Pieter Toerien & The Theatre on the Bay
Pieter Toerien
When we announced the LION KING in Johannesburg in 2006 I said, “We have some fine actors in SA, but simply not enough”. Today, 12 years later nothing has changed. We still don’t have nearly enough expertly trained actors for the exciting productions that are happening in our country.
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So I am especially delighted to tell you that as we mark Theatre On The Bay’s 30th birthday that The Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy will open at our Theatre on January 21 next year. Anton Luitingh and Duane Alexander are incredibly experienced and remarkably talented and passionate about the theatre. For the last 18 years, they have been working towards this exciting moment and are now ready to give back all that they have learnt. Theatre has been at the centre of their 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.
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Anton and Duane have worked on all the major musicals of the last 15 years and will continue to be involved in future productions. As a result, their classes will be supplemented by discussions, masterclasses and lectures by the visiting creative teams coming to SA to stage big musicals. Students will be able to learn from some of the theatre’s finest practitioners. The Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy will be housed on a separate floor on top of the Theatre On The Bay. Students will study in a working theatre, rubbing shoulders with the leading actors of the day and be able to watch them at close quarters. From them, they will see what acting can and should be. The theatre is a playground for the imagination and it enriches the lives of those of us lucky to be part of it.
During their courses, every student will experience working front of house with members of the public, working backstage and finally on our stage.
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I hope that every student at the Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy will leave with their lives enriched, knowing all that theatre can be.
Pieter Toerien
July 2018
The Theatre On The Bay
Behind a velvet curtain that floats atop the theatre like the physical representation of an invocation to suspend disbelief and give yourself over to a world of imagination made real. Surely this is one of this hemisphere’s most striking theatre facades – we go through the Theatre doors and into the auditorium. Before you, the stage. A stage that has seen countless Cape Town firsts, and even a world premiere or ten; that led the way in South African theatre with farces and comedies, secured Broadway and West End coups and piloted the small-stage, full-cast musical. This stage has played host to legends of South African theatre – actors, actresses, directors, writers and behind-the-scenes magicians of set-design, lighting and sound – and also provided a stepping stone for aspirant professionals who are now household names.
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Theatre on the Bay is located in the beautiful coastal suburb of Camps Bay. A mere ten minute’s drive from the centre of Cape Town, Camps Bay plays host to a number of exquisite beaches, luxurious hotels, a roaring nightlife, award-winning restaurants, trendy coffee bars, and of course, our theatre. This prime location offers our students a remarkable surrounding to their theatrical training at LAMTA at Theatre on the Bay.