Leah Gray-Scaife

My name is Leah and I actually have two careers! One side is a hard working actor, passionate about the industry and theatre and another is a disability student support worker. BSL is something I come across in both aspects of my life with the students I help and the plays I perform. I think it is so important to be able to understand and speak to someone on their own terms, in their own language and a way which they feel comfortable with. I decided to start learning BSL during lockdown as we all now have much more free time, perfect to practise and develop my skills! I wanted to return to my job being able to share my new knowledge with current BSL users I work alongside and also aim to incorporate BSL into theatre performances in future. So far, I am loving my journey and I have found that my skills as an actor are helping a lot in bringing emotions and expressions within my face.

Hello! My name is Leah and I'd like to introduce myself. I'm from North Yorkshire but I now live in Manchester with my boyfriend Huw. I'm a freelance actor and have worked in several areas of the industry including UK tours of New Dawn Fades, A Christmas Carol and Power & Conflict poetry. I have toured around schools educating children on social issues and engaging them with topics and texts they are studying at GCSE level. I also have a lot of experience with interactive and immersive style theatre including shows such as The Crystal Maze Live Experience. When I'm not acting, I work as a disabled student support worker for university students who require academic, non-medical help with their degrees. It is a uniquely different role depending on the student and I take part in a mixture of different areas including note taking for lectures, scribing and reading for exams and sighted guides around campus. The students I work with are all incredible and put in tremendous effort into their studies and it's an honour to help them on their academic journey. On a personal note, I'm a big reader and I have a blog where I review the books I read (I get through around 50 a year!) I also love baking bread, making my own jam and watching nature documentaries. My heroes are David Attenborough and David Bowie and I love listening to all kinds of music, mostly classics from the 70s and 80s. I've started learning BSL during lockdown and I am really enjoying it. It links in with acting using facial expressions and I can't wait to build my confidence up even more with it! Thank you for reading and have a lovely day, Leah