New Earth Academy

Ka-Yan Ip is a theatre maker, performer, storyteller, and drama tutor whose practice explores diaspora experiences, women’s stories, and family histories through community-engaged performance. She holds a BA in Communication (Journalism) from Hong Kong Baptist University and a BA in Acting from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. 
 
In Hong Kong, Ka-Yan created and performed the one-woman show Parent-child Bowl, taking on producer, director, and performer roles. Since relocating to the UK two years ago, she has developed community-focused theatre projects, including her Community Interest Company, delivering Cantonese storytelling sessions, workshops, and performances for diaspora families, and BNO Mothers’ Voices, an ethnodrama rooted in documentary theatre combining workshops, exhibition, and performance. 
 
Based in Manchester, Ka-Yan continues to actively develop her practice, leading projects, teaching children, and seeking collaborative opportunities that foster understanding, empathy, and cultural connection through theatre.

Lisa Chearles (she/her) is a Singaporean dance artist moving and making in Manchester. She trained at Frontier Danceland’s PULSE Programme and Northern School of Contemporary Dance, and has since had the joy of performing in The Old Green Time Machine (Coalesce Dance Theatre), the album: skool edition (SAY), Discopia (Excessive Human Collective), Saving Face (Si Rawlinson), Us (Cathy Waller Company), and The Hatchling (Trigger Stuff), among other productions.

Lisa is drawn to making work that is both visceral and surreal, with a growing curiosity about the intersection of performance and film; specifically how live movement can be viewed through a cinematic lens, and how film can contextualise performance. She was awarded a Kaleidoscope Artist residency in 2023 (Sigma Contemporary Dance) and a Rooted in Movement residency (Company of Others) in 2024, through which she developed Where Sleeping Dogs Lie, a duet accompanied by a projected film, lit entirely with flashlights manipulated by the performers. Where Sleeping Dogs Lie was presented at Turn 2024 (hÅb, Company Chameleon) and Queer East Festival 2024. Lisa is delighted to be part of this year’s GM & Salford Theatre Makers Plus cohort, and will explore weaving narrative and text more intentionally into her making practice.

Linnae Yllane (they/her) is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, director, performer, and facilitator based between Manchester and London. Their work draws from personal experiences of immigration, queerness, and mental health, aiming to always question the connections we form with others and diving deep into what feels “messy” in the day-to-day. Currently, they are curious about process and are excited to experiment with different methods to develop their practice.

Linnae has been involved in theatre productions as an assistant director, writer and dramaturg, credits including; Chaos (Royal Exchange Theatre at The Den, 2023), What They Can’t See (Contact Theatre, 2024), Another Life (The Manchester Confucius Institute, 2024), Chameleon (Edinburgh Fringe, 2024 and The Glitch, 2025), Saplings (Breakthrough at 53Two, 2025).

Instagram: linnae.yllane

Jack So is an emerging actor, writer, poet, and theatre-maker, born in Hong Kong and now based in Manchester. In the two years since finishing university, he's been fortunate to try a wide range of creative experiences, from stage combat to stand-up comedy to shooting a tourism campaign at the Etihad (perhaps a boon misdirected, as Jack knows little about football). 

Jack's theatre credits include Tiny Human Dramas at the Camden Fringe festival, A Poetic Planet: Exploring Revolution with Young Identity, and Qweer Shorts with Qweerdog Theatre and Hope Mill Theatre. He is particularly interested in breathing life into marginalized narratives with heart, nuance, and hope, and a creative process led by honesty, play, and laughter. Outside of creative projects, Jack enjoys an equally wide range of hobbies, from sketching his housemates to air-frying increasingly dubious produce 'for science', and despite weeks of putting it off has yet to fix his skates.

Jasmine Wing To Chong (莊穎陶) is a Hong Kong born and raised theatre maker based in the North of England. She is a New Earth Writers Academy 2020 alumni, and a New Earth and Tamasha Theatre Producers First 2021 alumni. She is professionally a theatre fundraiser. 
 
