1st Edition
Musical Theatre Education and Training in the 21st Century
Musical Theatre Education and Training in the 21st Century presents a wide range of viewpoints on the musical theatre profession. It brings together research from the UK, US, Australia and beyond, providing an essential resource for educators, students, and all those involved in training for musical theatre. The research draws on best practice from creatives, producers, practising artists and the academy to reveal a multiplicity of approaches and educational pathways for consideration by performers, educators, institutions and the profession.
The book goes beyond the key elements of performance training in singing, dancing and acting to explore adjacent creative and business skills, along with some of the more recent and challenging aspects of the profession such as diversity of representation both on and off stage, building safe working environments, and managing mental and physical health and wellbeing. The authors incorporate information from over 100 interviews with everyone from emerging performers to leading professionals, and explore the practicalities of pre-professional training, skills development and curricular design, alongside the broader attributes required in preparation for the profession. This book offers vital insights into how musical theatre practitioners can best be prepared to make their way in the field now and in the future.
Prologue
Chapter 1: The role of musical theatre in the 21st Century
Chapter 2: Approaches to singing for musical theatre
Chapter 3: Approaches to teaching acting and spoken voice for musical theatre
Chapter 4: Approaches to dance for musical theatre
Chapter 5 : First Act Finale
Chapter 6 : Contextual music studies in musical theatre
Chapter 7 : Sustaining a career in the performing arts through career diversification
Chapter 8 : Developing complementary skills
Chapter 9: Interlude
Chapter 10: Mental and Physical Health and Wellbeing
Chapter 11: Pre-Tertiary and non-tertiary and extra-curricular engagement pathways
Chapter 12: “More men called David than people of colour”.
Epilogue
Biography
Dr Jessica O’Bryan, PhD has lectured and tutored in music, education and research studies across several universities in South East Queensland, Australia. She trained as a professional opera singer and performed in opera companies, jazz and commercial pop bands throughout her performance career, and has extensive experience teaching music in schools and private practice as well as higher education. She is a published researcher in music, singing pedagogy, and higher education assessment practices and is the co-editor of Teaching Singing in the 21st Century.
Professor Scott Harrison is Pro Vice Chancellor of Arts, Education and Law and Assistant Vice Chancellor of Cultural Curation and Community Partnerships at Griffith University, Australia. He has published widely in music education, particularly on aspects of gender and pedagogy.
“I think this book can have a profound effect on the learning curve of theatre programs all over the world”— Maury Yeston, American composer, lyricist and music theorist
