Meet the Trainer: Kirsty O'Sullivan
I'm a theatre artist, director, writer, and public speaking coach with over 20 years of experience — and for the past 15, I've been taking the skills we develop on stage and putting them to work in boardrooms, conference halls, and training rooms.

I trained as an actor and musical theatre performer, went on to study Drama and Performance at Queen Margaret University, and then did something most people don't do in their twenties — I took over and ran my own acting school. Edinburgh Acting School shaped everything about how I understand teaching, communication, and what it actually takes to help another human being find their voice.
 

Since then, I've taught across the UK and in Italy, working with some of Scotland's most respected theatre organisations — Scottish Youth Theatre, Brunton Youth Theatre, East Lothian Youth Theatre Network, and Stagecoach, among many others. I later completed a Masters in Shakespeare and Education, deepening my understanding of how language, voice, and text work together to create genuine impact.

My approach has always been inclusive. I hold a certification in Autism Awareness and spent time volunteering with Lung Ha's Theatre Company, Scotland's leading inclusive theatre company. I also hold a certification in Assertiveness Training — because confidence in communication isn't just about performance, it's about knowing your own voice and trusting it.

Most recently, I completed the Public Speaking Skills Professional Certificate by Toastmasters International, bringing the world's most respected public speaking framework into my corporate training practice.
 

Why corporate training?

After years of watching what happens when people step into a room without the tools to communicate well — the brilliant ideas that don't land, the leaders who lose the room, the professionals whose expertise is invisible because their delivery lets them down — I knew this work mattered beyond the stage.

Theatre training is the world's oldest method for teaching human beings how to use their voice and body. Actors spend years learning what most professionals are never taught — how to breathe, how to stand, how to make eye contact that builds trust, how to make words land.

I bring those skills out of the rehearsal room and into your professional life. The result isn't performance. It's presence. And presence is what makes the difference between being heard and being remembered.
 

Whether you're a team looking to sharpen your boardroom presence, an executive preparing for a high-stakes presentation, or an individual who simply knows they're capable of more than their current communication is showing — I'd love to work with you.