My name is Joyce Grey-Carter and I am of Jamaican parentage, born and living in London UK. I trained as an Actor at Middlesex University, Mountview Theatre School now the Judy Dench Theatre School and trained as a Drama/English/Special Needs Teacher at Goldsmith College University in London.
I taught in mainstream Secondary Schools and Special Schools for 28 years up until December 2017 and then I returned to working as a professional Actor & Voiceover Artist.
Since I was a child, I have always wanted to become an Actor as I felt this was the only way I could express myself, being such a shy individual. For me, I somehow felt that If I could hide behind a character, the mask, then I wouldn't have any fear of expressing myself to others......it was the safest way I could think of and still is. Acting is my passion and my love, it's what keeps me alive and kicking.
My screenwriting and filmmaking career began in the Summer of 2018 where I had improvised a short film and filmed it myself using my Samsung Galaxy Note 9 phone, playing all 4 characters in the film. I had however, written and directed a couple of plays for the stage in the schools that I had taught at as well as produced adaptations of existing plays.
In July 2020, I wrote my first official screenplay after having had surgery for breast cancer and completed radiotherapy treatment in March 2020. I named the film, Shielding Sheila, which was inspired by my experiences and filmed by my husband Clive, at the height of the Covid 19 Pandemic. The film is now in post production and being edited by my husband Clive and myself. The original music/scores/songs are being produced by myself and Gerry Paci (Musician/Composer), who resides in Spain. I wrote and sing the songs and I narrate in the film as well as play the lead female role.
I also directed and casted the film with Actors/Actresses I had worked with over the years. The film was filmed by my husband Clive Grey-Carter, a first-time, emerging Cinematographer. The completed film will be submitted to film festivals in 2022.
I am also now in the process of writing my second screenplay.
I enjoy being creative not only through acting and filmmaking, but also through music, playing the Double Bass, some piano, singing, writing poetry and short stories as well as using my voice for narration and character acting voiceover.
I have performed in a number of short films, music videos, commercials and an American Sci-Fi series called 'Foundation', based on Isaac Asimov's novels, directed by Rupert Sanders and Alex Graves, which will premier on Apple TV + on the 24th September 2021. I feature in the 1st and 5th episodes as the Synaxianne Stone Remover.
In 2021, I won three awards at three different film festivals for my supporting actress role in a short film called 'The Last Breath' by Anthony Cox. Awards received were from the Montreal Independent Film Festival, (Honourable Mention for Best Actress), Film Haus International Film Festival (Best Supporting Actress) and The Lonely Wolf London International Film Festival (Outstanding Performance as an Actress in a Supporting Role). 2021.
Joyce Grey-Carter