About Flloyd

Flloyd and Roderick at Oban Harbour

the short version…

FLLOYD KENNEDY Australian actor/writer/director, folk and jazz singer and voice/acting coach has trained and worked in Australia, UK, USA, Nigeria, New Zealand and Russia. Mother of two, grandmother of two. Recently relocated in the UK, freelancing as a voice/acting coach and touring her solo show “Yes! Because…”.

the long version…

As well as performing in cabaret and satirical revues, she toured folk clubs in England and Scotland, and helped to run the Singers’ Club and the Croydon Come All Ye in London at the height of the folk revival, and the Ceilidh Grill in Tiree, Scotland (she was also the chef).

While based in Scotland, she raised two sons with her husband Donneil Kennedy, ran drama workshops for the Port Glasgow Association of Tenants’ Groups, performed street theatre, cabaret and fringe theatre, was lead vocalist with The Black Diamonds Havana Band (trad jazz) and Chorde en Bleu (modern jazz). After three years as deputy wardrobe mistress for the King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Flloyd returned to her acting career, touring Scotland with Annexe Theatre, Shared Boat, Cahoots and several one-woman plays under the auspices of the Scottish Arts Council. She established Performance Exchange, coordinating workshops and inter-disciplinary skills training for theatre practitioners in Scotland, and was founding Artistic Director of Golden Age Theatre (Glasgow), directing and performing in classic and contemporary plays, touring to festivals, theatres, schools and community halls (with workshops) around Scotland. Flloyd was invited to join the collaborative ensemble VoiceTheatre NY for “The Homecoming Project”, during their residency at the Columbia (Maryland, USA) Festival 1992, before visiting Russia to train further with the Maly Drama Theatre of St Petersburg. She established the Voice Studies elements of the Acting Courses at Langside College, and Coatbridge College, and taught Verse Speaking at the RSAMD.

On returning to Australia in 1997, Flloyd formed Off The Planet, which performed mask and physical street theatre in national parks, banqueting halls and on street corners. She has directed opera and theatre productions (professional, student and youth theatre), including “Madame Butterfly” for the 4MBS Festival of Classics, and “Brave New World Order” for Dianne Gough Productions.  Her musical play “Blame it on Your Mother” was first performed in Scotland by The Wicked Ladies, then by The Girls at the Empire Church Theatre, Toowoomba. Her play “The Fall of June Bloom (or What You Will” received creative development at the Magdalena Brisbane Easter Gathering 2008, and further work in progress was presented at the ADSA conference in Dunedin, NZ in July 2008, at Performing the World in New York in October 2008, and at the VASTA conference in New York in 2009. In 2010 “June Bloom” received its world premiere at the Geoffrey Rush Drama Studio in Brisbane, Qld, and was subsequently presented in Phoenix, Arizona as part of the Phoenix Fringe Festival 2011.

Flloyd’s recent performances include Juliet, in Full Circle Theatre’s “A Tender Thing”, Hanna Kennedy in “Mary Stuart” with Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble and the Nurse in “Romeo and Juliet” for THAT Production Company.

In 2014 Flloyd received her doctorate (Theatre) from the University of Queensland, her research topic being “Towards a Theory of the Voice in Performance”, and subsequently achieve Certified Teacher accreditation in Knight-Thompson Speechworks. As well as her performing and directing work, she has taught voice and performance studies at RSAMDCoatbridge and Langside CollegesQueensland University of Technology (Creative Industries), E15 Acting School (Southend, UK) and MGA Acting Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland.  She offers voice and acting workshops for individuals, and professional, community and corporate organizations through her private studio Being in Voice. She is artistic director of Thunder’s Mouth Theatre, presenting theatre of poetry, passion and philosophy.

Currently on tour, “Yes! Because… (the sequel to “The Fall of June Bloom (or What You Will) has been seen in Brisbane, Melbourne, Southend, Liverpool (Threshold Festival), New York (United Solo Performance Festival) and most recently at the Bread and Roses Theatre, South Clapham, London UK.

Flloyd is a proud member of British Actors Equity, VASTA (Voice & Speech Trainers Association) and Associate Artist with ISAAC (International School for Acting and Creativity).

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