Cameron Mackintosh has been a producer of musicals for over thirty years and the list of his productions is impressive. From starting off as a stagehand at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, he later became an acting assistant stage manager on the national tour of Oliver!. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s he continued to produce and co-produce numerous highly successful musicals including Godspell, Side by Side by Sondheim, a revival of the original production of Oliver!, My Fair Lady, Oklahoma!, Cats, Song and Dance, Little Shop of Horrors, Blondel, Abbacadabra, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, The Witches of Eastwick and most recently in 2004 a stage musical of Mary Poppins.

"We have two main types of audition. The first are open auditions, which we hold periodically for all of our shows. These are always advertised in The Stage newspaper and are open to everyone. The advertisement will contain specific requirements and it is pretty pointless turning up if you don't fit the bill. For example, if it is an audition for Asian artists for a show like Miss Saigon there is little point in blonde-haired girls slapping on a bit of extra mascara and their most oriental outfit and hoping we won't notice!

These open auditions require everyone to turn up at a given time and place and to wait to be seen. Often the numbers are such that it can take all day. Many, many people secure jobs at open auditions and at the beginning of your career it is well worth turning up for them.

The second type is a timed audition where you are given an individual appointment. Most of these are given to artists we already know or who have agents who have submitted their details. In either case the secret of audition success is in being well prepared. Anyone who is serious should have a good varied range of at least six songs they can perform brilliantly."

"Increasingly we look for performers who can sing, dance and act. The modern musical theatre demands this. This means doing all three well and with real technique, which usually means people have trained seriously for several years in all three disciplines."

"I think musical theatre performers are some of the hardest-working people in show business. Eight shows a week is very tough and not just for the principals. The ensemble has to work incredibly hard as they very rarely stop in the course of the show. This is one of the reasons why technique is so important. Without it people can burn out very quickly."

"A good, well-trained artist can work for a lifetime in the musical theatre. In the last few years we have literally employed artists of every age from eight to 80. However, this is obviously dependent on having a wide range of skills and strong professional discipline. In the theatre you work on comparatively short contracts so it is always essential to leave each show being well regarded by your colleagues and the management, as they are also potential future employers. The theatre world is also a very small one so anyone who develops a reputation for lacking professionalism is unlikely to survive for long. Attitude is often as important as talent in the musical theatre."

"I would just advise them to get the best possible training from one of the very best schools. In selecting a school try to look at how many good artists have come out of them. Check theatre programmes to see where the artists trained. Then once you have your training, remember that the theatre is one of those careers where training and learning is a lifelong occupation. Each show and each job is a new chance to learn and develop. Those artists who approach the work in this way are always the ones who achieve long and sustained employment."