Laine Theatre Arts based in Epsom, Surrey is one of the most prestigious Musical Theatre establishments in the world. It was founded in 1974 by former professional dancer, Betty Laine OBE.
‘Laine’ does an incredible job of preparing its students for a career in Musical theatre and has one of the highest success rates in the business with over 94% of its students securing employment within 6 months after the graduation period.
The college boasts an array of successful alumni and patrons including, Victoria Beckham, Ruthie Henshall, Charlie Stemp, Stephen Mere, Arlene Philips, David Grindrod and Sir Matthew Bourne to name just a few.
Slick Films had the opportunity to bring out the true beauty of the college into the form of a short commercial documentary. We spent 8 days capturing everything there is to know about the college. It’s safe to say we were consistently blown away by not just the talent but the unique atmosphere that lingers in the air at Laine. “You can’t touch it but you can feel it”. Those were the (very accurate) words of the principal Miss Laine in her interview.
The film follows two students; classical dancer Rory Macleod and soprano singer Georgia Lennon as we delve into their hopes and ambitions and what they hope to achieve from the training at Laine. Both display their incredible talents as the shots echo the students dreams.
One of the most interesting parts of the filmmaking process was the trend we found when we asked graduates about the principal. The same common answer kept occuring. “Never call her Betty”.
West End star Matthew Croke, who played the leading role of Aladdin in the 2019 production and Felicity French at Cameron Mackintosh casting were both reduced to nervous laughter, feeling like a student all over again when we asked them about Miss Laine. West End star Leslie Bowman Garcia (Thriller Live, Hamilton) was not even able to say her name out aloud. Although Charlotte Gooch who is best known for her role as Penny in the West End production of Dirty Dancing told us of her sensitive side.
The films director and former Laine graduate Chris Overton said: “the musical theatre profession is a magical place but is also incredibly tough. The most important thing I wanted to find in this film was the truth about the industry, which isn’t what the potential students who will be watching the film before they audition will want to hear. But I couldn’t lie. I was relieved to find that every successful professional we interviewed shared the same views as I did. They all wanted to pass on their wisdom and be honest about how cut throat the industry can be. I didn’t want to hold back and neither did they”.
We were lucky enough to secure interviews with some really interesting voices. Francessca Jaynes, who is one of the leading Choreographers in Hollywood came down to see the Laine Summer Show and we spoke to her briefly. Francesca has worked with Mike Leigh, Tim Burton, Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Michael Winterbottom, and Robert Zemeckis. Her CV is rather eye opening, with work on films such as The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Gravity, Black Widow and Great Expectations.
One of the biggest things the crew took away from production was the importance of being a nice. Every single person we interviewed touched on this in their own way. It was incredibly interesting to discover that some of the most successful people in the industry believe that talent is not enough. A bold statement? What do you think?
The full film is currently only available for potential students who auditioned for the college. So, if you want to see the film, you better grab your ballet shoes and book yourself an audition slot.
Oh and Razzle Dazzle em!