Welcome to Laine Theatre Arts' first virtual open day!
Laine Theatre Arts’ first ever virtual open day. The purpose of today is to show you how the college operates, meet our faculty and students.
Below is a never before seen documentary, made by Laine alumni and Oscar winning director Chris Overton. In this documentary, we meet our Principal Emerita – Betty Laine OBE, and gain an insight into life at LTA.
Matt Cole
Principal & Artistic Director
Matt Cole took over as Principal and Artistic Director in 2023
Matt is an Olivier Award winning Choreographer for his work on Disney’s Newsies at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre – London.
Matt is an alumni of Laine Theatre Arts. After graduating he enjoyed a successful career as a performer in the West End on tour and internationally. He has worked in many of the top performing arts institutions as both a teacher, examiner, director and choreographer.
As a director and choreographer his recent credits include; NEWSIES (Director and Choreographer); IDENTICAL (The Parent Trap musical Directed by Sir Trevor Nunn) and FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS (UK Tour); WARHOL (Workshop Directed by Sir Trevor Nunn);TABOO (In concert at the Palladium Theatre London); FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS (World Premiere 2021); BERLIN BERLIN (Germany); LOVESICK (Theatre J Washington DC); PARADE (NYMT); OKLAHOMA (Chichester Festival Theatre); AMOUR (The Charing Cross Theatre); FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (The Menier Chocolate Factory and the Playhouse Theatre West End); FLASHDANCE (UK and international Tour); FOOTLOOSE (UK and International Tour); LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (UK and International Tour);THE BEAUTIFUL GAME (NYMT); THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (The Royal Academy of Music); THE NIGHT PIRATES (UK Tour); THE PRODUCERS (China and Asian Tour)
Directing credits include: Associate Director on CARMEN LA CUBANA, (Sadlers Wells); Resident Director on The Railway Children (King’s Cross Theatre); Resident Director on West Side Story (UK Tour).
We asked Matt Cole some crucial questions about Laine…
What is the Laine ethos?
What does it mean to be a Lainey?
What attributes and attitudes to learning do you expect from those who chose to train at Laine?
What do you enjoy about working with Laine students and faculty?
What can students expect to gain/ learn by training at Laine Theatre Arts?
Do you have any top tips for auditioning at Laine Theatre Arts?
Watch the Moment, Matt Cole, Our Principal, wins his 2023 Olivier Award for Best Choreographer for his choreography on Disney’s Newsies.
Our very own admissions officer Sarah Carroll talks you through everything from preparing for auditions to help with funding.
The questions we asked Sarah were…
What engagement you have with prospective and current students? | Give an overview of the procedures for applying to Laine? | What percentage of applicants are usually offered a place on average? | What does the audition day entail? | What funding support do we offer? | How easily accessible is Laines to public transport? | Top tips for applying to Laine – I.e. best time to apply, what to wear, how to stand out in audition and more!
Did you miss the LIVE Q&A? - Rewatch below