Her piece "Moon Landing/奔月", written as part of the writers academy, was commissioned for Signal Fires: Beyond Chinatown in 2020. 
 
She has a keen interest in empowering other ESEA artists and community building. With the support of other creatives, she is building a network for Yorkshire based ESEA theatre makers, writers, visual artists and activists to showcase ESEA talents in the region.

Orange Ma is a Hong Kong–born performer who has been working professionally for over 15 years as a mime artist, clown, juggler, balloon modeler, bubble performer, and circus trainer. He spent eight years at Hong Kong Disneyland as a puppeteer in Festival of the Lion King and Disney on Parade, a comedy atmosphere actor, and the voice of Stitch Encounter.

Choreographer | Performer | Artistic Director, Room 9 Dance Theatre

Max Lee is an interdisciplinary choreographer and performer whose work spans dance theatre, multimedia, and video design. Trained at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and London Contemporary Dance School, he has developed a distinctive artistic voice that fuses movement, physical theatre, and digital media to explore space, narrative, and the relationship between body and technology.

As Artistic Director of Room 9 Dance Theatre, Lee has created a range of experimental productions presented across Hong Kong, Berlin, Athens, and Manchester. His works have been commissioned by the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Jumping Frames International Dance Video Festival, and the LCSD’s New Force in Motion Series, and his dance films have been screened at international platforms including NOWNESS Asia and Movimiento en Movimiento (Mexico).

Beyond choreography, Lee performs extensively and collaborates across disciplines as a movement coach and video designer, contributing to theatre, film, and site-specific projects. His practice continually seeks to expand the language of contemporary performance while bridging cultural and artistic contexts.

Matthew Bevan is an actor, theatre maker and musician of British/Filipino descent. Matthew is a huge lover of fringe theatre, and is fascinated by its ability to explore and communicate complex feelings and ideas in novel and accessible ways.

Matthew has developed and performed in a number of shows for the Edinburgh fringe, as well as experimental performances in Sheffield, working as a resident artist with the Sheffield based theatre company Only Lucky Dogs. Matthew is now at a point in the career to begin leading the creation of projects, and is very interested in experimenting with gig-theatre and other emerging art forms.

Pui-Ka Cheng is a playwright, actor, dubbing artist, puppeteer, mother of two daughters, from Hong Kong. Currently Manchester based. She graduated from the Chinese University of HK(Degree in Statistics) and the Drama School of Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts(Major in Acting).

Credits as actor include:

In Manchester – A Bouffon Play About Hong Kong(Part of: PUSH Festival 2023/Papergang Theatre)

In Hong Kong – Where is our Sea? (Littlebreath Creative Workshop), Kassandra or the World as the End of Representation (Littlebreath Creative Workshop), Color Symphony (Pure Box).

She loves puppets and worked with Make Friends with Puppet, BE Kids and HK Puppet and Shadow Art Center as director, actor and puppeteer. Credits include A Puppet’s Grand Adventure, Bilibala Night Fairies, Forever My Buddies, The Bigfoot.

Lesa Dang is an East Asian Actor based in Manchester of Chinese Vietnamese background, fluent in Cantonese and has experience on screen via television films and commercials. She is an alumni of Yellow Earth Performers Academy Manchester 2020.

Works included Signal Fires with New Earth theatre October 2020. Received funding from the Greater Manchester Artist Hub to self-initiate her piece titled Scattered Families which was later presented at The Lowry’s Scratch Nights in 2022. Stories of her family’s journey to the UK. What life was like during the Indo-China Vietnamese war of 1979 when her family fled on a boat to HK and born on that boat while in transit. This monologue was shown in London’s Museum of the Home – Festival of Home and Belonging.

A Researcher on Looking for You. A bilingual short film by Anna Nguyen & Kristine Landon Smith. The film was shown in venues in UK, Australia & Vietnam.

