Barbara Spevack

Barbara was born into a Jewish family in Glasgow, Scotland on 10 November 1977. She was brought up watching Hollywood musicals from the Golden Age and enacted songs from them from a young age. She performed in numerous dancing shows and plays until religious observance prevented her from performing on the Sabbath (Friday night and Saturday). She attained an Honours degree in Theatre Studies and Philosophy (MA (Hons)), for which she was awarded a bursary and a special prize, and a Master's degree in Moral and Political Philosophy (MLitt), both from the University of Glasgow. Whilst working on her academic degrees, she continued her performance studies, achieving Associate diplomas in Ballet, Majorettes, Modern, Disco, and Tap dancing from the British Association of Teachers of Dancing, and a Fellowship Diploma in Music Theatre Performance from the London College of Music, which is the highest award offered by the institution. This involved acting, singing, and dancing, and included performances of opera arias. Having acted in short films for many years, she started making her own films when she couldn't find anyone in the filmmaking group that she was a part of to produce and direct a script that she had written, due to its disturbing subject matter, so she decided to produce and direct it herself (Bigger Dolls (2018)). Since then, she has written, produced, and directed a number of her own films, as well as acted in them. The advantage to this is that she can decide upon the schedule, so it does not conflict with her religious observance.