The Realities of The Industry with West-End Legend Joel Montague

In this episode, Georgie and Pierce gain insight into the acting world from West End star Joel Montague’s first-hand experience. Joel Montague is a professional actor from London. He has his own production company in the North West named Curtain Call Productions. There, he directs and choreographs his own shows. Joel is experienced in voiceover, theatre, music videos, commercials and comedy. He is also skilled in tap, jive, jazz, ballet, Latin American, and Breakdancing. 

A graduate of The Guilford School of Acting, Joel has had stage experience in newer musical productions like Sister Act, Hamilton and School of Rock as well as all-time musical classics like Funny Girl, Carousel and The Producers. 

 Georgie, Pierce and Joel talk about how he has gotten so far in the industry, drama school, the nature of musical theatre, time off when working in musicals, method and context, and modern diversity in the industry. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Joel attributes his success to ‘luck’ in terms of his compatible talent, in-sync timetables and availability, and faith in his abilities and personality. 
• His aunt and mother ran an acting school and so Joel was introduced to acting and dance at a very young age he then attended The Guilford School of Acting when older. 
• Acting is still a hard graft. There are aspects of the industry that you are not going to like and that are repetitive and boring. It’s not all glamorous. 
• The character process is just as involved and complicated as film work but should be kept in context with the material and the storytelling primarily. 
• Joel feels that the acting world is becoming more diverse. Hamilton, for instance, has changed the way musicals are viewed. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s a hard world. It is wonderful. I think it is definitely an industry that is most likely to be compared to a rollercoaster. The highs can be very high and the lows can be very low.’ – Joel 

‘Do you think that (Drama School) gave you any sort of particular, not ‘leg up', but what particular way do you think it has helped you in the industry.’ – Georgie 

‘I would say if you get to 17 and you don’t know what to do, I would say apply for drama school because it’s like that University element taking it off your hands for two or three years. But some people just bite the bullet and just go for it and go to open calls.’ – Joel 

‘As an actor, your main aim first is the storytelling, regardless of what the character is, the storytelling aspect is key.’ – Joel  

‘The thing that so many actors get caught up in when they are starting out is feeling like they have to have these processes and techniques to go through for every single character but a lot of it does come down to figuring out what works for you because at the end of the day, it’s your performance, it’s your vision of that role.’ – Pierce 

‘This is one thing that I find very difficult. You are attacked for not knowing information that you never knew.’ – Joel 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://chat.whatsapp.com/LUWz5ZlIg0sH0F27Zs7Cnq

https://www.actorswarehouse.co.uk/

https://Www.instagram.com/Actorswarehouse/

https://Twitter.com/Weareacting/ 

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Georgie King and Pierce Connelly are a couple and business partners with experience in TV, film and theatre. Co-founders of The Acting Warehouse, an organisation dedicated to helping you achieve turning your passion for acting into a full-time career, they are here to guide you to get out ther