We recently
caught up with the incredible Louw Breytenbach, founder of the Live Arts Little
Theatre (LALT), to chat about his passion for community theatre and how he is
making a difference in an area that allows him to express his creativity as
well as his ability to be a social entrepreneur. It is one thing to be an
actor, quite another to provide a platform for others to find their creative
safe space and to grow their talents.
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| Louw Breytenbach |
The concept of an acting academy
and joint theatre initially came about in 2012 when the then 22-year-old Louw
decided to renovate an abandoned restaurant after completing his studies. With
very limited savings – the original plan had been to put down a deposit to buy
a new car – he allowed his dreams to lead the way, and with help from friends
and drama students he coached at the time, LALT was born. ‘It is something very
few people supported, because of the financial implications no one thought that
a 22-year-old would be able to do this. As cliché as it is, I
believe that everything happens for a reason. I never planned to be an entrepreneur,
but once you set your mind to something, you have a responsibility to yourself
to see it through,’ says Breytenbach on starting the theatre and becoming an
inadvertent entreprenuer. ‘My motivation
is simple: you have to give it all you have, because you never know when you
won't have it anymore. Life is guaranteed to no one, and no one wants to leave
a dying legacy, so everyday I get up and push on to make a difference in my
community.’
The acting academy, run by
Breytenbach, currently consists of 90 full-time students. Irene’s School of
Ballet, also situated in the theatre building, provides training for all
aspiring ballerinas from ages 5 and up. ‘Making LALT a community theatre was
essential for survival of the arts in the East Rand. Without community
involvement we simply would not have survived. Because large areas of the East
Rand are severely affected by poverty, little had been done at that stage to
keep youngsters out of trouble. The theatre provided that safe haven, and once
members saw the difference it made in the lives of children, they became even
more involved. Art has the power to bring people together.’ Clearly this is an
individual who thinks not just about his success but the success and
empowerment of the community as well. Evidently, Breytenbach’s vision of
the power of the theatre extends beyond pure entertainment to changing lives in
the community.
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| Alan and Krishen at the recent LALT re-launch event |
It was a natural progression that
the theatre had to grow and be moved to a more versatile, bigger space and thus
after months of planning the entire theatre was packed up and the building
started again two and a half years later. ‘This time around things are
different,’ says Breytenbach. ‘We have experience, an empty shell to work with
and although we still don’t accept funding, we had twice the amount of hands
pitching in to do the dirty work.’ The new Live Arts Little Theatre, situated
in The Terminal Life & Style Centre, took four weeks to complete. The
official re-launch event took place on the 24th of October 2014 in a
glitzy Great-Gatsby themed setting, where artists and celebrities from across
Johannesburg came together for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony and opening
concert which featured the likes of Anders,
NRG, Avea Mensgroup and more than 90 celebrities and a host of lifestyle
bloggers who covered the event.
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| The incredibly talented group, NRG |
‘We have always supported Afrikaans performers and
will continue to support them. Although we have featured many different styles
and artists at our theatre, we find that Afrikaans musicians take a lot of heat
for being simple or common, but we really wanted to showcase some of the best
in SA. Anders also recorded the soundtrack for the soon to be released movie, Knysna, and we wanted our audience to
see that Afrikaans music can compete with some of the best in the country,’
states Breytenbach on the amazing talent which was on display at the re-launch
event.
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| Lindi Delport of the group, Anders, a sublime talent |
It is clearly a case of onward and upward for this young
entrepreneur. Breytenbach elaborated on some future events to be held at LALT:
‘we are very excited to announce that 2015 will see some changes. The theatre
will definitely still provide a platform for up-and-coming performers, but we
have also secured bookings with the likes of Jonathan Roxmouth (who plays the
role of the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera). He will perform his one-man show STAGE by STAGE from the 5-8 March 2015,
even before release at Monte Casino. There will also be some fun media launches
and cabarets at the theatre in the first quarter of 2015.’
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Well-known faces, such as Bertha Whal, were also in attendance
to support the LALT re-launch event |
Louw Breytenbach’s dreams continue to expand and with them, his
vision for a greater platform to provide theatrical education and community
empowerment. ‘Ideally in the long term I would like for the theatre's brand to
expand nationally with several small theatres across the country providing
entertainment, but more so, education to the community it is opened in. We have
already set plans in place to start this expenditure in the near future and we
look forward to touching more lives through performing arts and drama education.’
This is certainly a man to watch in the near future.
