Musical theatre academy auditions
WELL-KNOWN musical theatre personalities Duane Alexander and Anton Luitingh will be in Port Elizabeth on Monday to conduct auditions for their new musical theatre academy in Camps Bay.
Besides the auditions, the two will also be doing a musical theatre talk at 7pm that evening at the Savoy.
The Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy – Lamta for short – is a full-time tertiary academy for the performing arts and trains “triplethreat” (acting, singing and dancing) performers for a career in musical theatre.
Alexander and Luitingh announced the academy in April, with the support and endorsement of theatre impresario Pieter Toerien, who has been instrumental in the development of Lamta.
A new additional floor on top of the beautiful Theatre on the Bay in Camps Bay will be the home of Lamta.
Renovations to the theatre began in April and the school will open for its first intake of students on January 21 next year.
Luitingh and Alexander are both performing artists who have worked in many international and local productions.
For the majority of their performing careers, the two have also been the creative team in these productions, working as resident director and choreographer respectively.
“'Theatre has been at the centre of Anton and Duane’s lives since they were teenagers, and students will be enriched by their knowledge, experience and vision,” Toerien said.
“I have the utmost faith that they and their team of carefully chosen lecturers will shape future generations of actors.”
The two established the Musical Theatre Workshop in 2010 to provide triple-threat training to youngsters from as young as five, with the aim of uplifting their skill-set to prep them for participation in professional productions.
Lamta was developed to take this training to a vocational level with aspiring performers who have finished high school.
“Students gain entry to Lamta on an audition basis only and space is limited to 12 males and 12 females per year,” Alexander said.
Lamta is a conservatory-style institution with guest lecturers and teachers who give classes, workshops and masterclasses in their field of expertise.
As a result, students will be exposed to a multitude of methods, styles and disciplines, producing all-rounded performers.
Lamta also has a core faculty of lecturers who provide the backbone of the training on offer. Classes in acting, improvisation, vocal classes, singing technique, vocal repertoire, jazz, ballet, the Horton technique, acting theory, accent coaching and voice work all form part of the staple curriculum.
In addition, students receive lectures in basic arts administration, theatre technology and design, and show studies.
“A Lamta graduate will be someone who is reliable, professional, multiskilled, multi-talented, well prepared and well trained. This is our guarantee to the industry and to every student who comes through our doors,” Alexander said.
Lamta’s new home will have six studios totalling more than 400m² of floor space, plus the advantage of the intimate 350-seater Theatre on the Bay, which hosts world-class productions year round.
This will give students the opportunity to engage with professional actors and performers on a regular basis and gain valuable experience in the theatre in a number of capacities, for instance as box office and front of house staff, ushers, stage managers, dressers, in lighting and sound, and as follow spot operators.
ý For more information, a full prospectus or audition information, contact info@lamta.co.za.
To attend the musical theatre talk at R75 per person, contact Monica Hewitson on 083-471-8893.