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Meet the members of TAC
Cast and Crew
Who are TAC?
Theatre Company
The Actors Choice (known as TAC for short) are a group of actors and technicians whose sole aim is to raise money for St John's Hospice in Lancaster.
We want to use our talents to entertain our local community with excellent theatre and raise money for this worth while cause.
Paul Atkinson
Actor
Paul left home at the age of 16 and went to theatre school in London to train in performing arts. After completing his training he performed all over the world on two cruise ships, appeared in West end musicals, numerous UK tours, performed with ENO at the Coliseum and Opera North.
Since moving back to his hometown of Morecambe he has had the pleasure of performing with several local societies across the Bay. He has played many leads and supporting roles. Amongst his favourites are The Arbiter in Chess, Don Lockwood in Singin’ in the Rain, Billy Bigelow in Carousel, the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Franz Liebkind in The Producers, Clyde Gabriel in Witches Of Eastwick, Judd Fry in Oklahoma and Bob Wallace in White Christmas.
Paul is looking forward to performing with some old friends and making some new ones along the way!
John Auckland
Actor
Originally from South Yorkshire, John was involved with various amateur dramatic groups in the area, undertaking his first role in Showboat 26 years ago with the Penistone Operatic Society.
This sparked his love of the stage and he has since taken a variety of roles in pantomimes, plays and musicals in South Yorkshire.
His roles include Herr Flick in 'Allo 'Allo, Cesar in 'Are You Being Served,' Chapman in 'Comfort and Joy,' as well as numerous dames and evil characters in pantomime in both South Yorkshire and Lancashire. John admits that comedy roles are a favourite and loves challenging accents!
In 2016 he moved to Silverdale where he is an active member of the Silverdale Village Players. He played Scrooge in the Silverdale Village Players 2018 pantomime of the same name and was recently the Tin Man in Lancaster Footlights production of The Wizard of Oz at The Lancaster Grand.
John is really looking forward to helping the team raise lots of money for St Johns Hospice.
Tracey Auckland
Actor
From the age of 2 Tracey was a dancer. Tap and ballet were soon superseded by Ballroom and Latin American dancing and the competing began. A love of showmanship, music, choreography and amazing costumes led her into theatrical make-up when she hung up her competitive dancing shoes! Since 1989 Tracey has been the make up artist for Silverdale Village Players.
In 1992 she decided that it was time to tread the boards and played a ‘dead person’ in ‘Our Town’. Since then she has performed with more ‘energy & vigour’ in plays, pantomimes and cabarets, taking both supportive and leading roles ; Aladdin in 2010 and Maggie in Cheshire Cats 2007. Being part of TAC allows Tracey to continue the support of St John’s Hospice at the same time as having fun and making new friends.
Karen Fay
Actor
Originally from Glasgow, Karen has been involved with local amateur dramatic societies for over 15 years and has enjoyed playing a variety of roles including evil hotelier Mrs Meers/‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’, Mrs Bedwin/‘Oliver’, ditzy Rita/‘White Christmas’, Prudy Pingleton/‘Hairspray’, Eastwicks’ First Lady, Felicia Gabriel/‘The Witches of Eastwick’, Starkey/‘Peter Pan’, and the loving Ella Patterson/‘Annie Warbucks , Mrs Eynsford-Hill, ‘My Fair Lady’ and most recently the Cowardly Lion in Lancaster Footlights 2019 production of ‘The Wonderful wizard of Oz’. Karen has been member of the Lancaster Red Rose Executive Committee for several years and has been involved in the demanding behind the scenes tasks necessary to promote and present a successful profit making show. She is looking forward to using her skills on stage and off to raise money for local charity, St Johns Hospice.
Steve Johnson
Actor
Originally from Preston, Steve has lived in the Lancaster area for 30+ years and has performed with several local groups and at local theatres including The Lancaster Grand. The Winter Gardens Morecambe and the Heron in Betham.
Recently spotted in The Sound of Music and Jesus Christ Superstar, Steve is excited to be taking on the role of Mole in Wind in the Willows musical in November 2019.
He is delighted to be asked to join the group and support in some way the excellent work of our local Hospice.
My mum was a big influence (And my biggest critic!) with regards to me "treading the boards" and is sadly no longer here to see me perform, I'm grateful to her for the encouragement to get involved in the world of am dram and performing - a decision I've certainly not regretted! I'm extremely thankful for the opportunities and friendships it has given me.
Eimear McMeeking
Actor
Eimear grew up with a love of Theatre. She has won many speech and drama solo competitions in Dublin and also performed regularly in pantomime and professional plays.
She studied Speech and Drama and completed all graded exams to first class honours standards with the Irish Board of Speech and Drama.
Her claim to Fame is she won first prize in Grease, her school drama show which was judged by Lewis Walsh-he ‘liked it’!
Her love for the stage was rejuvenated when she played the Scarecrow in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for Footlights! She is delighted to be back acting again and is loving being back in the theatre.
Carrie McIntosh
Actor
Carrie started acting at a very early age, treading the boards for the first time in Oklahoma. Growing up she took part in lots of musicals and plays.
Her love for the theatre grew so Carrie went on to train at Preston College and graduated from the Royal Scottish Conservatoire with a BA in Acting. Some of her favourite roles include Katrina in The Europeans, Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet and Ensemble in Marat Sade.
After a long rest from Acting Carrie returned to performing and directing with Lancaster Footlights where she played Liz Morden in Our Countrys Good and more recently directed and performed in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Carrie is really excited to raise money for such a terrific local charity and work with such talented actors.
Vanessa Whittle
Actor
Vanessa has been performing on stage since the age of two.
She has played many roles in Lancaster and the surrounding areas. Including Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, Julie Jordan in Carousel, Charity Barnum in Barnum, Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls and Millie in Through Modern Millie. Her favourite roles to date have been Maria in The Sound of Music, Nancy in Oliver and Ruth in Calendar Girls. Over recent years she has taken on the demanding role of director and choreographer for Lancaster Red Rose AODS, their next show being Wind in the Willows the musical in November this year. Vanessa is thrilled to be joining her talented friends both old and new in this exciting venture and is really hopeful that they can raise a good amount of money for such an amazing cause.
Ian McIntosh
Production Crew
Ian is thrilled to put his carpentry skills to good use. ( He didn't really have much say , Carrie his wife, volunteered him for the job) In all seriousness, hes really looking forward to the challenge and helping a terrific local cause. As long as he goes no where near the stage!
