Montage Theatre Arts Teachers
Our teachers are all West-End and/or industry professionals, bringing an exciting set of skills to MTA alongside their busy careers.
Click on the pictures below to find out more about our teachers!
They include current performers/alumni of shows such as: Billy Elliot, Les Miserables, The Commitments, Singing in the Rain, Oliver and Stomp. Our teachers have also worked with companies and venues such as: BBC, Disney, Lucas Film, the Royal Opera House, Lyric Hammersmith, Barbican Centre, Young Vic, o2 and Hackney Empire.
All Montage staff and volunteers are DBS checked (Disclosure and Barring Service) at Enhanced Disclosure level and training in child protection is regularly updated.
There is always a First Aider on site.
DANCE

Leigh Coleman
Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday Dance Teacher
Other work included various advertisements for ITV and BBC radio plays for children’s schools. Musical theatre work included Annie (the lead role), The Wizard of Oz, Fiddler on the Roof all at Greenwich Theatre, The Nutcracker (Ballet), Fairfield Halls, Croydon, variety shows at Orchard Theatre, Dartford, pantomimes and cabaret acts in London.
At the age of 16, Leigh went to the Centre of Performing Arts College in Greenwich to sustain her performing arts and to qualify as a teacher in ballet, modern and tap for the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance.
Leigh joined MTA in 2004.

Clare Wilders
RAD Ballet
Qualifications: PDTD RAD RTS, ISTD DDI
Clare has been dancing since she was 3, gaining her Royal Academy of Dance ballet exams at her local ballet school in Surrey. She completed her professional ballet training in the Russian and Cecchetti methods with the three year dancers’ course at the London School of Classical Dance, later known as the West Street School of Dance.
Graduating straight into employment, she enjoyed a lengthy and varied career, performing across the genres in theatres, movies and the commercial world of dance and choreography.
Some highlights include playing the Apàche dancer in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (UK tour) and Chee Chee in Doctor Dolittle (UK tour) as well as being a featured dancer in the Phantom of the Opera Movie and a soloist in the Souls in Motion European tour.
She has had the opportunity to work with some well-known choreographers: Luca Tomassini (Gerry Haliwell & Rachael Stevens), Lynne Page and Anthony Van Laast. In later years, she ventured down the choreographic route creating pieces for the Frank Skinner and Richard Blackwood shows among others.
Discovering a love for teaching along the way, Clare chose to re-train and graduated with distinction from the Royal Academy of Dance on their Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma. This brings with it registered RAD teacher status.
Since her graduation from the RAD, she has been teaching their ballet syllabi at all levels from Pre Primary up to Advanced One as well as free virtuoso classes and pointe work.
Clare has furthered her teacher training via the Anna Morgan College in Kent and has recently been awarded the ISTD Diploma in Dance Instruction (DDI) in Modern Theatre.

Sophie Devonport
Contemporary Dance, Senior Street Dance and Mini Montage
Sophie trained at Bird College where she was awarded the Doreen Bird Foundation Development Award and holds a first-Class Degree in Professional Dance and Musical Theatre.
Alongside teaching dance and musical theatre Sophie performs as part of vintage entertainment group ‘The Gatsby Girls’ where she has performed in prestigious venues across the UK such as Claridge’s Hotel and The Waldorf. Sophie has studied dance education and loves to share her skills and passion with the next generation.

Sarah Sharman
SELECTED HOLIDAY COURSES
Sarah trained at the Bird College conservatoire for Dance and Musical Theatre. Her specialism is dance and movement-based work and her experience spans TV, film, audio drama, and theatre.
She has worked with Steven Spielberg on Ready Player One as a motion capture artist, was a cast regular on the popular BBC comedy Motherland and graced one of the most prestigious stages in the world at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.
As a teacher Sarah brings confidence, enthusiasm and encourages her students to find the fun around the disciplines of performing.
SINGING

Scott Brooks
Saturday School and Selected Holiday Courses
Scott trained at Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance on the prestigious BA Actor-Musicianship course. He is a professional Music Director and specialises in acting through song.
Scott has worked across theatre, voiceover and film industries, his crlisten out for his voice as your friendly neighbourhood babybel! As an actor, he has worked across regional theatre, the West End and internationally, including in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe for the West End.

Claire Learie
selected holiday courses
Claire trained at The Hammond School, Bird College and London School of Musical Theatre and teaches Dance, Acting and Musical Theatre across London.
Her professional debut was Our House – The Madness Musical in London, since then she has worked at Universal Studios Japan as a Harry Potter performer and singer and is a regular workshop performer for new musicals in development. Most recently Claire played the character of Jan in Grease alongside her role as Acting Co-Ordinator for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
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DRAMA

Darcey O'Rourke
Saturday School and selected Holiday courses
Darcy trained at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance and is a professional facilitator, actor, singer and musician.
She regularly works as a facilitator with young people at organisations such as Haringey Shed, Burnt Orange Theatre and White City Youth Project. She is very passionate about teaching and loves to see young people grow and thrive across the performing arts.
Darcy’s credits as a performer include; The Littlest Yak at LASTheatre, Antigone with Get Out of my Space, Breathe and Under the Frozen Moon with performance company Half a String and All Change for Ashford for The Company.

Richard Hay
Youth Theatre Company
Richard is a theatre maker, performer, and facilitator with a degree in Drama from Exeter University and a degree in Acting, Specialist Performance Skills & Stage Combat from East 15 Acting School
Richard is the Creative Director of Sharklegs, an award-winning visual theatre company whose work has been featured in The Guardian, Telegraph and The Times as well as on BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio Four. He is also a regular teacher at East 15 Acting School and at Chichester, Exeter, Portsmouth and Plymouth Universities.
His performance credits include Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Netflix’s Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and Solo: A Star Wars Movie (Disney and LucasFilm). He provided voice over for video game Dark Tides and played the lead role, Bryn, in the Iris prize winning film ‘No Strings’. His theatre credits include the LET award winning Fulfillment and you may have seen his work in the AA advertising campaign where he puppetered the adorable Tucker the Dog.

Laura Kressly
LAMDA
Laura is our specialist London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) teacher. She trained at Marymount Manhattan College where she received her BA in Theatre Performance and holds a master’s degree in Staging Shakespeare from the University of Exeter.
Originally a professional actor and director, she now works across the worlds of theatre and education. She is the founding editor of theatre criticism site, The Play’s the Thing UK, a judge for the Off-West End Awards, dramaturg and a consultant for new plays in development. Laura is also a visiting lecturer for the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama where she is completing a PhD on embedded theatre criticism practice.

Beth Johnston
Mini Drama, Junior Drama, Senior Showtime
Beth trained at East 15 Acting School and specialises in Drama, Comedy Improvisation and Dance.
As a professional actor Beth has toured the UK & Ireland with As You Like It, Pride & Prejudice and A Midsummer Nights Dream, she’s even appeared in Eastenders! Beth is the Artistic Director of Cold Dinner Theatre for which she has written and performed shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Beth has trained extensively in Comedy Improv at The Free Association and her teaching focus on building confidence through having fun.Cover Teachers:
While it is a key aim for MTA to provide consistent teaching, as in any educational environment, we sometimes have to call upon our pool of highly experienced cover teachers.
They have usually worked with MTA over a number of years and know our practice, and often the students, well. We relish this chance to share their skills with our students, and allow them to be taught by a variety of professional practitioners!