The West End, Grass-root Theatre and more! w/ Annemarie Lewis Thomas

As the subject line may suggest, today I am joined by Annemarie Lewis Thomas, Principal of the Musical Theatre Academy. I've read with interest several articles Annemarie has written for The Public Reviews website, so jumped at the chance to ask her a few questions theatre related. I'm really passionate theatre (as you've probably guessed by now!) and as much as I want to write about my views on this blog, I'm also taking the angle of interviewing other people from all levels of theatre from performers in amateur dramatics, West End stars and those involved in helping them get there, which is where Annemarie comes in. The MTA has a yearly intake of 22 students each year, who undertake an intense two year course as opposed to the 'standard' three year offering. Why only 22 students a year, I hear you ask? Well here's what they say on their website:

'The MTA does not want to be a large conglomerate college – its inception was to provide first class training for a maximum of 44 students (22 students per year) ensuring that no student gets lost in the crowd. We are confident that we can give 22 students per year top class professional training without losing the personal touch.'

I must say I do like this approach to teaching, as I personally feel people/children of all ages and walks of life can sometimes slip into the gaps and not feel particularly treasured and loved whilst in education. I do hear a lot of young people say they can't wait to finish school, but why? Is it the yearning to 'crack on' and get a job, making an impact in their chosen field? Or is it because they haven't been properly engaged at school/college to then place a value on education and learning? Sure, 'education' isn't for everyone, but then it depends on your interpretation of the word. Leaving school to start an apprenticeship in plumbing is still surely an extension of learning? Back to the MTA though, I found it very reassuring to see in the news part of their site, that so many ex-students or, as the MTA call them, ambassadors, are working in theatre. The trust to label them ambassadors and put the faith in them to represent the ethos of the academy, speak volumes of the teaching ethics in place. In any case and within are further ado, here is the interview I had with Annemarie..

Chris: Last weekend saw the closure of 'We Will Rock You' after more then 12 years on the West End. We've also seen the premature end of Simon Cowell's 'I Can't Sing' musical just six weeks after opening. Why do you think productions are struggling so much at the moment? 

Annemarie: I don’t think that the two cases are related at all…surely one came to its natural end (show years are like dog years…and therefore WWRY lived to a ripe old age, defying nearly every critic at the time of it’s ‘birth’ too I should add), whereas I can’t really comment on I Can’t Sing per se as I didn’t see it…but as you’ve asked the question…what is clearly evidenced is that it had an outstanding cast, the critics, on the whole enjoyed it (whilst a few failed to buy into the surrealism of Harry Hill’s humour), but it failed on a basic level of asking who its audience was going to be…and then before finding out the answer to that question opened it in one of the biggest houses in the West End, where the break even point must have been ridiculous.  Now the easiest way to have overcome this would have been to have put a celebrity in it - personally I applaud the fact that they didn’t, however why Syco didn’t create a celebrity out of Cynthia Enviro is beyond me.  I said exactly the same thing when Spring Awakening closed too early (IMHO) instead of us all moaning about the fact that we need to put ‘names’ in shows to get bums on seats the theatre community needs to wake up and create ‘names’, and I thought that I Can’t Sing was the perfect opportunity to have done that.  Cynthia is one of the most exciting musical theatre performers in the UK today, that production team had the clout to get her on nearly every prime-time TV programme going and yet they missed the opportunity. Therefore an audience wasn’t created, and a show with a quality cast was left playing to half full houses.  Love him or loathe him Cameron Mackintosh gets this right - he makes you think that a show has opened a year (or two) even before it has…therefore ‘the legend’ is already living before the show has got into previews, and audiences will take a punt on the show.  Who’s going to take a £75 punt on a show that they’ve never heard of, full of people they don’t know when down the road they can hear Abba? I don’t know whether the West End really is struggling - I just think that people are having to think very carefully about where they spend their ticket money so the shows have to tick all the boxes, and if they don’t then they’re gone, but you know if they’re brilliant I think that they'll always survive the test of time e.g. Billy Elliot, Matilda etc.

Chris: Locally to myself I have seen several 'am-dram' societies fold in recent years due to dwindling ticket sales and increased costs. Do you think there should be more support at grass-roots levels for such groups to help build up a theatre-goer following which could then have a longer term impact on audience numbers for professional offerings? 

Annemarie: Oh I'm so torn on the whole am-dram thing - when people do it solely as a hobby then I'm 100% behind it, but I wish that they would explore a more interesting rep(which incidentally might bring in fresh blood to keep the societies running) I mean as brilliant as Oklahoma is there are so many new writers/composers out there desperate to get their shows into production and I wish that am dram societies would be bold enough to give it a go (although I understand that they also have to put bums on seats and their ticket sales would be down if they did the brilliant Lift by Craig Adams as opposed to Carousel for example)…but then when I go to see am-dram productions and I hear those fateful words “it’s so good it’s almost professional” I invariably want to scream, or ‘so and so should be a professional’…because being a professional performer is so much harder than having a ‘safe’ job and a secure income and rehearsing a few evenings a week for a few months and putting on a show.  It’s about a constant state of insecurity, getting the show ready in a matter of weeks not months. I’d love to see more youth theatre groups as I think that’s the future of theatre, they will be the theatre going public in the future and even the next generation of actors.  I don’t know what it’s like anymore as I only mix in theatrical circles(I appreciate how rubbish that sounds..but it’s true) but I come from a very working class back ground and I was absolutely ridiculed(even bullied at one stage) for wanting to go to the theatre…so if it's the same now, then I want to see theatre at grass roots level breaking down the social class barriers (but I might be out of touch, and that might have happened in some places….unfortunately I know that it’s still true where I come from)

Chris: As we have all seen in recent years the funding for 'The Arts' has been repeatedly cut and savaged, with this in mind what steps do you think could be taken by theatre companies and theatres themselves to gain additional revenue?  

