MEET OUR TEAM

THE LEADERSHIP TEAM AND STAFF

Justin Beard, Managing Director, Co-Founder - USA

Justin Beard is the Co-Director of InterACT English, he is also a professional actor, theatermaker and educator. Justin has worked with renowned theater companies like Cirque Du Soleil. He has also worked extensively in film and television. Justin has an M.A. in Cultural Eduction in Schools from Philipps University Marburg. He holds a BFA (Hons) in Acting and Original Works from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington USA. At InterACT he is responsible for educational initiatives, funding and professional development training.

Mark Hansen, Managing Director, Co-Founder - New Zealand

Mark Hansen is an artist and educator from New Zealand. He is also the Co-Director of InterACT English. Mark taught English as a second language in South Korea and in Spain. Mark has exhibited art, video and collaborative performances at exhibitions and film festivals throughout New Zealand, Germany, The Netherlands and Romania. He holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree in ‘Public Art and New Artistic Strategies’ from the Bauhaus-Universität in Weimar, Germany. At InterACT he is responsible for finance, HR, and curriculum.

Dr. Rachel Karafistan - UK

Rachel is an actor and theatre director based in Berlin. Her PhD research into Shamanic dimensions within contemporary theatre practice has shaped both her creative and teaching processes. Rachel runs regular workshops internationally and is a lead teacher trainer at InterACT. Rachel has taught theatre extensively, in particular at the University of Leeds where she was a Lecturer in Theatre and in Europe, Brazil, and the USA.

George P. Scott - USA

George is a professional jack-of-all-trades who currently works as an Artist, a nighttime drag queen performer, Educator, Costume and Puppet designer back and forth from Berlin to San Francisco. George studied Theatre, Musical Theatre, Costume and Puppet Design at Pacific Coast Performing Arts Conservatory, Santa Rosa Junior College, and the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

Rebecca Scott - Australia

Rebecca is a professional artist and educator from Australia. She has created theatre and worked as an actress in Sydney, New York and in London. She studied acting at the Actors Centre Sydney, The Lee Strasberg Film and Theatre Institute New York and RADA London. She came to Berlin to study as a theatre director completing directing internships at the Schaubühne Berlin and the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg and at the Komische Oper Berlin.

Josh Spriggs - UK

Joshua is an Actor, Voice-Over Artist and Tutor. He has been working as a Teaching Artist for Interact English for 3 years. When he's not working with Interact, Joshua is a regular Actor for 'Platypus Theatre' and the 'Berlin English Repertory Theatre'. Aside from this, Joshua is a professional Voice-Over artist, having voiced various worldwide commercials and documentaries for both TV and Internet. More recently he teaches at 'dBs'; an international film school, where he tutors on the Screen Acting BA.

Kathy Fleurissaint - USA

Kathy is a teaching artist from Brooklyn, New York. That is where her love for dance started and led Kathy to perform, choreograph and collaborate with many different artists. Fortunately for Kathy, working as a professional dancer directed her to the main passion, teaching dance. Kathy currently lives in Berlin and is working as a TA at InterACT English. "InterACT is a great environment to work with other artists and express my passion of teaching through the arts."-Kathy

Brea Robertson - Australia

Brea is a singer/songwriter and theatre worker from Australia. Brea has spent time working in prisons, schools and Indigenous festivals using theatre and music as a tool for education and rehabilitation. She now lives in Berlin and enjoys using the arts to teach English. When she's not working with InterACT, Brea is usually traveling around Europe singing her songs in people's living rooms, gardens or at festivals.

Olivia Dean - UK

Bronwyn Sherman - South Africa

Bronwyn is an educator and artist from South Africa. Her education background includes Waldorf Pedagogy, English as a second language and informal Youth Education. In art, she specializes in Movement/Dance, Percussion instruments and Macrame handcraft. She also has passion and experience in theatre and singing. Bronwyn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, a Bachelor of Social Science, a Diploma in Waldorf Pedagogy and a Cambridge Certificate in second language English teaching

Austin - Canada

Jeremy Knowles - UK

Jeremy Knowles is a lens-based artist and educator from the UK. Jeremy holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photography from Camberwell College of Art (University of the Arts London) and a Diploma in Art & Design from Oaklands College of Art, UK. He exhibits his art regularly between London and Berlin. Jeremy also works as an arts and outdoor educator in Germany, Switzerland and the UK sharing his skills with children and young adults.

