Each month, you put your questions to somebody from within the West End Kids Company. All questions are answered in person. To read previous editions of "Ask A West End Kid" click on the "ASK: Name" link in the menu to the left of this text.

THIS MONTH: MARTIN-GWYN WILLIAMS

(Founder & Artistic / Musical Director) 

THIS MONTH, YOU CAN SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO WEST END KIDS FOUNDER & ARTISTIC / MUSICAL DIRECTOR, MARTIN-GWYN WILLIAMS. FIND OUT WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WORK WITH THE WEST END KIDS, HOW IT ALL STARTED, WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES,  AUDITION TIPS OR GENERAL ADVICE. 

Q - What is your favourite song?

A - I'm not sure I have one to be honest there are so many songs that I love. I'm a "love it or hate it" kind of person so I am either listening to it over and over again because I love it, or I simply hate and never play it again. Within theatre, I would say probably "As Long As He Needs" me from Oliver or the new version of "A Lot of Livin' To Do" from Bye Bye Birdie. Ask me again in a few weeks and it will have changed again though!

Q - What made you do West End Kids?

A - I worked as a freelance Musical Director before starting West End Kids and worked with a lot of Youth Theatre companies. I got really frustrated by the lack of effort and passion that was put into working with these youngsters who were so keen and willing to learn, but the artistic staff didn't have much time for them and weren't really that interested. As a result, the standard of work wasn't so good and all of these super talented young kids were not getting on as fast as they might because nobody was really taking a serious interest in them. That's when I decided that "super-talent" deserves super-encouragement and I started a company called The Youth Showchoir of London in 2001. I later changed the name to West End Kids and thankfully, we are still here today.

Q - Do you MD any West End shows?

A - I have done a number of times in the past, but the West End Kids keep me so busy these days that I don't have any time! Seriously though, I took a little break back in 2005 and had a serious think about what I wanted to do with my career. Thanks to my good friends and mentors, Andrew Jarrett and David Barber, I had plenty of opportunities to work in the West End as both a Musical Director and Orchestrator. After some soul searching though, I decided that working with talented young kids is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I have no time for "West End Wendys" and all the egos and politics that goes on in the West End, and much prefer dedicating all of my time to the kids who I'd rather work with any day of the week.

Q - Do you have favourite West End Kids?

A - No, it wouldn't really be fair for me to have favourites - I have a tremndous amount of time for all the WEK and would do anything for any of them. I do become very attached to those who have been in the group for a long time though, which is only natural. There are some people in WEK whom I have worked with now for around 7 or 8 years. I've watched them grow up, devlop into amazing young performers and, in some respects - they feel like my own kids! I tend to give a great deal in terms of time, effort and dedication, and so you naturally form quite a strong bond over a period of time. When I have worked with them for a long time and they leave to go onto university or to work etc , then it is quite tough as I do really miss them.

Q - I have an audition. How do I get in?

A - Ha Ha! Nice question! Well, we are looking for specific things. Obviously - you must be a strong singer, that is essential. Apart from that, can you "tell a story". I am big on this and would rather take a young performer who tells a great story over someone who has done grade 8 singing. In Musical Theatre, it's ALL about the story. There is no need to be nervous about your audition. It's not like the X-Factor and we are not going to make you feel bad. We will give you confidence. Hopefully - you can relax get through your audition, and as long as you have done your best - then that is good enough for us.

Q - Who is your favourite writer?

A - Ahh, that is considerably easier than my favourite song! There are two writers who I love. Most of their music is brilliant. I am really old fashioned when it comes to taste in music. I love a good tune and a bit of oom-pah! So Jerry Herman and Lionel Bart both fit the bill. I love them both.

Q - I want to be a Musical Director. Can you give me any advice?

A - I'll do my best. I believe you have to have a certain character to be a Musical Director. And that isn't always a great thing. You have to be exceptionally dedicated and even borderline obsessive! You pretty much have to live and breathe your job. It's not the kind of job you can do Monday to Friday from 9am - 5pm. You have to be listening to music all of the time, constantly thinking about it and how to use it to tell stories. You also need to be able to get buy on a piano. I myself have never had piano lessons and am self-taught, so there is still hope for you yet!

The two most important things I would say are 1) The ability to tell a story through music 2) Passion and Dedication.

If you have these two skills or qualities, then you can do it.

Q - I have an audition for Les Mis in September. Should I try to make the character my own or not?

A - Well, because we are dealing in Musical Theatre I think that issue is slightly different than say, making a pop song your own after it has been recorded by another artist. The character you are auditioning for will already have its own personality, which is laid down by the writers. Having said that, there is no value in auditioning as a robot.

Your first consideration should be to tell the story of the song through the eyes of the character. If you are telling the story of the song then you are being true to the material and to the writers. You have plenty of license to "tell it in your own way", which is just great. However - you must stay true to the character the writers have written and also the story of the song.

It's all about the story in Musical Theatre. If you tell a great story, and bring your own expression to the character you are portraying to make it a more compelling and believable story, then you will have done a good job. Good luck! I hope that was helpful.

Q - When you did your first audition were you an excellent singer?

A - Not really. I think my first audition was when I was 10 and I auditioned for the part of Oliver. I wasn't a "great" singer then and I’m not a "great" singer now. There are very few really great singers. The rest of us mere mortals have to make the most of what we were given, develop it as much as we can and try to put it to good use. I go back to telling stories again. In Musical Theatre, I don't think it really matters how good a singer you are. Sure, some roles are designed for beautiful voices, but a beautiful voice isn't everything. Look at somebody like Rex Harrison. It is not about how "nice you sound" but about how well you connect with an audience and are able to communicate a story. Sure, being tone deaf isn't going to get you very far, but I'd rather a tone deaf story teller than a perfect pitched robot with beautiful musical phrasing any day of the week!

Q - How did you learn to play the piano by yourself. I couldn't do that!

A - By annoying the hell out shop assistants! I went to Sylvia Young as a youngster and boarded because my family lived in North Wales. This meant that I was bored most weekends because all my friends from school live either the other side of London or were in Wales. Aged about 10 or 11, I used to go into Chappell’s in Bond Street (a big piano shop) and say, "Excuse me, I'm looking to buy a piano, could I try a few out please". Obviously - they knew I wasn't going to pull out £20,000 out of my back pocket, but they used to let me. So I used to go in there at about 10am and play all the different pianos until the shop shut at 5pm. I just used to try playing songs from memory etc. I didn’t' play scales etc. Eventually I got banned so I had to find another shop to practice in!