, the award nominated series’ ‘All At Sea’ & ‘Hank Zipzer’, the recent BBC4 comedy ‘Bucket’ as well as ‘Creeped Out’, a brand new spooky series for CBBC.

She is a member of the Casting Directors’ Guild of Great Britain and Ireland, and works between Manchester & London.

Simone Pereira Hind CDG

The Replacement (Left Bank Pictures), Outlander (Tall Ship Productions), Elizabeth (Polygram), Jude (BBC), My Son the Fanatic (Arts Council/BBC),  Outlander,
Good Omens (Amazon/BBC).

Alice Purser

7.2 (Island Films), And Then I Was French (Dog Eared Films), Astral (Craven Street Productions), Borderline (Little Rock Pictures), Modus (BBC/TV4).

Sam Stevenson CDG

Babel (Paramount), The New World (New Line Cinema), Common, Blood and Gifts (National Theatre), An Inspector Calls, One Man, Two Guvnors, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Vortex (West End).

Vicki Thomson CDG

Vicki Thomson started working in casting in 2007 and setup VT Casting last year. In the past year she has worked as UK Casting Director on ’The Brave’ (NBC), ‘Deutschland 86’ (UFA/Amazon) as well as leading the UK searches for NBC’s pilot season. Her previous credits as a Casting Director include ‘Grantchester’ (ITV), ‘Brief Encounters’ (ITV) and ‘Guilt' (ABC Freeform). Prior to setting up VT Casting she worked with Kelly and Victor at VHJ Casting as an associate on projects including ‘Broadchurch’ (ITV), ’Fleabag’ (BBC), ‘Humans’ (C4), ’The Royals’ (E!) and ‘The Last Kingdom’ (BBC). She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Manchester University. 

Live showcase panel

This year's stage showcases will see the following judges attend on the 11th July to enjoy the graduates' performances.

Ben Seale - Chair

Ben Seale is the CEO of Spotlight. When not overseeing Spotlight's developments and strategy, he is involved with the charitable side of the industry where he sits on the committees of the King George V Fund for Actors (KGVF) as well as Acting for Others (The Combined Theatrical Charities Trust). He is the current chair of the International Alliance of Casting Directories (IACD) which serves to optimise international casting opportunities for UK and European based artists.

Mark Bonnar 

Originally from Edinburgh, Mark graduated from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has since gone on to star most recently in Catastrophe, alongside Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan. He has received two Scottish BAFTA Nominations for Catastrophe, and Line of Duty. His other screen credits include Apple Tree Yard, Unforgotten, Line of Duty, Vera, Grantchester, Twenty Twelve, Doctor Who, Psychoville, Phone Shop, Paradox and feature films Take Down, Sunset Song, X-Moor and Camera Trap. His stage credits include The Duchess of Malfi at the Old Vic, The Cherry Orchard, Dido Queen of Carthage, Philistines, and Cyrano de Bergerac at the National Theatre).

Paapa Essiedu

Paapa graduated from Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2012, and has since been  awarded the Ian Charleson Award and UK Theatre Award in 2016 for Hamlet. After his first role, Paapa played Burgundy at the National Theatre in Sam Mendes’ production of King Lear, and understudied the role of Edmund. When Sam Troughton lost his voice during a performance, his understudy Paapa famously stepped in and made headlines playing the role to great acclaim. Paapa's TV and film credits include The Miniaturist (BBC), Revolting (Channel 4), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (BBC), Not safe For Work (Channel 4), Murder on the Orient Express (20th Century Fox), Canned, and Women at the Well. 

Elaine Cassidy

Elaine Cassidy is known for her varied screen roles, having won two Irish Film and Television Awards. Her first was for Best Actress in a Lead Role in Film in 2003 for her role as Runt in 'Disco Pigs', opposite Cillian Murphy, and her second was awarded in 2010 for Best Actress in a Lead Role in Television, for her role as Abby Mills in the American CBS TV series Harper’s Island. She has also been nominated for her performances as Maud Lily in Fingersmith (BBC), and for her role in And When Did You Last See Your Father? (Film 4). Other screen credits include The Others, as well as the upcoming Strangeways: Here We Come. Elaine's television credits include A Room With A View (ITV), The Paradise (BBC) and No Offence. On stage, she has appeared in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Donmar Warehouse, and in The Crucible at the RSC. 

Vicky McClure

Vicky is one of the country’s most exciting actors, and thanks to Shane Meadows’ This Is England 86, she has already claimed a Best Leading Actress BAFTA for her mesmerising and heartbreaking performance as ‘Lol’. She was nominated again for the same role in This is England 88, and finished the story last year with This Is England 90. Originally learning her craft at the Nottingham TV Workshop, she was discovered by Shane Meadows and starred in one of his earlier films, A Room For Romeo Brass. Vicky has gone on to star in some of the best produced dramas in recent years, including the hit crime thriller Line of Duty, 2017's The Replacement, and series one of Broadchurch. 

Sarah Parish

Sarah Parish has appeared in a host of screen roles including Peak Practice, for which she won the Regional Television Award for Best Actress, Hearts & Bones, Cutting It, and Much Ado About Nothing. Sarah has also starred in Mistresses, Trollied, and Broadchurch, as well as playing the formidable Anna Rampton in W1A. Currently, Sarah can be seen in Bancroft on ITV. 

Carolyn McLeod

Casting for over 15 years, Carolyn is a freelance casting director who has worked with a variety of international directors and producers on film, television and theatre productions. Her recent feature projects include: High Strung: Free Dance, and US romantic comedy How To Pick Your Second Husband First. Carolyn has cast many TV films for Hallmark, Syfy Channel and most recently for Netflix, along with series and projects for the BBC, ITV, Disney and Cinemax. She is currently in development on sci-fi feature Joe, thriller Blood & Stone, and transgender road movie Violets Are Blue.

Shaheen Baig

Shaheen Baig is a London based casting director whose film credits include The Falling, Starred Up, A Monster Calls, Lady Macbeth and Free Fire. Her forthcoming films include Journeyman, starring Paddy Considine, Fighting With My Family, and Yardie, directed by Idris Elba. Shaheen has also worked on several acclaimed television projects including the award-winning Marvellous, Peaky Blinders, Black Mirror, Guerrilla, National Treasure, Southcliffe, and most recently the BBC drama Three Girls. Shaheen is currently working with Shane Meadows on a new drama series for Channel 4. 

Andy Pryor CDG

Andy started his career at the Royal Court. Since setting up Andy Pryor Casting in 1998, he has cast a diverse range of projects, including Life on Mars, I’m Alan Partridge, The Long Firm, Cutting It, Whitechapel, Call the Midwife, Cucumber, Banana, The A Word, Cold Feet, Doctor Foster, and Doctor Who. Andy's film credits include Bent (Channel 4 Films), Beautiful Thing (Channel 4 Films), Glorious 39 (BBC) and Gemma Bovery (Albertine). Andy is an ambassador for The Act For Change Project, which campaigns for diverse representation across the live and recorded arts. He is also currently Chair of the Casting Directors’ Guild. 

Jessica Ronane CDG

Jessica is the in-house casting director for Matthew Warchus at The Old Vic where she has worked on Future Conditional, The Hairy Ape, The Lorax, The Master Builder, The Caretaker, King Lear, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Jessica's other theatre credits include School of Rock, Bugsy Malone, Made In Dagenham, The Audience, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda - the Musical, Singin’ in the Rain, Billy Elliot - the Musical. 

Join us over on Twitter on the 11th July for photos and updates throughout the evening, and best of luck to all of the nominees.