……BY BILLY SUTER……
MANY top theatre personalities and behind-scenes experts are linked to a new Durban tertiary musical theatre academy, International School of Performing Arts (ISPA), which is currently auditioning prospective students for a launch in February.
Longtime theatre darlings Lisa Bobbert and Aaron McIlroy, together with seasoned vocal and performance coach Des Govender and her technical and production fundi husband Anthony Govender, are the collective brainchild of this exciting new venture.
Their joint initiative has been quick to attract interest from both theatre practitioners and prospective students alike. In fact, 25 showbiz personalities are already committed to contributing their talents to empowering young performers with the necessary skills to work locally and internationally in all forms of the performing arts, as well as create and develop their own work.
Besides ISPA’s four founding members, this impressive team includes Daisy Spencer, Simone Mann, Steven Stead, Greg King, Patrick Kenny, Evan Roberts, Bryan Hiles, Shelley McLean, Marion Loudon, Roland Perold, Darren King, Mthokozisi Zulu, Cara Roberts, Jaco van Rensburg, Liesl Coppin, Clare Mortimer, Sibongiseni Sheizi, Charon Williams-Ros, Kaylee McIlroy, Lauren Machanick and Illa Thompson.
The three ISPA courses on offer, each running fulltime for a year, will be affiliated to, and examined by, representatives of the Trinity College of London.
Initially, to launch the academy, only the first-year course will be available with a maximum of 32 students accepted. Prospective students will need to audition for the limited number of places available.
ISPA plans to offer one-year-, two-year and three-year courses which will offer fulltime tuition at 113 Florida Road, Windermere. The academy will operate Mondays to Saturdays in various rooms in the Olive Tree church premises, and will have a separate entrance in 7th Avenue.
“This is such an exciting time,” says Lisa, pointing out that the idea for the local academy for musical theatre came about when she and Des got chatting backstage at the Young Performers’ Project (YPP) production of Joseph, at Durban’s Playhouse Opera in July.
Des has led YPP since 2017 and was in charge of vocal direction for Joseph, in which Aaron had the guest role of Pharoah. That show marked the 21st annual musical by YPP and featured 167 youths from 50-plus KwaZulu-Natal schools.
The YPP initiative was formed more than two decades ago by the late Themi Venturas, the aim being to take school pupils under the wing of theatre professionals to foster a passion for theatre. In more recent years, YPP has also led to the formation of the Go Academy, which provides after-school theatre tuition for youths.
During Joseph, both Lisa and Des thought it a great pity that they couldn’t take these many talented youngsters even further into the theatre world after their schooldays… and talk of a Durban musical theatre academy started.
“We both shared to each other that we had always had a dream of running a musical theatre academy. So we thought – let’s go for it! Over many conversations and cups of coffee we came up with a syllabus, became affiliated to Trinity College of London, sought a venue and spread the word,” adds Lisa.
Musical theatre will be the main focus, but ISPA will cover all aspects of showbiz, she says, pointing out that she has been overwhelmed by the interest from folk in the entertainment industry, so many of whom have already offered to contribute to courses, with various workshops and talks.
“We will start small and build from there –and want to do more than teach our students how to sing, dance and act,” explains Lisa.
“We want to focus on the bigger picture: how to create one’s own work; how to make a living from the skills learned; how to budget. Students need to be encouraged to think about how to develop theatre to keep this beautiful industry alive; how to reach and retain audiences.”
Some youths associated with the Go Academy are already on board for the first-year course starting in February, when the core tutoring team will comprise Des, Anthony, Lisa, Aaron, Simon Mann (dance) and Daisy Spencer (drama).
“Our two-year diploma meets the criteria of a Bachelor of Arts Undergraduate Degree in Musical Theatre and Performance – an International Level 6 qualification by Trinity College of London and regulated by OFQUAL, The Office of Qualifications and Examination Regulation,” says Lisa.
When it comes to dance, a daily class comprising a different style of dance will be highlighted each day. Ballet, jazz/hip-hop, contemporary, musical theatre, tap and body conditioning will feature. The intention is for students to not only improve their skills and muscle memory but be encouraged to create and choreograph their own dances.
The vocal class will be aimed at developing and strengthening the singing voice and range through breathing and singing techniques. Focusing on performance and bringing songs to life, the students will discover how to connect to the emotion and meaning of the music as a way of communicating.
Students will work on solo vocals as well as choral and harmony work. The class will also strengthen students’ music theory and application. The songs that are rehearsed will be performed at various live performances throughout the year.
ISPA’s drama class will focus on developing tools every actor needs – voice projection, articulation, text analysis, characterisation and improvisation – by using and understanding various acting methods and techniques. This will include monologues and group work from various plays and musical theatre productions. It will also include scriptwriting.
The aim of the programme is for students to develop a showcase of material that will be performed at their practical exam and during various performance programmes throughout the year.
The academy website offers a full breakdown on how to apply to be student and what will be involved. To apply, visit ISPA-durban.com or mail ISPA.durban@gmail.com
The phone number for the school is +27 65 385 9226.
Note that online applications must be in by November 30.
.....SoSuterBill..... 