Web: https://nw-besea-creatives.uk/performers-theatre-makers/lesa-dang

Sam Jamil is following his passion of Acting and the Arts in general.

Sam has been a part of many youth theatres and was a part of a fully disabled group of creatives that took a show to the Leicester Curve theatre as part of NSDF, a satirical show that is about lives with disabilities. A show that he is very proud of.

He is currently taking part in Factory Future Cultural Leaders course and Unexpected Leaders Programme with Extraordinary bodies.

He has recently been commissioned as an artist of Manchester Independents 2023 with his mother Shirley which they are really looking forward to doing.

Links to work:

https://youtu.be/K2lVyu8oEBA
https://youtu.be/109jWCZYHm4
https://youtu.be/KQKoR5a4ymI

Shirley Jamil describes her creative practice as an early career writer, photographer and voice over artist.

Shirley’s writing style is a mix of factual storytelling and social awareness told in a northern, dry but witty style. She recently collaborated with Calico.org.uk to film and edit a social experiment of using public transport from the perspective of a wheelchair accessible route versus a general pedestrian route.

Shirley has worked with Breaking Barriers recording spoken pieces for audible tours around Rochdale. Her son Sam Jamil and herself have recently been successful in being commissioned as artists of Manchester Independents 2023 which they are really excited to be part of.

Amy Jim is a hardworking, and a mum of three. She believes that when things don’t happen for you, you make it happen for yourself! Never give up!

Amy is represented by Cherry Parker Management, and has been in the filming industry for around 10 years. At the beginning, it was more background work, gaining more on set experience. Now, she is working towards more featured work, and learning as much as she can along the way. She attends weekly workshops with Anthony Crank, and is taking singing and dancing lessons. She loves theatre and would like to get involved more.

Web: https://linktr.ee/amy.jim

Kay Lai is a musician from HongKong and based in Manchester now. She is a multilingual voice talent/actor/vocalist who can speak in Cantonese/English/Mandarin. She is a member of Composer & Authors Society in HK and will be studying Music Therapy in Manchester. Currently she works in education field and sings in local performances. She keeps broadening her horizons through music and theatre, and would like to further develop her sound journey in the UK.

“Music and theatre offers me a window to express my emotion and opens a door to hope. I hope to use improvisational music and performing arts to connect with people and empower our spiritual communication – a sense of consolation.”

Instagram: @hksoundjourney
Facebook: @hksoundjourney

Yanni Ng was born and raised in Hong Kong, and is inspired by works that investigate the complexity of human connection, notably surrounding South-East Asian values and the intricate relationships formed within them.

Yanni has been involved in several theatre productions as a performer, director, producer, lighting designer, and composer. In 2017, she was the composer and performer in an amateur original musical, Iffy, at the Hong Kong Fringe Theatre, and subsequently worked on two productions between 2018-2019: Hairspray (as Tracy) and Frankenstein (as Victor), respectively. She also was a part of the Bravo! Hong Kong Youth Theatre Awards Scheme: a 1-year extensive acting course based in Hong Kong where she performed in a professional production of The Secret Garden (2017), and another 1-month acting course in LAMDA, culminating in a private showcase to tutors and students. She started to develop other skills in directing, producing and design at University, acting in projects such as Legacy (2020), Runaways (2022) and Behind the Curtained Door (2023); produced/lighting designed for Grecian Idolatry (2022) at Contact Theatre and Edinburgh Fringe, and Behind the Curtained Door (2022); directed a new short-piece Referendum (2022); and will be stage manager for Skies in the Cloud at the Fringe in August this year 2023.

Instagram: @yanni_ng

Samuel Rossiter is a queer trans man and mixed-race actor and writer of English/Chinese heritage. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Samuel moved to Manchester after graduating from university to pursue acting and writing. He has written for the Royal Exchange Theatre (My White Best Friend North 2021, Fright Night 2022) , The Lowry (Shoots Scratch Night 2022) and has had spoken word commissions from organisations including Channel 4 and the Greater Manchester Artist Hub. In 2022, Samuel was on writing attachment to the Royal Exchange Theatre and was also longlisted for the Bruntwood Playwriting Competition for his play The Art Of.

