STOCKROOM - Key Persons
Chris York is an actor and playwright, born and bred in the greatest seaside town in the world, Scarborough.
He is an alumni of Child Haven Nursery, Gladstone Road Junior School, Graham School and Scarborough 6th Form College. He accrued thousands of pounds of student debt attending The University of York and Mountview Academy.
He is a HighTide First Commissions Winner, but Chris didn't win (finalist of) the ITV's Red Planet Award, Off West End's Adopt a Playwright Award or Sky Arts' Screen/Play Award. In early 2021, Stockroom took pity on Chris and employed him as a resident playwright for Stockroom.
His play Build a Rocket toured the UK in 2019. The play scrutinises the stereotypes surrounding single mothers and the challenges they face in socio-economically deprived parts of the UK. It was published by Methuen. It was Richard Jordan of The Stage's "Best new British play of the year" and won the Holden Street Award. Chris' grandma, genuinely, didn't attend the play's premier because of the inappropriate language.
Chris ripped-off Edgar Allan Poe's classic The Pit & The Pendulum. The play opened in Oxford's Bodleian Libraries' historical Convocation House before transferring to Omnibus Theatre in London and marked Chris' directorial debut. "Powerhouse of a production" - The Upcoming. "A masterpiece… Written and directed exquisitely" - London Theatre Reviews. It is still disputed whether or not Chris exchanged financial incentives with reviewers at The Upcoming or London Theatre Reviews.
Because full-length texts take a long time to write, Chris has also written a lot of short plays, including: JIMBOB (The Arcola), 212 (The Bunker), A MILLION LITTLE HANDS (The Arts), SEVEN PEOPLE (The Arts), ACT 6 (Rosemary Branch), JESUS IS A ROCHDALE GIRL (The Last Refuge), DRAFTS (Southwark Playhouse), DON'T SHOW THIS TO CHERI (Stratford East). THREE LITTLE PIGS (Gladstone Road Junior School, Year 6 Assembly).
As an actor Chris has an extensive body of work, but he doesn't pay all that money for Spotlight to share it here for free. Chris' literary heroes include Caroline Aherne, Jim Cartwright, Alan Bennett, Kendrick Lamar, Sally Wainwright, Brian K. Vaughan, Jimmy McGovern and former Tottenham and England star Ledley King.
Dan is a screenwriter from the Black Country in the heart of the West Midlands. Having completed an MA in Screenwriting at the National Film and Television School in 2019, Dan is now based in North London. At the NFTS, Dan was awarded a scholarship funded by Channel 4 and Toledo Productions.
During his time at the NFTS, Dan worked on short films and animations including Mother's Ruin, a short animation starring Paul Whitehouse and Jaime Winstone, as well as on a number of video games including Eternal Spirit (@EtrnlSpiritGame), developed by Michael P Murray and debuted at EGX2018.
Erica has spent the last decade working as a journalist and features writer.
Georgia is originally from Newcastle and moved to London to study Drama and Theatre Arts at Goldsmiths University, where she graduated with a first-class degree.
She completed a placement at Arcola Theatre, worked with the London Student Drama Festival on a project that was performed at the Duchess Theatre and worked on three shows during the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. During lockdown she completed a screenwriting course.
Georgia says - "I am thrilled to have been selected for Stockroom and to get the chance to collaborate with an incredible company. To me, this is not only an opportunity to contribute my own style and ideas, but to develop as a writer alongside other creatives. I really look forward to seeing what we can come up with!"
Isaac is a writer and director, working across film, TV, and theatre. His works are borne from a desire to fuse crowd-pleasing and thought-provoking entertainment with the lived experiences of his diverse and distinctive upbringing.
Isaac's play VAR (very audible racism) was recently named runner-up for The Ambassador Theatre Group Playwright's Prize, and he was also a recipient of an emerging talent award at The New Renaissance Film Festival.
He is a BFI Network @LFF and BFI Network x Bafta Crew alumnus, a JBA awardee, one of twenty international writers chosen for the UGC writers' camp at Series Mania in Lille, and has had work screened on Channel 4 and BBC.
He is a writer for Stockroom and a leading figure for Pocc, a community dedicated to positively changing the experiences of people of colour in the creative industries.
He has written two episodes of SPELLBOUND, a new YA series for Hulu and Cottonwood Media, and has original projects in development with Joi Productions and Urban Myth.
Isaac's writing and plays have also been selected for competitions and festivals by The Vaults, Talawa, Arcola, Southwark Playhouse, Stratford Arts, and Bush Theatre.
His promo work has earned him a large YouTube following with clients including Universal, Sony, Beats By Dre, and Ministry of Sound. In 2015, his video for Sam Feldt's ‘Show Me Love' was Screen Nation nominated, and came in 2nd on Promo News most viewed (behind Beyoncé).
When he's not writing to you in the third person, working on a script, or directing, he is also a regular collaborator with the dark matter marketing agency, a Korean cinema aficionado, and a disciple of the cult of Pixar (with tattoos to prove it). He also wants to live in a world where Glow gets a proper finale.
His desert island DVDs are The Incredibles and La Haine. His cocktail was an Aviation. His current footwear of choice is the Reebok Classics. His manor is in South London. He is represented by Emily Smith at The Agency.
Isaac says - "I am thrilled to be joining Stockroom at this stage in my journey as a writer. They have a reputation for producing thoughtful, ballsy, bold and artistic work, which often captures the zeitgeist and sparks debate. At a time where theatre's absence is being so keenly felt, it feels like a golden opportunity and blessing to be part of something that will hopefully have a positive impact on British theatre's future, not to mention disrupt the status quo a tad. I can't wait to meet the writers and cause a stir."
Job Titles:
- Writer
- Writer and Company Director of DE - MYS - TIFY
Lilly Driscoll is an actor, writer and company director of DE-MYS-TIFY - a company set up to support actors from a low socio-economic background.
Plays include Offie nominated Dirty Promises (The Hope Theatre), short play My girlfriend is a real doll face (Bush Theatre) and solo play Only You (Theatre 503). Lilly was commissioned in 2022 to write PIECES for Small Truth Theatre (Caravan Theatre), which is available to listen to on all audio platforms.
Lilly's poetry has been played on BBC Radio London, and published in several zines and anthologies. Her short story The Clock Tower was recently published by Fairlight Books.
Lilly is excited to join the team at Stockroom. She will be collaborating with the writers to create the online series Acting Normal, which she will also star in, as well as starting work on a brand-new project.
Paula grew up in Manor Park, East London. She's been a writer in residence (Soho Theatre), writer on attachment (National Theatre Studio) and is a former winner of the Alfred Fagon Award. She was part of the 2016/17 Drama Room (BBC Writersroom).
Her play Four Decades was a finalist for the 2021 Women's Prize for Playwriting. Selected credits include: Monday the Emerge Festival (Red Ladder) short-listed for the John Whiting Award. Pancras Boys Club co-written with Ben Musgrave & David Watson (Only Connect). 6 Minutes ‘Everything Must Go' (Soho Theatre). Under a Foreign Sky Adrienne Benham Commission (Theatre Centre) and What's Lost published by Samuel French.
She's written short pieces for - The Bush, Soho Theatre, Almeida Projects & Tangle. She was co-writer with Jesse Briton on Messiah about the legacy of Black Panther activist Fred Hampton, National Tour (Bear Trap/ Holm) and most recently wrote A Promise - a teenage Windrush story (Prime Theatre). She is part of Screen Yorkshire's Flex 2 agile storytelling Talent Lab.