Meet the people behind PYR

We know the industry. We also know what it asks of you.

Prep Your Rep is built by working performers, coaches and creative professionals who understand that your voice, casting, auditions, confidence and life do not exist in separate boxes.

Professional experience. Honest support. The whole performer.

Career highlights from Ceili O'Connor and Sophie Linder-Lee

How it began

It started with one question.

Ceili O'Connor working on Prep Your Rep backstage during the CATS International Tour

Backstage · CATS International Tour · 2018

Why are performers taught how to do the work, but so rarely supported through the life and career surrounding it?

Ceili O'Connor had trained at ArtsEd, stepped into professional work before graduating and built a career across the West End, tours and international productions. She knew the exhilaration of a dream job, and the strange reality of waiting, covering, auditioning, comparison and having to keep believing when nothing felt certain.

So, in 2018, during her CATS International Tour, she created the support she wished had existed at the beginning of her own career: practical musical-theatre development that never loses sight of the human being doing it.

Prep Your Rep grew from a coaching idea into a whole-performer methodology, team and community.

The heart of Prep Your Rep

Two perspectives. One joined-up approach.

Ceili and Sophie bring craft, career and performers' mindset into the same conversation, because that is how performers actually experience the industry.

Founder · Working performer · Coach · Creative

Ceili O'Connor

Ceili is an Irish-Canadian West End performer, coach and the founder of Prep Your Rep LDN. Her career has taken her through leading roles, swings, understudy life, new writing, cabaret, tours and the beautifully unpredictable reality of being self-employed in this industry.

Her gift is joining the dots. She sees the performer, the material, the casting, the ambition and the person underneath it, and helps turn a noisy list of “shoulds” into clear, practical action.

“I wanted to create the team, honesty and sense of belonging I wish I had been able to reach for at the beginning.”

Head of Performers' Minds · Acting and vocal coach

Sophie Linder-Lee

Sophie is an experienced acting and vocal coach, accredited coach and working performer whose credits include Glinda in Wicked, the MC in Magic Mike Live and Janet in The Rocky Horror Show.

She brings warmth, honesty and practical psychological support to the moments performers often try to hide: rejection, comparison, overwhelm, confidence and the pressure to be “fine.” Her work helps performers feel safer, more grounded and more themselves in the room.

“PYR felt like my people: kind, funny, honest, and deeply serious about creating a safe place to do brave work.”

Why the team matters

No single coach should have to be everything.

Your Craft

Voice, acting, repertoire, storytelling and audition material supported by people who understand professional musical theatre.

Your Career

Casting, agents, materials, decisions and next steps turned into focused action that makes sense for you.

Your Life

Mindset, confidence, energy and identity supported without pretending that “thinking positively” solves everything.

Our mentors

People who know the room from the inside.

Our mentors bring different voices, lived experience and professional perspectives into PYR. They are here to help performers make braver choices in an environment that stays safe, specific and honest.

Mentor

Jackie Hughes

GSA-trained performer whose credits include Mary Poppins in London, Elphaba in the Wicked International Tour and the Enchantress in Beauty and the Beast. Jackie is currently appearing in Paddington The Musical in the West End.

Jackie brings: courage, craft and a generous rehearsal room.

Mentor

Malinda Parris

GSA-trained performer with credits including Matilda, Parade at the Donmar Warehouse, Aladdin, Footloose and Everybody's Talking About Jamie. Malinda is currently starring in The Greatest Showman, which is about to open in the West End.

Malinda brings: presence, versatility and grounded performance.

The wider PYR team

Built through collaboration.

Alongside our named mentors, PYR collaborates with experienced vocal, acting, industry and wellbeing professionals so the support can match the performer, not force every performer into the same method.

The right person. The right perspective. The right moment.

Our patrons

Wisdom in our corner.

Our patrons champion the values underneath PYR and bring decades of experience across voice, performance, direction and choreography.

Patron · Voice specialist

Joshua Alamu

A highly respected London voice specialist and vocal coach, Joshua's work in vocology, voice science and the music industry has shaped performers and professionals across the field. He is the creator of Vocal Tubes® and part of UaManajama artist management.

Patron · Director · Choreographer

Chrissie Cartwright

An internationally renowned director and choreographer and Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, Chrissie has worked across productions including Cats, Joseph, Sister Act and The Wizard of Oz.

“PYR recognises performers as vulnerable human beings in need of support, and has created a family full of hope for the future.”

Could you be part of PYR?

Good teachers matter. The right people matter even more.

If you would like to become a mentor or teacher at Prep Your Rep and feel that our human-first approach is a good fit for you, we would love to hear from you. Tell us about your experience, the performers you support and what you would bring to the room.

This is what being in your corner looks like

A team that cares about the audition, and the person who walks home afterwards.

Begin with one flexible Prep Your Rep Session. Tell us what is happening, and we will help you work out the next useful step.

Meet us in a Prep Your Rep Session →