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Following the success of his Homecoming show early last month, studio owner Larey Marks will officially open his drama studio later this month.
Passionate about people, drama and developing talent, Marks returned home after 18 years of working in the Middle East to plough back into the community.
“I taught languages at Glendale High School for 13 years where I also started an amateur drama society. I left Glendale in 1996 and went to work as a manager at a supermarket, which I hated,” he says.
He was then unemployed for a while, before divine intervention brought him back to teaching.
A teacher at Glendale High School saw him in a vision and called him in to inform him of an opportunity to teach in Kuwait.
Now, on his return to South Africa, he hopes to cultivate hidden talent in his home town of Mitchell’s Plain (“Dramatic solution to social ills”, People’s Post, 24 July).
Although not classically trained, his love for the arts has grown and developed from a young age.
“It all started in District Six where I was born. I would take all the children in the street to the cinema every Saturday. My passion for performance came from the cinema but at that point I thought it would pass,” he says.
“I always loved the stage and as a dancer, when I was at university I joined a ballroom club. I was cast in West Side Story and that was my first production.”
Since then, he has taught drama at two schools abroad and became an examiner as part of the British Drama Syllabus.
During his tenure he has put together 30 productions and learnt a great deal about the arts.
The Lamarr Amateur Drama Studio opens on Saturday 15 September.
The launch will take place at number 1 St Helena Street, Wavecrest, Strandfontein, from 11:00 to 12:30. Registration costs R100 once-off and the training will be free.
“Auditions for boys and girls aged 11 to 15, for a production of Aladdin – A Musical Comedy, will start on Saturday. The production is scheduled for Thursday 20 December at Cedar High School. The lead roles go to boys and girls who can sing and dance. I am hoping to get an ensemble cast of 20 aspiring actors,” says Marks.
