Our Teachers
Andrew
Wright
I.S.T.D. DDI. DDE.
Co-Director
Musical Theatre Tutor & Resident Director
Andrew trained professionally at Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom, Surrey, graduating as head boy with a professional diploma in Musical Theatre, Dance and Drama. Since graduating Andrew has worked for Disney as a lead male and appeared in various professional pantomimes for QDOS. He has also appeared in films and on TV, his last professional performance was in the UK tour of Chicago as ensemble & 1st cover to Amos Hart & Mary Sunshine.
Since leaving the stage Andrew has moved into teaching, direction and choreography. He is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for Musical Theatre Performance at The University of Chichester, Principal and Co-Director of The Academy of Musical Theatre in Portsmouth and has held an artistic residency at The Salisbury Playhouse. Andrew was also appointed as Course Leader and Director of the Mayflower Musical Youth Theatre and between September 2013 and July 2014, he initiated and developed the programme for its inaugural year.
Credits include:
Choreography; The Snow Queen (Royal & Derngate), Cinderella, Snow White, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Jesus Christ Superstar, Beauty and the Beast, Pippin, Pirates of Penzance, The Magic Flute, Spring Awakening, Cats and Sweeney Todd.
Direction; Jekyll and Hyde, Children of Eden, The Little Mermaid, Legally Blonde, Kings Theatre’s 110th Anniversary Gala, Parade, Seussical, Guys and Dolls, HONK!, Fame, Just So, Sorry Wrong Number, Sparkleshark, DNA, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Annie, Cats and Into The Woods.
Producing: Edges, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Sweeney Todd, The Producers, Earthquakes in London, Footloose, Loveplay, Legally Blonde, Stags and Hens, Parade, Gulliver’s Travels (World Premiere), Decade, The Wedding Singer, Dracula (World Premiere), Little Women, Notre Dame (World Premiere), Pornography, The Addams Family, Forever Oz (World Premiere), Jekyll and Hyde and The Stationmaster (World Premiere).
Andrew is currently studying for an MA(Ed), he has a Post-Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching for Higher Education and is also accredited as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Andrew has a passion for teaching all aspects of the theatre and developing talent within his students. He is thrilled to be working within and educating others in the world of theatre and dedicates all his hard work and effort to his three young children, who are his greatest achievement to date!
Caroline
Bennett
Caroline is a musical theatre performer and vocalist who has been performing for various companies in the South-East for the past 20 years. She has played the lead roles in Beauty and the Beast, Chess, Throughly Modern Millie, Jekyll and Hyde, Annie Get Your Gun, Crazy for You, 42nd Street, Mack and Mabel, The Drowsy Chaperone, Jesus Christ Superstar, Dames at Sea, Grease, Seussical and West Side Story.
Caroline studied piano from the age of 7, achieving Grade 8 in ABRSM examinations. She has previously worked at Stagecoach Brighton teaching singing and movement to the Early Stages, before becoming Co-Director of AMT. She also works as Marketing Manager for the Regis Centre in Bognor Regis.
She has been running the school, together with Andrew Wright since 2011 - pulling the focus firmly on to musical theatre training. The school has performed major musical theatre productions at professional venues across the South East.
Co-Director
Singing Tutor & Resident Musical Director
Jo Abbott
I.S.T.D.
Jo began dancing at the age of 5 at Djanita School of Dance in Portsmouth. She continued training up to the age of 18 taking classes in all styles of dance, including Modern, Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Ballroom, Latin, and Old Time.
Jo successfully passed her IDTA, ISTD and RAD exams whilst also gaining a place with the Portsmouth Players, appearing in many musicals such as Oklahoma, White Horse Inn, Pajama Game, Brigadoon, Calamity Jane and Jesus Christ Superstar. Not a stranger to dance companies in the area, she performed with the Portsmouth Youth Dance Company and came first in the South Hants dance finals.
As a teacher she began her training as an assistant and eventually became a tutor for her local school, however as a busy mother of three, with a part time job as a hairdresser, she decided to put her teaching endeavours on hold. Jo at present works at Copnor Infant School and we are delighted that she has finally put her dancing shoes back on to join our teaching staff at the Academy.
