Clint Lesch

Clint is an actor, singer, dancer, pianist, choreographer, musical director and performing arts educator. His education and training include Grade 8 Classical Singing (Distinction) and Grade 5 Music Theory (Distinction) – Trinity College London; Bachelor of Technology Degree: Musical Theatre (Cum Laude) – Tshwane University of Technology; Master of Arts Degree: Musical Theatre (Distinction) – Guildford School of Acting, University of Surrey.

Clint’s professional credits include: "Dreamgirls" (Montecasino Teatro 2011), "Aladdin Jr" (South African National Children’s Theatre 2011 & 2012), "Starlight Express" (Joburg Theatre 2013), "West Side Story" (Durban Playhouse Theatre 2013 & Fugard Theatre 2018), "Peter Pan, the Pantomime” (Joburg Theatre 2014) and "Saturday Night Fever" (South African State Theatre 2016). His musical direction credits include: "Mr. Popper’s Penguins" (South African National Children’s Theatre 2016), Shrek Jr" (People’s Theatre 2016), "The Adventures of Mr. Toad" (South African National Children’s Theatre 2017) and "Aida Abridged" (Sandton Theatre on The Square 2019). In 2016 Clint co-created a recital entitled "Hunkering Na Die Ses...'n Musikale Reis" performed at the Suidooster Festival in Cape Town. This piece won a Fiesta Theatre Award for best Music Production in 2017. In 2021 he created and performed a one-person recital at the Guildford Fringe entitled ''Songs Of The Unsung'' which celebrated historically and currently excluded composers from African, African-American and African-British heritage. In addition to theatrical work, Clint has performed in numerous corporate events and galas for companies like Nescafé and Cipla Multinational Pharmaceuticals. He has also appeared in commercials for Aero Chocolate and Debonairs Pizza. In 2022 Clint was an actor-musician part of ‘’In Our Skin’’, a verbatim theatre project featuring the stories of gay men in Johannesburg, South Africa and Birmingham, UK. It was developed by director/writer Greg Homann under commission from Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), with some additional R&D support from SHOUT (Birmingham LGBT), The Market Theatre Lab and GALA Queer Archive for Memory Reflection and Activism in Johannesburg. The première was presented as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival aligned to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Clint was also featured in a project opposite the MAC showcasing portraits by award-winning artist and photographer Maryam Wahid showcasing people living or working in and around Edgbaston in Birmingham, all with links to the Commonwealth.

Awards:

• MA Musical Theatre Award Win: Best Overall Postgraduate Performance – (2020)
• Naledi Theatre Award Nomination: Best Original Score/Musical Adaptation – (2019)
• Fiësta Theatre Award Win: Best Music Production (Podium) – (2017)
• Naledi Theatre Award Nomination: Best Supporting Performance in a musical – (2016)
• Naledi Theatre Award Nomination: Best Newcomer/Breakout Performance in a musical – (2015)
• Durban Mercury Theatre Award Nomination: Best Male Lead Performance in a musical – (2013)

As a multidisciplinary educator, Clint has held positions as Singing Lecturer at Oakfields College Pretoria – Faculty of Musical Theatre & Dance; Singing and Dance Lecturer at WITS University faculty of Theatre and Performance; Music Performance Lecturer at AFDA School of Creative Economy; Associate Lecturer of Musical Theatre at Performers College Birmingham – BIMM University and Visiting Dance Lecturer in Musical Theatre at University Centre Shrewsbury, University of Chester. Recently he was awarded an Associate Fellowship (AFHEA) from Advance Higher Education UK. In his current position as Principal Lecturer of Musical Theatre, Clint hopes to continue making meaningful contributions to the creative economy through interdisciplinary inclusive pedagogical practices in arts and culture education.