West End Stars Endorse & Open New Performing Arts School In Birmingham

West End star Kieran Brown (Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Les Miserables) spent 13 September at mac Birmingham, officially opening the Birmingham Institute of Theatre Arts (BITA).

Kieran, a patron of BITA, said:

“Having trained in Scotland, it's great to see that Birmingham now has a quality and exciting new theatre training opportunity. London and the West End is world class but people often forget about their local theatre and the fantastic opportunities provided by groups like BITA. I am delighted to be a patron of this group and look forward to their students joining me on the West End stage very soon.

Fellow West End Stars Lauren Samuels (Bend It Like Beckham, Grease) Liam Doyle (Wicked, Ghost) and Siobhan Dillion (Miss Saigon, Ghost) join Kieran in being patrons of BITA and will provide workshops and support to the students throughout the academic year.

This brand new theatre training school runs Sundays during term time from 4pm–7pm at mac, with a summer 2016 production of Jason Robert Brown’s hit teen musical 13.

The cost per week is just £11 for three hours and the first session is free!

Artistic Director of BITA Chris Passey said:

“Setting up BITA is the culmination of a lot of hard work and dedication to provide the young people of Birmingham and the Midlands with an actual training platform for their passion and art. Many similar schools in the area are production based, that is to say they produce high quality performances very regularly and this is great. But for us at BITA the focus is training and discipline. All of our teachers work professionally with West End/No.1 Touring credits to their name. We have been heavily inspired by Annemarie Lewis Thomas and her school The MTA in London, whose ethos and passion for young people has lead to some of the brightest young stars entering the world of theatre fully prepared.”

But it’s not all about training, BITA's performance of Jason Robert Brown’s hit teen musical 13 next summer, is seeking new students to join its growing cast.

The BITA team consists of local renowned talent Artistic Director Chris Passey (Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat) who is an award-winning composer and sought-after vocal coach. Co-Artistic Director and choreographer Attiye Partridge who is one of the Midlands best choreographers and producer and designer Amy Passey whose designs in California and New York have lead her to recently work with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the RSC.

Visit www.birminghamita.org.uk for more information