The Committee

Sandra has always loved literature and the spoken word. She commenced my own Studio of Speech and Drama in 1982, having qualified long before that, originally working in schools. She has been a Committee Member of the Mid-Somerset Festival in Bath for over 30 years, and subsequently was Chair of the Speech & Drama Section for 5 years.  Together with a small team, Sandra helped to create the Wootton Bassett Arts Festival in 2009, which very swiftly became affiliated to BIFF. In 2014 we were given the honour of the title of Royal. Sandy has been an Examiner for LAMDA since 2000, travelling all over the UK. Her joy is seeing young people achieve and excel, to help their self-esteem and confidence, and to enrich them for a valuable future. Sandy is the backbone of the Festival.

Rhian Vaughan – Vice Chair and Musical Theatre Chair

Rhian has a great deal of passion for the performing arts. She began her own acting career
at a very young age, which saw her gain a wealth of professional experience in both theatre
and television. Rhian is PCertLAM, ATCL, and DipLCM qualified and teaches all strands of the
LAMDA and Trinity syllabi to an extremely high standard. She is also the founder and
director of A Fusion of Arts, and has extensive experience of working in performing arts schools; she regularly works closely with students preparing audition pieces for performing arts schools and has mentored many students who have gone on to be successfully offered places. She is also experienced in teaching special educational needs and has a keen ability to adapt her teaching approach to the needs of those being taught. 

Dance Chair 

Julie Williams – Music Chair

Julie’s background has been working and performing within the arts for many years. She has had a career as a professional singer and opened her own Performing Arts School in 1993. She was prompted to do this because she believes in nurturing those with talent to further their experience within the arts. She is now Music Chair at the festival and will be a great addition to the team.

Lucy Barbour LLAM and ALAM, LAMDA Acting Diploma and LAMDA Teaching Diploma Qualified – Social Media Team

Lucy has experience in running drama workshops and has assisted on the Mid-Somerset Festival committee previously. Having enjoyed Speech and Drama throughout her childhood, gaining the highest qualifications and performing in festivals from the age of 6, she is enthusiastic to be a part of the RWB Arts Festival committee and is driven to help this wonderful festival be enjoyed by all.

Sandra Dukes

Sandra originally worked in London as a PA, but since moving to Cirencester 35 years ago, she has pursued her passion for the guitar by teaching at local primary and secondary schools. In 1999, she formed the Corinium Players Guitar Ensemble to encourage young classical guitarists to perform together. The Group has now over 30 players aged 8-18 from around the Cotswolds and they have been on tour to Germany and Holland. She is secretary to the Trustees for the charity Guitar Circus and Festival Director for the World Youth Guitar Festival, a biennial residential course.  This charity also manages the National Youth Guitar Ensemble.

Lara Farahar BSc Honours PGCE

Lara is passionate about the creative arts, and is fortunate that she finds her work so rewarding and enjoyable. She has been a primary school teacher for over twenty years, and is a strong advocate of incorporating drama and the creative arts into my teaching.  She runs her own business as a Speech and Drama teacher and is a LAMDA examiner, travelling the UK and internationally. She says it is wonderful to see young people develop the skills to become confident communicators in a safe and relaxed environment, having fun along the way! She is so grateful for the opportunity to be involved in the RWB Arts Festival which she believes has such a positive impact on children.

Jackie Lawrence BA PCertLAM

Having spent many years working as a broadcast journalist and public relations specialist, Jackie decided to change her career and use her experience and love of drama to help children build confidence in presenting themselves in public. She is now a speech and drama teacher and works with children both in schools and privately. She has a degree in English and Drama from Goldsmith’s College, University of London, A level Drama and the LAMDA PCertLAM. Growing up, she spent much of my youth rehearsing for plays, preparing for speech and drama exams and entering festivals! She learned much through her own experience that she says she is now delighted to be sharing with the RWB Arts Festival.

Katie McDowell BA Hons, ALAM., Bronze, Silver & Gold Medallist

Katie grew up enjoying Speech & Drama from where, at the age of four, she began taking exams and entering Festivals, eventually going on to achieve her LAMDA Acting Diploma. She initially joined as a volunteer to run the Festival café, which provides a vibrant social hub over the festival weekend. The cafe is an integral feature of the Festival and sells delicious homemade cakes and sandwiches each year, plus gets to interact with everyone taking part! The festival is such a happy and rewarding weekend, it is so uplifting to see those taking part and celebrating their achievements with such joy and delight. Katie’s background includes some teaching of English (in Poland), but her passion is textile centred; she worked at Jaeger & Liberty, has designed and renovated two cottages; and now runs my own interior design business.