our team
consultants
Pete Brooks is the Course leader of MA performance design and practice at Central Saint Martins and also a theatre writer/director and co artistic director of the National Portfolio Organisation, Imitating the Dog. He has directed traditional operas as well as musicals, but is best known for his experimental work and interest in digital technologies in performance. In July 2022 Imitating the Dog co-devised and staged, with John Galliano, Cinema Inferno, Maison Margiela’s co-ed collection for Paris Fashion week.
Robin Sneller CJ is a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for the MA/MFA Acting programs at East 15 Acting School, University of Essex. An experienced stage actor and practitioner, Robin integrates classical principles with contemporary practice, specializing in acting methodologies, physical expression, and character development.
As a core member of East 15’s international team, he focuses on cross-cultural theatre education, empowering performers from diverse backgrounds to build independent practices and excel across stage and screen.
Faust Peneyra, with over 23 years of international experience, Faust Peneyra is an award-winning Creative Director, Designer, and Production Manager. Currently a lecturer in stage design at Central Saint Martins (UAL), he has delivered over 100 theatrical productions and immersive installations across the UK and Asia.
A graduate of the University of the Philippines and Central Saint Martins, his portfolio spans high-end art direction for brands like Cartier and Chopard to acclaimed scenic design. Faust is a co-founder of Cue Craft Studio Corporation and an award-winning scenographer, notably representing the Philippines at World Stage Design 2022.
Oleg Mirochnikov is a London-based theatre practitioner and educator specializing in the Vakhtangov method of performance. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Performance at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, and has previously taught at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He continues to deliver performance training and drama education across the UK and Europe.
Oleg graduated from the Belarusian Academy of Theatre and Arts in Minsk, where he received systematic training in Russian drama. His work is influenced by the performance systems of Stanislavski, Meyerhold, and Vakhtangov, with Vakhtangov’s philosophy at the core of his approach. Over more than twenty-five years of practice, he has developed a training method that combines Russian theatrical tradition with contemporary performance practices, focusing on imagination, motivation, and physical expression.
Alongside his teaching, Oleg works as an actor, director, and voice artist in theatre, film, and sound arts, contributing to stage, screen, television, radio, and audio productions.
Li Sha is a Professor in the Chinese Opera Department at Shanghai Theatre Academy, specialising in Sichuan Opera (Chuanju). She began her training at age nine at Wenzhou Regional Arts School and later performed with the Guanghan Han Opera Theatre, studying Han Opera under masters Pang Jialin and Yang Yunhui. She then joined the Chengdu Sichuan Opera Theatre and the Sichuan Provincial Sichuan Opera Theatre.
She gained national recognition for lead roles in Honglou Jingmeng, Huaqing Pool, Furong Flower Fairy, and The Legend of the White Snake. She is one of very few performers capable of playing the complete female lead in the full-length The Legend of the White Snake.
Her portrayal in Madam Dong Zhujun at the Shanghai International Arts Festival earned her several major awards, including the Plum Blossom Award (2002), the Cao Yu Drama Award for Outstanding Performance, and the Magnolia Stage Performance Award.
Li Sha later studied directing at the Central Academy of Drama. Since then, she has worked as both a director and educator at Shanghai Theatre Academy, creating works across traditional opera, experimental theatre, and contemporary stage. Her career uniquely bridges rigorous classical training, award-winning performance, and innovative pedagogy.
CENTRAL DRAMA LAB 