Rainbows/Musical Theatre/Ballet/Tap Tutor
Kim
Seagrove
Private Singing Tutor
Kim has been singing and performing since a very young age and reached Grade 8 and beyond in Acting with LAMDA. She was influenced greatly by her choral experiences as a teenager, her A-level Choir recording for BBC Radio 3 and performing across Europe, in addition to enjoying a positive musical theatre influence from Devon Youth Music Theatre within the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Kim graduated in 1998 from the University of Leeds with a BA(Hons) in Music and a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education.
Over the past 20 years, Kim has worked as a performer, teacher, vocal project developer and musical director of many shows, ensembles and choirs, including establishing and directing the Hampshire County Youth Show Choir in its’ inaugural year and leading Mayfield School Choir to win a national competition to sing alongside the original London Cast of ‘Rent’ at the Shaftesbury Theatre in the West End, as well as numerous regional and national success in directing ensembles and choirs, leading performances at Birmingham Symphony Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, the O2 Indigo and the Royal Albert Hall.
As an educator, Kim now works as a lecturer and singing teacher within the Music and Musical Theatre departments at the University of Chichester where she recently successfully gained accreditation as an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Kim is thrilled to have the opportunity to train young students as they begin their journey into the musical theatre industry.
As a composer, Kim has written two musicals for Stagecoach Theatre Arts and had selections from “Enigma” produced in the Stagecoach Annual Showcase at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. She has also written a number of songs for children aged 4-18 which have been recorded and published by Hampshire Press and performed by massed choirs at The Anvil, Basingstoke and Ferneham Hall, Fareham.
As a performer, Kim has been a playing member of The Portsmouth Players for 20 years and has enjoyed a range of roles – ranging from chorus and cameos to leading ladies. Among her favourites have been Maria (The Sound of Music), the Baker’s Wife (Into The Woods), Katisha (The Hot Mikado) and Miss Hannigan (Annie). Whilst most of Kim’s performing has been with Players and other local societies over the years, she was blessed with the opportunity to perform as a lead soloist at the Royal Albert Hall with SingLive in a concert of ‘Music from the Stage and Screen’ and also regularly attends sing-throughs with the wonderful London Musical Theatre Orchestra.
Kim is delighted to be joining the AMT family!
Ellie
Thomas
Ellie began dancing at the age of 3, studying ISTD Modern Stage, Tap, Ballet and Jazz and later
studying styles such as Contemporary, Greek and Commercial. She realised her love for the art at a very young age and went on to take part in various shows and competitions whilst at school. She continued her dance training up to the age of 18, whilst also studying both Drama Studies and Musical Theatre at Sixth Form College. When at college, Ellie developed her passion for Musical Theatre and performing which encouraged her to continue her training at a more professional level.
Ellie went on to study at the University of Chichester and graduated with a First Class Honours
Degree in Musical Theatre Performance. Whilst at uni Ellie was fortunate enough to get cast in a
number of large scale productions where she worked with various successful choreographers and directors, of whom she feels she has learnt a lot from and have inspired her creatively.
Since leaving uni, Ellie’s passion for teaching and choreography has grown and she is now
undertaking her DDE teaching qualifications in ISTD Modern, Tap and Ballet, whilst working as a
dance teacher at various local dance schools. She is delighted to be a part of AMT and looks forward to sharing her passion and knowledge with such an enthusiastic school.
Ballet/Tap/Musical Theatre Tutor
Dotty
Evans
Dotty began dancing at the age of 3 where she studied Ballet, Tap and Modern and later studied Contemporary, Commercial and Ballroom/Latin. She found a passion for teaching at her dance school where she taught children aged 3-8. In the meantime she gained her grades in all of her dance styles. Alongside this throughout high school and college, Dotty participated in local theatre productions including Ghost, Strictly Musicals and Into the Woods where she discovered her real passion for musical theatre; she furthered this passion by taking GCSE and A Levels in Music, Musical Theatre and Theatre. Dotty has grade 8 piano alongside her singing grades. She has a BA hons in Musical Theatre Performance.
Ballet/Tap/Modern/
Musical Theatre Tutor