Glasgow Times

WE’RE BACK ON SONG

- BY CATRIONA STEWART

ONE of Scotland’s top p e r f o r m i n g a r t s academies is proving that the show must go on as it safely returns to in- person tuition this week.

Staff at GAMTA, based on Farnell Street in the heart of the city, have spent their summer modifying the school’s curriculum and teaching model so that its students can safely continue with their training amid Covid- 19 restrictio­ns.

Shaaron Graham, who establishe­d GAMTA in 1994 to provide profession­al training opportunit­ies for aspiring performers in the city, said: “We’re committed to providing high- quality training that allows our graduates to carve out careers as successful performers.

“Our team has been working very hard behind the scenes to adapt our teaching model, policies

and procedures to ensure our students are able to resume their training in a safe yet productive environmen­t.

“We’ve created teaching bubbles to reduce contact between staff and students and have adapted all of our studios to make them multi- purpose, enabling each bubble to have their own individual studio and toilets.

“We’ve also implemente­d strict sanitisati­on procedures and altered our timetables so that classes are staggered throughout the day.

“In addition to this, we have also developed a variety of one- toone training opportunit­ies for our students.

“While our students adapted to online learning incredibly well early on in the pandemic, we have missed having them in the studio and are so excited to finally be able to welcome them back.

“It has been wonderful to see them back in the studios doing what they do best and I am so proud of them.”

GAMTA is currently accepting auditions from prospectiv­e students for a September 2021 start via the gamta. org. uk website.

Its graduates can be found working all over the world, in London’s West End, on UK and European tours, in film and television, on cruise ships, for the National Theatre ( London), the National Theatre of Scotland, and for regional producing theatres around the UK.

 ?? Picture: Colin Mearns ?? Members of the GAMTA performing arts academy
Picture: Colin Mearns Members of the GAMTA performing arts academy

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