Spotlight on Ellis
Future Former

You were involved in the Future Facilitators programme a couple of years ago. Can you tell us about your experience delivering circus workshops with Jacksons Lane and what you learned from working with young people there?

It was a unique opportunity but one that I am grateful for. It was outside of my comfort zone but I did my best to adapt. Over the 3 ½ months I worked with Jacksons Lane I felt really grateful to have the opportunity to bond and teach the kids that attended some cool new circus skills and pretend that I already knew how to do them (I didn’t!). It was really touching and grounding helping and guiding them through it all, especially managing their frustrations positively. One of my main take aways from it is that there is always a bigger purpose as to why you are in the positions that you find yourself in.

The team at Jacksons Lane gave you glowing feedback, especially about your calm and supportive presence with young people who were struggling to stay focused or showing challenging behaviour. What strategies did you use to support them and how did that experience shape your facilitation style?

We’re all humans at the end of the day. It’s very easy to play the role of an authoritative figure but I believe that whilst remaining professional, you are unique and you should let your personality shine through, that’s what draws people to you. I used personal experiences to relate and humour to meet and encourage the young people to do things ranging from giving opportunities another try, getting them involved and dealing with arguments and disagreements. The main skill is that we’ve all been there before so it's also talking and encouraging to try and guide yourself and the younger ones to what's best and needed.

You also completed the Future Tech training and went on to do a theatre technician placement at Soho Theatre. What was that transition like from being on stage to working behind the scenes?

It was surreal! Everyone at Soho was really kind, supportive and just overall amazing. It’s just really leaning into the curiosity of entering a new side of an industry which I’m already interested in. Learning the insider knowledge of how things work and run at Soho Theatre is genuinely a brilliant and surreal experience. I got to work on stuff that will forever be a part of Soho as well as have one on one time with heads of Comedy, programming, performers, staff and just ask them questions and download from them directly. Genuinely the most surreal, richful experiences of my life that I cannot be more grateful for!

You’ve got experience both as a facilitator and a performer, how do those two worlds support each other in your practice?

Both worlds mix into each other a lot more than people realise. They support me in actioning tasks, helping bridge understanding and just being a younger and more relatable presence. To play a part in bringing performance into facilitation I believe helps makes me more relatable and more authentic which can really help build professional relationships and trust with everyone.

As an actor, what kinds of roles or stories are you most passionate about bringing to life and why?

I love portraying powerful yet beautiful stories, especially if it challenges me. I like roles that are slightly out of the ordinary but also roles that don’t typecast me. I’d love to do a bit of everything. I’ve got a theatre play which is extremely powerful and funny and is an aim of mine to bring to life on the stage. It’s about leaving a positive legacy so that I can hopefully inspire, uplift and show people that dreams can be achieved.

What’s been a standout moment for you either on stage or behind the scenes that really affirmed why you do what you do?

Fortunately, there’s been several. From project successes to one to one conversations, everything all adds and plays its part into solidifying why I do what I do. The messages and conversations to me really mean the most, people have taken time out of their day to share (hopefully positive lol) thoughts and feelings with me and that’s just something you cannot replace. Vulnerability is such a beautiful thing so when its shared intimately with you, it means that much more to me.

How did Future Formed support you on your journey? What would you say to someone who hasn’t heard of them before?

THEY ARE THE BEST! Kaveh has personally done so much for me, I’m genuinely grateful to have him, Dominique and the rest of the team in my life. What they do is not only fantastic but it's genuinely life changing. Especially for young people where we are facing challenges that we’ve rarely faced in human history. From the insane rise of isolation (Neets), staggering mental health statistics as well as the consistent and everchanging rise and changes of social media, what Kaveh and the Future Formed team do is unlike anything else in the world. It does exactly what it says but what it also does is help give support, direction and purpose. This saves lives, literally and helps provide opportunities that we would of never have experienced or even of had the knowledge, support or the encouragement to do so. People even move countries to even try and get the opportunities to do these stuff thats been so gracefully given to us and that in itself is a testament.