About Us

My Story

Hi there! My name is Phil and I'm from Manchester in the UK. I lived in Madrid for 12 years before moving to the beautiful city of Thessaloniki. I am the founder of Creatro, a creative theatre activity where students invent their own Stage-Plays and improve their overall confidence using English. I am passionate about enriching children's education and I understand that creativity, teamwork and improving their English level are all fundamental aspects of a child's learning.

I fell in love with the English language when I was 16 years old studying my A-Levels at College. I found English Literature fascinating, so I decided to do an English Degree at the University of Liverpool. Upon graduating I knew that I wanted to live abroad and learn Spanish, so when I left Liverpool I decided to do a TEFL course (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) so that I could teach English abroad. I officially moved to Madrid in September 2014 and immediately immersed myself in the city and the way of life here. I got a job teaching English to High School students at Colegio Sagrádo Corazón and two years later I moved to Colegio San Patricio ("the best school in Spain" - El Mundo 2022), where I worked for 7 years as a class tutor and English/Drama teacher. Along the way I started to explore my own creative writing more seriously, firstly with Poetry and then with Prose. I self-published my 1st Book in 2018 and my 2nd Book in 2021.

My favourite subject at school was always Drama. There was something about acting that I found unique. It was creative, it was fun, and you could lose yourself into all these characters. I have been a huge fan of Cinema since I was a little boy, and there was always something inside of me that wanted to work in the field of Drama when I grew up. At college I studied Theatre Studies as one of my A-Levels, where I learnt more about the art of acting and creating theatre for the stage. I managed to achieve an A* grade, which in turn landed me a role as an actor in a play in Manchester at the RNCM (Royal Northern College of Music). Even though I studied English when I went to University, I continued to act in a Theatre Production there, but this was to be the last time I acted on a stage myself.

Creatro

Whilst working at my first school in Madrid (Colegio Sagrádo Corazón), I was asked by the head of the English department if I wanted to direct a film with students in their last 2 years of High School. I seized the opportunity and throughout that year, I created and directed an original 40-minute film with a team of 100 incredible teenagers. It was this particular project which helped me get hired by Colegio San Patricio as an English and Drama teacher. The school wanted me to create and direct original Stage-Plays with children aged 8-12. Throughout my time there, I created 5 original Stage-Plays, 2 Documentaries and directed Disney classics such as The Jungle Book, Aladdin and Peter Pan. My proudest achievement was creating and directing 2 different original Stage-Plays in 2019, both of which included 80 characters/students. We performed these Plays to a live audience at the Teatro Nicolás Salmerón.

I loved being a classroom teacher and tutor for many years, but I knew deep down that my true passion lay not just in teaching, but in Creativity and Theatre. Without realising I had built up a portfolio of 8 original creative projects that I had (alongside the students) created from scratch and then performed to an audience. So I started to think seriously about setting up my own business back in 2020. A few years later and Creatro was born. In our first year we created 5 Stage-Plays at 4 different schools - Madrid Montessori, Colegio San Patricio, Colegio Madrid and Escuela IDEO. In our second year we created 7 Stage-Plays at 5 different schools - Madrid Montessori, San Patricio (Serrano), San Patricio (Moraleja), Colegio Brains and Montessori La Florida. In our third year we created 15 mini Stage-Plays at 4 different schools - Madrid Montessori, San Patricio (Serrano), San Patricio (Moraleja) and Brewster Madrid. You can find out more about all these projects by visiting our Portfolio page.

After three years of growing the business in Madrid I decided to move to Greece with my fiancée. I hired a Manager for Creatro in Madrid (Natalia) and expanded the company to another incredible European city - Thessaloniki. This is the story of myself and my business. I love what I do, I am passionate about the stories we create, and I'm always so excited to start a variety of new projects with my enthusiastic Creatro students!

Natalia’s Story

Hello! My name is Natalia. I am originally from Bogotá, Colombia, and I am an actress, performing arts graduate, English teacher, poet and accent coach with a passion for creativity, communication and helping children and adults discover their confidence through language and the arts. I spent 8 years living in the United States before moving to Madrid in 2021, an experience that shaped my love for languages, cultures and storytelling.

I studied Communication Arts in Florida and then got my BFA in Performing Arts, where I developed my skills in acting, theatre creation and storytelling. I then continued exploring my craft through theatre and television. My passion for creativity naturally led me towards education, where I worked as an English teacher at Berlitz for two years, teaching children through dynamic and engaging activities. During my time at Berlitz Play, I was honoured to receive the Teacher of the Year award. Since moving to Madrid, I have continued bringing together my love for the arts and teaching by facilitating theatre camps, including working as the lead facilitator for the summer programme at Museo de América in 2024.

In 2026, I am excited to join Creatro alongside Phil, combining my experience in performing arts, education and language to help students develop their creativity, confidence and communication skills through English and Drama. Whether I am acting, teaching or guiding students through creative projects, my goal is to help people find their voice and discover the joy of expressing themselves.