Jamie Drobnick - USA

Jamie Drobnick is a visual artist, printmaker, and arts educator from California, USA. Jamie co-owns a textile design label, Ravel Textiles, based at Fashion Studio Obst und Gemüse in Berlin. She has taught adults and children art classes throughout North America and Germany for the past ten years and has exhibited her work in California, Germany, and Turkey. She has a degree in Fine Art from the University of California Santa Cruz.

Benjamin Bishop - Australia

Benjamin Bishop is an Australian-born, stage and screen actor living in Berlin, Germany. He completed his acting training at dBs Berlin in 2018. During his time at dBs Ben has appeared in over 20 student produced films, commercials and documentaries. Ben has most recently starred on stage as Richard in Rosebrook Theatre Collectives "MDMA", directed by Sarah Wilkinson.

Malachi Rempen - USA / Germany

Malachi Rempen is an American/German filmmaker, illustrator, writer and teacher based in Berlin. He studied film directing and production at Chapman University in Orange, California, where his thesis film went on to win a Student Emmy and played at film festivals across the globe. Malachi has lived and worked as a filmmaker in Mexico, France, Morocco, Italy, the Congo and now Germany, where he founded his own production company and now enjoys passing on his knowledge to the next generation of artists.

Liam Joseph Klemenc- Australia

Liam is an artist and creative from Australia. Liam graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with a bachelor's degree in music, majoring in classical voice and opera. While studying Liam had the opportunity to work for Opera Queensland in their main stage productions and also in their education and outreach programs. During this time he also performed as a principal artist for Outcast Performing Arts and Figaro.

Ruth Pearson - UK

Ruth is a UK-born performer, writer, director, and educator. She taught English as a foreign language in Italy while studying for a Bachelor of Arts in Drama at the University of Exeter, UK. With a focus on creative theatre-making, Ruth has worked on various theatre projects in London, including in education and community engagement, as well as performing. This work continues in Berlin.

Mark Bautista - USA

Mark Bautista, is an artist and educator from Alaska, USA. He is currently based in Berlin. Outside of InterACT, Mark is a classical singer and performance artist, and also runs a private studio for voice and movement students. He studied vocal performance and theater at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance.

Andrea Benson- Canada

Charlie Dupré

Charlie Dupré is a playwright, actor and spoken word artist from London. He has been writing and producing his own shows, plays, and films since 2012, and moved to Berlin in 2017, where he continues to make his own work. He has a CELTA qualification for teaching English as a Foreign Language, and is a playwriting mentee on the Jerwood/Arvon mentorship program 2019/20.

Sarah McInerney - USA

Sarah is a classically trained singer and pianist from the United States. She has lived in Berlin since 2016 where she works as a soloist and chorister in both concert and opera settings. In Berlin, Sarah has performed at the Berliner Dom, Kammermusiksaal at the Berlin Philharmonie, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, and Theater im Delphi. Internationally she has sung at Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris), Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center (NYC), the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), as well as in London and Rome. In 2021 she will sing with her Berlin-based choir at Westminster Abbey in London.

Jessica Akers- USA

Jessica is an American Dancer and Choreographer. She is now based in Berlin, where she is able to pursue her freelance career. Her work has taken her to over 11 countries; where she has performed, trained, and shown her own work at various festivals and institutions. She also teaches English as a second language. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 'Dance with a concentration in Choreography' from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City.

Rowan de Freitas - Ireland

Rowan Tara de Freitas is a multidisciplinary artist and educator based in Berlin. She grew up in Ireland, and holds a BA in Fine Art from the University of Arts London. Specialising in photography, film, performance and writing, she has performed, exhibited work, and conducted workshops in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Serbia, Greece and Mexico. She is trained in EFL teaching and has taught English as a second language in the UK, France, Italy, Mexico and Germany. She is currently studying a Masters in Art in Context at the Universität der Künste, Berlin.