Theatre Arts

Maria graduated with a Master in Teaching and Learning (Drama) with Distinction, and is a Drama teacher by profession. She has formed part of Teatru Manoel’s Toi Toi Collective and previously formed part of TMYT (Teatru Manoel Youth Theatre). She was a member of Masquerade Physical Theatre Company and was also a student at Masquerade School for the Performing Arts, from the age of four. She has also attended various courses at a number of prestigious institutions such as, RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and Pineapple Studios. She has taken part in a number of performances including; Amadeus (Masquerade Theatre Company), Jean, where memories live (TTC), The Wasteland (Valletta 18), Shakespeare in Pieces (TMYT) Blind Date Inc. (MADC) and The House of Bernarda Alba (A Nutshell Theatre, UK), amongst others. Maria is now looking forwarding to playing the role of Superintendent in Masquerade Theatre Company’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Maria was also director of Masquerade Teen Company during which time the company performed both in Malta and in the UK, under her direction. She has also lectured Theatre and Performance at the G.F. Abela, Junior College. Maria is thrilled to be directing the Masquerade Junior Company this year!

Starting ballet at the tender age of three, the arts have always been a vital part of Ema Marie Attard's life. After falling in love with dance and movement, she took classes in Ballet, Jazz, Ballroom, Latin and Flamenco. She has chosen to specialise in Flamenco and now performs and teaches with Alegria Dance Company. After discovering her passion for dance at such a young age, it wasn’t long before she ventured into drama and found another passion in that aspect of theatre. Past productions include 'Seussical the Musical', 'A year and a day', 'Heartbreak Beautiful', 'Lucky Stiff - the Musical' and Masquerade's pantomimes 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and ‘Little Red Riding Hood & you know who’. She has also worked on a number of productions behind the scenes in Assistant Stage Manager roles. After attending many years of classes at Masquerade School for the Performing Arts, it felt like home and she became a drama tutor there teaching students ages 3-16. She has been with the school as a tutor for over 15 years.

Masquerade has been an integral part of Petra’s life for the past 15 years. She first started off as a Masquerade student, and then at the age of 18, moved on to teaching, something she is really passionate about. Petra’s performance credits include; ‘A Year and A Day’, ‘DNA’, and ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ for Masquerade, Citizenship and Peter Panto for MADC, ‘Three Sunsets’ and ‘Rubbish’ with TMYT. She also won the 2014 Malta International Theatre Festival award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, for her performance in Frolic Theatre’s ‘Coco’s Fabulous Speed Dating Soiree’. As Director of Masquerade’s Junior Company, Petra directed two Plays in 2016, ‘The Light in the Library’ and ‘Big Bad’. Petra also forms part of the Teatru Manoel Youth Theatre.

Tina Rizzo is a stage and screen actor, with over a decade of teaching experience under her belt. She began her teacher training at Masquerade School for the Performing Arts in 2011. After obtaining her BA (Hons) in Theatre Studies at the University of Malta, she moved to London to study at ArtsEd where she graduated with a Masters in Acting. In recent years, her career has seen her collaborate with notable companies such as; Shakespeare’s Globe, Riverside Studios, Temper Theatre, Frantic Assembly, Netflix, Sky, BBC and CBeebies, puppeteering for Warrick Brownlow-Pike (CBeebies and Sesame Street). Her teaching practice centres around dramatic play as a learning tool in early year education. In 2022, Tina began specialising in sensory play and messy play, leading classes with several London-based companies.

Hannah’s love for performing began at the ripe young age of 4, when she began attending musical theatre lessons at Masquerade School, and since then hasn’t stopped. Her most recent productions include ‘Foxy Roxy’ in Cikku and the Chocolate Pantomime (Masquerade, 2022/3), ‘Martha’ in Spring Awakening (Adrian Buckle, 2022), ensemble in Il-Kbir Għadu Ġej (Balzunetta Productions, 2022) and ‘Matilda’ (Masquerade, 2022). Her next production being ‘Patty’ Simcox in Grease (Masquerade/Teatru Manoel October 2023) She has obtained distinctions in her ATCL Diploma in Speech and Drama and her Grade 8 in Musical Theatre, having attended singing training for over 10 years, along with Musical Theatre Jazz classes for the past 4. Hannah also has been learning tap dance for the past 4 years. She had also taken part in multiple productions with Youth Theatre Masquerade (YTM). Besides being active in the theatre scene, Hannah has also acheived a first class in B.Sc (Hons) in Communication Therapy at the University of Malta and is a licensed speech-language therapist.

