3 years diploma in professional musical theatre

Students focus on the fundamentals of the core disciplines and skill integration to ensure students can begin to employ the required triple threat skills of the separate disciplines in unison. Year 1 focuses upon traditional musical theatre material and stimuli to appreciate historical performance contexts and lyrical and traditional singing, acting and dance styles.

The work covered is concerned with the acquisition of core technical skills in Acting, Singing, Dance and Voice and provide the foundation for their training as a Musical Theatre Performer. These core skills are brought together in the Musical Theatre Performance Practice workshops where students will learn to apply the skills they have learnt holistically in a musical theatre performance, with equal emphasis placed on all three.

In Dance, students study ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary and commercial dance styles. In Singing, students study ensemble singing, repertoire studies, acting through song, musicianship and singing technique. In Acting, students study improvisation, acting skills and practitioners, scene study, and voice and text. Musical Theatre workshops focus upon ensemble song and dance performance, ensemble character development, featured performances and musical theatre duets.

All students attend a weekly guest workshop with an industry guest tutor from choreographers, directors and musical directors through to current professional performers, dance captains, resident creatives, script writers and dramaturgs, and much more!

Within Contextual Practice, students explore health and safety as an emerging performer in theatre. This focuses on areas such as safe practice in class, injury prevention and overall positive health and well-being. Lessons are also used to contextualise the landscape of musical theatre and materials covered in other classes.

Core technical skills classes continue, but become more advanced and more integrated. More sustained and intensive project work is introduced to the curriculum in which the three core disciplines become completely interdependent. Students are required to sustain and develop character over longer and more challenging performance opportunities to begin to hone skills for professional performance practice including the swing project, contemporary British play project and the abridged book musical project.

Within Contextual Practice, students explore the history of musical theatre. This focuses on the development of musical theatre as a social and politic influence, as well as recognising the chronologic evolution of theatrical trends. Lessons are also used to contextualise the landscape of musical theatre and materials covered in other classes.

Guest workshops also appear in Level 5 to ensure students continue to meet with current industry practitioners, performers and creatives.

In Year 3 the students’ focus shifts to three main areas: Professional Performance, Professional Preparation and Employability, and Professional Technical Skills.

The courses draws together all previous training in preparing for a career as a well-rounded, versatile and highly employable professional Musical Theatre performer.

Students will perform in two fully staged book musicals, and an Industry Showcase. Students finish the year with final skills assessments in Singing, Acting and Dance.

Professional Preparation and Employability workshops will hone audition technique in the three core disciplines, to ensure that, when they leave, students have all the skills necessary to embark upon a successful professional career. This also extends to preparation for all wider soft-skills and supporting areas for professional practitioners including sourcing and choosing headshots, joining and populating Spotlight, creating personal showreel performance reels and meeting with leading industry creatives, agents and casting directors to begin networking.

Within Contextual Practice, student engage with two main focuses:

• Employability Skills and Professional Practice
• Research and Reflection

Employability skills and professional practice will hone audition technique in the three core disciplines, to ensure that, when they leave, students have all the skills necessary to embark upon a successful professional career. This also extends to preparation for all wider soft-skills and supporting areas for professional practitioners including sourcing and choosing headshots, joining and populating Spotlight, creating personal showreel performance reels and meeting with leading industry creatives, agents and casting directors to begin networking.

Research and Reflection promotes the reflective practitioner and draws upon learning acquired across the first two year of training and placing this into a professional capacity. Students will reflect on their engagement with productions, research into characters and contexts for shows performed in, and reflect upon their training as a whole and the progress they have made.

Students will continue training in Acting, Singing and Dance to support them in implementing professional skills and performance in practice. Regular classes ensure that students graduate ‘match fit’ and ready to audition and perform in professional contracts.