MAKERS MEMBERS
MARIO LOPEZ FERNANDEZ
Owen
Mario is an actor based in Glasgow. ‘Girl in the Machine’ marks his 4th production with BALA; having previously played the snivelling con man in Moliere’s ‘Tartuffe’ and the devised piece ‘Tartuffe Part 2 - A Murder Mystery’. ‘Neptune, God of the Sea’ was a fun change of pace in June’s production of ‘Gallathea’, but playing ‘Owen’ in tonight's production of ‘Girl in the Machine’ has been the highlight of his time at BALA, providing a true consolidation of his training.
Other credits include: BBC Short Stuff and he has performed in various short films produced by Big Jaw Gettys for the 48 hour film project in Scotland, most recent credits include 'Roll Initiative’ for Edinburgh 48 film festival and 'Tundra' for Aberdeen 48 film festival.
KATY COWAN
Polly
Katy Cowan graduated from the University of the West of Scotland in 2022 with a BA (Hons) in Performance. She joined ‘Break a Leg Academy’ in 2024, and has since enjoyed being a part of the Makers Programme. BALA Credits include: ‘Dorine’ in ‘Tartuffe’, ‘Dorine’ in ‘Tartuffe part 2: the Murder Mystery’ (a devised piece) and ‘Phyllida’ in ‘Gallathea’.
Playing the part of ‘Polly’ in ‘Girl in the Machine’ presents a new challenge for Katy, allowing her the experience of collaborating in rehearsal with an Intimacy Co-ordinator. She has gained so much from working with Ian West, who is at the forefront of this work here in the UK and could never have imagined getting this opportunity from a part-time acting academy.
SPECIAL GUEST
Gloria is a Mexican-Filipino woman originally from California, now living in Scotland. Before voice acting, Gloria gained experience acting in live shows such as Lopez Tonight, where she created and wrote original content based on her YouTube characters.
She has been in content creation, Twitch streaming, and has been vocal about fat acceptance for 15+ years. She is a huge video game nerd, is an award winning TTRPG performer, and gets jump scared easily.
Gloria found out about the role of ‘Black Box’ during a 1-1 coaching session with Kat Harrison. After hearing the dystopian plot she couldn’t wait to record and was delighted to be offered the role almost immediately. What she doesn’t know is how the story ends, as production only provided her the lines for recording, allowing her to experience the story fully in production for the first time.
Insta @glowpinkstah
GLORIA SHURI NAVA
Voice of Black Box
Production team
KAT HARRISON
Director
Kat Harrison is a working class actress, writer, director, voice over and acting coach based in Glasgow. She founded the theatre company Chaos Collective in 2023 and launched Break a Leg Academy (BALA), in 2024. She is incredibly proud to present Girl in the Machine as BALA's 5th production.
JOOLS WALLS
Production Manager
Jools has been a Production Manager for Theatre and Events for far too long and is now semi-retired.
She has toured the length and breadth of the UK and is now happy to spend time at home with Charlie, the Border Collie. She still likes being creative, solving problems and eating cheese (not necessarily in that order).
SCARLETT EMILY CAREY
Composer / Violinist
Scarlett is a Glasgow-based violinist and pianist currently studying at RCS on the Bachelor of Education course.
Scarlett has had years of orchestral experience, ranging from city council orchestra’s to the Junior Conservatoire’s Symphony Orchestra.
She is very excited to be joining BALA for this performance.
Roddy is a guitarist hailing from the Isle of Lewis and now based in Glasgow.
He has played a number of gigs in Glasgow as lead guitarist in Demimonde (an alternative indie funk band) and recently at the Belladrum Music Festival.
He is now trying his hand at composition for theatre and is excited to be involved with BALA
RODDY MACIVER
Composer / Guitarist
ANT PENTLETON
Marketing Manager
Ant is the creative marketing specialist behind the promotional materials for this BALA production.
On his first freelance venture under his own brand, Pentworx, Ant has been hard at work, producing poster and flyer designs, as well as adventurous social media content, to drum up enthusiasm for the show.
He has also set his sights on improving the BALA website and is looking forward to collaborating with us on future projects.
Ian is an intimacy coordinator and director working across television, film and live performance.
Credits include ‘The Agency: Central Intelligence’ Seasons 1 and 2 (Paramount+ with Showtime), ‘Half Man’ (HBO/Mam Tor Productions), ‘The Dark’ (ITV Studios/Poison Pen), ‘Counsels’ (BBC/Balloon Productions), ‘Men Up’ (BBC/Quay Street Productions), ‘Mission’ (65 Wilding Films), and EE’s ‘Curfew’ campaign.
He has also worked on the national tours of ‘Friends! The Musical Parody’, ‘The Girl on the Train’ and ‘The Full Monty’, as well as ‘Greatest Days: The Official Take That Musical’, ‘Brief Encounter’, ‘Lovely Bones’, and the Olivier Award-winning ‘Pride and Prejudice’.
IAN WEST
Intimacy Coordinator
Lastly (but most certainly not least…ly), a special mention to our partners, Cue Props.
Cue is a forward-looking not-for-profit company set up by three creative directors to make the entertainment industry a greener place. Between the three amigos, they ahve over 50 yeras of professional experience in film, TV, theatre and community engagement focusing on props.
The team aims to repair, repurpose and reuse props from productions across the UK using sustainable methods and as a result, engage the industry in a green cycle by stopping props from going to landfill.
CUE PROPS
Prop Maker
FEEDBACK FORM
Tonight’s performance is primarily an educational experience for the actors involved. If you would like to share any feedback about the show tonight we would be immensely grateful for any constructive comments. In particular if there are any aspects of any individuals performance you would like to highlight please do share your thoughts. You can do so anonymously if you wish.
CAST & Crew FEEDBACK FORM
Please give full and honest answers about your experience so that we might improve the experience going forward.