Gianluca Mifsud is a performer and creative, graduating with a degree in Musical Theatre from PPA in 2021. Performing credits include Perchik in Fiddler On The Roof (Astra), Pepper in Mamma Mia! And Ensemble Captain in Rapunzel - A Tangled Panto (FM Theatre), Ensemble in Matilda The Musical, Kenickie in Grease and Dance Captain in Oliver! (Masquerade), The Beast in Beauty & The Beast and Bassanio in Merchant of Venice (MADC) and Mads Moen/Ballon in Peer Gynt (Adrian Buckle). Directorial works include Popolazzjoni: 4 (Ħassle Mejjet), Chaos (Masquerade) and The Trial of Nina (Żigużajg).

Nicole started theatre classes at the age of 5 and has not stopped since. She holds a BA Honours in Theatre Studies from the University of Malta and an MA in Musical Theatre from Goldsmiths University of London. She has appeared both onstage and offstage. Some of these highlights include playing Anne Page in MADC’s Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare at San Anton Gardens), as well as joining the chorus for Masquerade’s Cikku and the Chocolate Panto, and the MADC pantomimes Aladdin (2019/2020) and Cinderella (2017/2018). Her upcoming stage appearances include the ensemble for School of Rock at the MCC and Ali Baba: The Panto at Teatru Manoel in December 2025/January 2026. Nicole is also an experienced Assistant Stage Manager (ASM), with extensive credits including Masquerade’s productions of Matilda the Musical, Oliver! Grease, and Misery. She has also provided backstage support for Masquerade’s Seussical, MADC’s Wonderland Wives and many more. Apart from teaching at Masquerade she also teaches Theatre & Performance at St. Aloysius College Sixth Form and works for the TOI TOI Teatru Manoel Learning & Participation Programme.

Kristina holds a First-Class Bachelor’s degree in Communication Therapy and is a Speech-Language Pathologist by profession, a background that strongly enriches her drama teaching practice. Her journey with Masquerade began at the age of six, later joining the Youth Theatre Masquerade Company for two years, where she trained in physical and devised theatre. During her time at Masquerade, she achieved Trinity College Examination Grade 8 in Performance with Distinction. She has now been teaching drama for four years and has assisted classes for two years prior to this. Kristina has been recognised with several awards, including the ‘Kokka Talent’ Award by Kunsill Studenti Universitarji and the ‘Theatre Excellence Award’ by Ġ. F. Abela Junior College. She has also completed accredited training in Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults and holds a Paediatric First Aid certificate. Her performance experience spans both stage and screen, with notable appearances in productions such as L-Aħħar Siġra and Ineż Kienet Perfetta (Żigużajg), Frattarija u Teatrini: L-Istorbju fil-Kitba ta’ Juann Mamo (University of Malta), and Studentsfest (Kunsill Studenti Universitarji). In addition, she has featured in several advertisements, both as a voiceover artist and actor, alongside other creative projects.

Maria Eleonora Zammit is a qualified teacher, graduating in B.Ed. (Hons) from the Universita’ ta’ Malta and specialising in the Expressive Arts. Having started her career as a Drama Activity Teacher with the Malta Education Department in 2003/2004, Maria Eleonora then went on to teach at St Ignatius College Luqa. She started teaching Singing and Vocal Technique at Masquerade Theatre Arts School in 2010 and stayed on till 2014. She stopped for a period of time to further her studies and returned to the team again in 2017, both as a tutor and as Tweedle Dum in Masquerade’s Pantomime ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Maria Eleonora is a professional soprano who has performed both as a soloist and as part of ensembles in a number of venues around the Maltese islands. She started her vocal training with Dame Marie Therese Vassallo and specialised in opera studies with Ms. Miriam Cauchi and Ms. Karmene Radovska through Teatru Manoel’s Education Programme Toi Toi, where she formed part of the Teatru Manoel Youth Opera group. She recently finished her Diploma in Performance at the Malta School of Music, where she passed with distinction in all four disciplines of Solo Performance, Chamber Performance, History and Musical Analysis as well as Musicianship.

