(Anton
Luitingh & Duane Alexander)
Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy
(LAMTA) is a full-time tertiary Academy for the Performing Arts and is
especially geared for training triple-threat performers for a career in Musical
Theatre. Duane Alexander and Anton 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 brand 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, 2018, and the school will open its
doors to its first intake of students on January 21, 2019.
Luitingh and Alexander are both performing
artists who have worked on many International and local productions. For the
majority of their performing careers, Luitingh and Alexander have also been the
Resident Creative team on these productions, working as the Resident Director
and Choreographer.
Pieter Toerien says “'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. I have the utmost
faith that they and their team of carefully chosen lecturers will shape future
generations of actors”.
They established the Musical Theatre
Workshop in 2010 to provide triple-threat training to children from as young as
five years old with the aim of uplifting the skill-set of children in this age
group gearing them up for participation in professional productions like The Sound of Music, Annie, Evita and Priscilla Queen of the Desert amongst
others. 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 group.
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, LAMTA students are exposed to a
multitude of methods, styles and disciplines which all promote a more diverse
training and a better all-rounded performer. 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, Horton, Acting Theory, Accent coaching, and Voice work all form part of
the staple curriculum. In addition, students receive regular lectures in basic
Arts Administration, Theatre Technology and Design, and Show Studies. Alexander
says “A LAMTA graduate will be someone who is reliable, professional,
multi-skilled, multi-talented, well-prepared and well-trained. This is our
guarantee to the industry and to every student who comes through our doors.”
LAMTA’s new home on top of the Theatre on
the Bay will have six studios totalling over 400 square meters of floor space,
not to mention the advantage of the intimate 350-seater theatre which hosts
world class professional theatre productions year round. This will give LAMTA
students the unique opportunity to not only engage with professional actors and
performers on a regular basis but they will also be able to work in the theatre
in a number of capacities including, box office staff, front of house staff,
ushers, stage managers, dressers, lighting, sound, and follow spot operators.
This will help the students develop a deep respect for their craft and for all
the collaborators that make the magical world of theatre possible.
Nationwide auditions for 2019 will take
place in June,
Auditions in KZN will take place as
follows:
June 19, 2018, at Crawford College, La
Lucia
June 20, 2018, at Maritzburg College
Cultural Centre, Pietermaritzburg
A full Prospectus and Audition Information
can be attained by contacting info@lamta.co.za
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