Annemarie: When MTN was first formed and called MTM, on the panel of experts were a group of Americans who stated that in the UK our thinking in Musical Theatre was at least 5 years behind theirs. It really stuck with me how incredulous they were about our fixation on arts funding, as they don’t have that in the States(of course they are also great believes in philanthropy which sadly hasn’t really caught on here).  I don’t know the answer to this question and I’m not going to pretend to make one up but their thinking has really stuck with me.  I run The MTA and we are not eligible for any government funding streams at all, unlike nearly all the established colleges that we’re in direct competition with, and I am constantly trying to think of ways in which I can find some money from somewhere to fund students that face financial hardship, and ironically all the ‘big independent money’ goes to the colleges that already receive government funding.  I suspect that the same is true for theatre companies.  Places like the Royal Opera House with their guaranteed Arts Council Funding have so many private benefactors it’s crazy…if only one of them would invest in a company that receives no Arts Council subsidy but who has an outstanding track record, or even invest in a writer, or a performer, or a composer…but no…they’ll keep investing in the organisations that have….government investments.  I haven’t answered your question…but I wish I knew the answer.

Hands up if you want more original songs to sing!

Chris: I read with great interest a recent article of yours about theatre schools not taking a proactive approach to encouraging developing new work. What do you think the first steps should be for them to go down this route and should there be some incentive in place to encourage this behaviour, even initially? 

Annemarie: This annoys me - at The MTA we have a policy to support new writing.  We opened in 2009 and have already commissioned 5 completely original musicals (not adapted from any books/films etc), we have gone on to produce those 5 musicals into full productions, plus a further 2 premières; we have been involved in readings and workshops of between 25 - 30 new shows in that time.  In addition to that we have recorded 5 demo albums of new musicals…in other words it’s more than just a lovely sound-bite policy. We really put our money where our mouth is.  Our policy is simple it has to benefit us and it has to benefit the writers therefore creating a win/win situation.  So what bit of this annoys me? We are a tiny college (with a maximum intake of just 44 students) and we can afford to do all of this.  The major colleges have an intake of 100’s, plus as previously mentioned government funding streams and private benefactors coming at them from all angles….just invest the money in people (i.e. writers and students) and not buildings and profits. It’s not rocket science.  It’s interesting how a few of them are dipping their toes in these waters now and shouting it from the rafters…but some of them are producing up to 8 full length musicals a year, we only produce 2 and have managed to do all of the above.  Maybe they should split their productions equally between new and old?

Chris: On the topic of new work being produced, aside from theatre schools themselves taking a more proactive approach, what do you think can be done on a wider scale to a) encourage smaller theatre companies to produce original material and b) give them a platform for such work to be showcased? 

Annemarie: Again harping back to the first MTN conference the American panellists said that they had learnt that the big lesson was to just keep producing the work in every 100 average/rubbish shows you might just find a gem. I just don’t think that we produce enough.  I’d love to see theatre companies commissioning writers to create a piece for their companies.  Give them a topic that you know would generate a local interest…I bet that you would get an audience interested.  Just stop playing safe.  I really do believe that our audiences are more daring than we give them credit for. A few years ago the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds commissioned me to write original songs for their Christmas panto. It's fair to say that I was not met with open arms (and ears). The box office staff were particularly put out that there would not be a familiar pop tune that they could sing along to.. fast forward four weeks later and the my ear worm songs had penetrated their good taste and they were asking me why I hadn't recorded an original cast album as they believed that the demand was there to warrant making it.  I was lucky enough to be asked back a further 2 years and those same box office staff went from resistant to excited to learn the new cheesy offerings that I had written.  We can educate our audience if only we dare to take chances.  Imagine if every QDOS panto had an original score? I really don’t think that the children would leave demanding their money back. People want to hear new stuff - let’s not underestimate Joe Public.  Maybe…just maybe if they got used to going to the theatre not knowing the music before hand they might develop an appetite for new musical writing.

Chris: I've read a fair bit about the unique approach you take with regards to looking after your students and also being more structured in the smaller intake to ensure quality and higher levels of individual focus. I would love to visit the academy to see how it all works for myself and do an article on my impressions, would that be okay? 

Annemarie: We have an open door policy so you are welcome to visit anytime. I’d advise a quick phone call first to check that I'm not working from home, but other than that surprise visits are good because then you can see that we really do operate within the guidelines that I preach about!

Chris: Thank you so much for taking the time to answers my questions, I will definately arrange to come down and visit the academy and hopefully speak to some of your students about their experiences there.

If anyone is interested in learning more about the Musical Theatre Academy then please do click the link to the right and it'll take you to the homepage, which has a lot of good info about the academy and what some of their ambassadors are doing now! Also, if anyone would like to take part in an interview with me, please send me an email or send me a message on Twitter @Theatre_Blogger. It doesn't have to be just about theatre, I'll talk about pretty much anything!