Joseph Zammit is a B.A.(Hons) graduate in History and works as a professional tenor and actor who has performed in over 50 different productions in the last seven years, both in Malta and abroad. He has played major roles in operas (Il Trovatore and Die Schauspieldirektor) as well as performed in leading theatrical roles, most notably; Yvan in ART (WhatsTheirNames Theatre), various roles in When You Hear My Voice (with Dr. Bruce Wall, London Shakespeare Workout), Rudge in The History Boys (Masquerade), Autolycus in A Winter's Tale (MADC), Romeo in Romeo and Juliet 2 (& a Zombie), (Revolt Productions) and most recently George in A Handbag (Masquerade). Joseph has also performed leading roles in musicals, such as Blue Woodward in The Great Big Radio Show (MADC), one of the four starring singers in the Musical theatre based concert A Night at the Theatre (PBS) and, the latest, playing the part of 'Alessandro' in 1565 – The Musical, in concert (Masquerade). He has even written and performed for a number of burlesque and vaudeville shows. He is now also well known for his frequent stand up shows and routines and is being asked more sketches having written for 'Comedy Knights' and most recently, 'Fourplay Four'. Joseph also stars in children's theatre with Malcolm Galea in the 'More or Less' series with The Complete History of Malta (More or Less) and Everything You Need to Know About Science (More or Less). Together with Malcolm Galea, Joseph has also written and performed for a TV series LIFT. Taking it as a yearly tradition, Joseph has also played leading roles in seven consecutive pantos, five for Masquerade and three for MADC.

Louisa has loved musical theatre ever since she was young. She started teaching at Masquerade in 2021. However, Louisa had been attending lessons at Masquerade since she was 11 years old after which she also took part in Masquerade’s productions of ‘The Little Mermaid Jr’ as Alana, and ‘Into the Woods Jr’ (Cinderella). Louisa obtained her Grade 8 in Musical Theatre, and her Grade 8 in Rock and Pop Vocals. She is currently preparing for her ATCL Diploma in Musical Theatre. She also formed part of Youth Theatre Masquerade and performed in ‘When this is Over’, followed by the role of Janice in the UOM’s 2022 Student’s Fest, ‘Min-hi Girls’.

As a young dancer, she started her training in 1996 at The Alison White Dance Studio at the age of 6 where she studied BTDA Classical Ballet, Tap and Modern Jazz. In 2010 she was awarded a scholarship to further her training at Leicester School of Performing Arts in the UK, where she trained for 2 years and gained her Trinity Diploma in Dance and Musical Theatre. Whilst in the UK Valerie performed in several musical productions such as A Chorus Line and How to Succeed without Really Trying at the Peepul’s Theatre in Leicester. Whilst training she was also chosen to take part in several productions in the Uk such as Move It in London and other school productions. After graduating from Leicester School of Performing Arts she then moved back to Malta and started her dance teaching career. Valerie teaches Modern Jazz, Hip-hop, Ballet and tap in several schools around the island such as The Alison White Dance Studio, Masquerade Theatre School, School Of Performing Arts by Drama Troupe, Pauleen’s Dance Studio, Johane Casabene Dance Conservatore and also Centre Stage Academy in Gozo. In 2014 Valerie returned back to England to further her dance qualifications with the British Theatre Dance Association where she is studying to qualify as a BTDA dance teacher. She is currently provisionally registered to teach BTDA until obtaining her full Diploma. Whilst in Malta Valerie took part in several productions such as Gensna as one of the main dancers, The Eurovision song contest, St. Helena the musical, Ghanja tal poplu, Bay Music Awards, Malta Sports awards and in opening ceremony of CHOGM in 2015. Valerie was a resident dancer in several TV shows such as Pjazza and Hadd Ghalik on TVM. Valerie performed in various Cabaret productions and weekly shows in several hotels and venues around Malta such as The Corinthia Hotel, Sea Bank Hotel, The Mellieha Bay Hotel and Casino Malta. She currently also forms part of The Alison White Dancers.

Shanon started her dance training in Tap, Modern Jazz, Classical Ballet, Spanish and contemporary dance at the age of 4 at the Alison White Dance Studio (Malta). In 2003, she participated in the opening ceremony for the Games of the Small States of Europe and was awarded a scholarship to the Leicester College of Performing Arts at the age of 11. In Summer 2014, Shanon represented Malta and its culture in the Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival in Glasgow. She graduated with a Bachelor in Dance Studies (Honours) from the University of Malta in 2015 where she formed part of the University dance cohort touring Malta and Spain performing choreographies by Dorian Mallia (Malta), Yoshua Cienfuegos (Spain) and Athanasia Kanellopoulou (Greece). Shanon was awarded a place on the Kibbutz Dance Journey program in Israel and performed for her Majesty the Queen during the CHOGM opening ceremony in November 2015. She is frequently given the opportunity to perform in National projects and festivals such as Notte Bianca and Science in the City, both considered as important spectacles for Malta. As a freelance dance artist, she teaches in various dance schools around the island. Shanon is currently reading for a Master in Education degree, through which she aims to broaden her understanding of how to best assist students with cultivating their creativity whilst refining their dance technique.