Twitter: @samuel_rossiter

Isabella So has a unique cultural identity of being Hongkonger and Korean and is a fresh theatre graduate from Coventry University wanting to do a lot of storytelling through theatre. She has had experience in working with theatre companies such as Aurora Theatre which gave her the knowledge in producing short plays and the opportunity of directing and collaborating. From directing to video projections, she is in love with all things in theatre and is willing to explore more through this programme!

Instagram – @issabellaso

Sarah Tang is a writer and producer who has a background in playwriting and is interested in seeking ways to create inter-disciplinary works and experiences through working with physical theatre and movement actors.

Her current practice ce

ntres around writing for theatre and dance on the intersectionality between memory, body and trauma – investigating their relationship with one’s identity and sense-making.

She has collaborated with Frontier Danceland’s Company Artist in writing for a movement work and alongside other independent playwrights and choreographers in the role of a dramaturg.

She has also been mentored by Tang Fu Kuen (Artistic Director, Taipei Arts Festival), Alfian Sa’at (Resident Playwright at Wild Rice), Haresh Sharma (Resident Playwright at The Necessary Stage) and Huzir Sulaiman (Director, Checkpoint Theatre).

Louiseanne Wong (she/they) is a movement artist, dancer, choreographer and coach with Esprit Concrete. Her roots are from Hong Kong, and she holds a Bachelor of Music (University of Manchester) and an MA in Choreography (Trinity Laban, London). Her training is in dance (contemporary, hip hop, namely but not limited to Krump and breakdance foundations), soft acrobatics, Parkour and Art du Deplacement, as well as Chinese Pole.

Louiseanne’s expertise and passion allows her to combine Art du Deplacement with Dance and Circus as a means of self-discovery, always circling back to the question ‘Who am I?’. She sees her movement practice to explore topics and storytelling such as authenticity, identity and heritage, and how these affect an artist’s relationship to oneself and others.

She believes in the concept of working on the self to in turn help others better, and to express oneself as authentic as possible, meeting and managing the struggles of being human as part of the process. She views the body as non-gender, holding a humanistic view to the communities she meets, learning how to hold hard but important conversations better in order to keep timeless topics going. She has a wide understanding of the body in both athletic and artistic contexts, having performed in various multidisciplinary works both indoors and outdoors around the world.

Twitter: @louiseannewong
Instagram: @louiseannewong
Facebook: wonglouiseanne

Photo by Jordan White

Mei Yuk Wong is a writer and producer based in Manchester. She was born in Hong Kong and has lived in the UK since 1998. She writes about various subjects, from personal stories to social and political issues, especially through a woman’s perspective. She has published her own book and articles. She is a blogger for The Points and The Hongkonger. Her plays have also been performed in a range of venues: The Lowry, Manchester, Octagon Theatre, Bolton, and Sweet Mandarin, Manchester.

Instagram: @meiyukwong4286
Web: meiyukwong.co.uk

Andrew Wong is a writer, filmmaker, and performer. Born and grew up in the Northwest, he is second generation to Chinese immigrant parents from Hong Kong. Andrew used to work as an IT developer before pursuing the arts. He started as a screenwriter and enjoys telling genre stories. His placements in PAGE and Nicholl screenwriting contests eventually led to his first produced feature film.

Andrew was part of the Northwest, New Earth Performer’s Academy in 2020 and participated in Lesa Dang’s Scattered Families for Horizons New Year Scratch Night in 2022 at The Lowry. He also spent years in Jim Cartwright’s Acting studio and performed in a few showcases. Andrew hopes to continue telling stories in various mediums.

Instagram: @andywonguk