Musical Theatre Performance

Singing

You will have a 60-minute individual singing lesson and a 40-minute individual repertoire coaching session each week. In addition, there are group coaching sessions, ensemble singing projects and audition technique classes. Informed by the latest physiology research, we explore all aspects of your singing voice.

Acting

These classes and tutorials provide a supportive environment in which to grow and practise your skills as a company. We cover improvisation, acting through song, text work, sight-reading, building a character, the rehearsal process, audition work and more. You will apply your learning in the rehearsal and performance of scenes as well as whole plays, musicals and revues.

Spoken Word

These classes cover voice science and its practical application to speaking and singing, and include a weekly 20-minute individual tutorial. We cover such components as speech and accent, text and language including Shakespearean verse, and vocal health. The integration of the speaking voice with the singing voice is fundamental to the programme and directly supports the work of the singing teachers.

Integration of Acting and Singing

In this weekly class you will be encouraged to match your vocal quality and texture to the acting demands of a song, and to develop your individuality, with a particular emphasis on extended voice technique. Audition repertoire, strategies and technique are practised throughout the year, as well as the assembling of a strong audition repertoire ‘bible’.

Dance

The dance course concentrates on three vital elements: musicality, empathy and technical ability. You will learn to replicate dance combinations demonstrated by a choreographer or teacher. We aim to give you confidence in dance, and the ability to translate musicality and style to the appropriate task.

Movement

These classes are designed to build confidence and cultivate a sense of physicality. We take a creative approach to the work, offering a safe environment in which to try things out and stretch boundaries without fear of ‘doing it wrong’. Looking at solo and ensemble movement, including contact and partnering work, we aim to create complex choreography from simple building blocks. In the first term the focus is on telling a story through movement. Later in the year you will start to combine text and song with movement.

History of Musical Theatre

In these weekly sessions we listen to and discuss musicals from the Gershwin and Cole Porter era to the present day.

Industry Development

You will have the opportunity to work with professionals in performance, direction, casting, musical direction, choreography, performance coaching and psychology to formulate and practise strategies for breaking into the industry. How best to prepare for (and win) an audition is fundamental to this course.

Masterclasses

Visiting performers, composers and directors give masterclasses and workshops during which they share their insight into the industry. Sessions held by representatives of professional bodies and mock auditions with guest professionals are also arranged. In 2021-22, guests included Claude-Michel Schönberg, Pippa Ailion, Hadley Fraser, John Bucchino, Jenna Russell, Imelda Staunton and Cynthia Erivo.

Projects

Practical projects are rehearsed and performed throughout the year, allowing you to put everything you have learnt into practice. They are selected according to the individual needs of students and the company as a whole and are directed by top industry directors, both established and emerging. Past projects have included musicals, revues, concerts, cabarets, plays, showings of devised work, interdepartmental collaborations and recordings.

Agents' Showcase and Production

You will take part in a showcase with an invited audience of agents and casting directors, as well as full-scale musical productions. Recent end-of-year productions have included The Light in the Piazza and Merrily We Roll Along – both accompanied by the Academy Musical Theatre Orchestra in the Susie Sainsbury Theatre.

-

Frequently-asked questions

What are the entry requirements for the MA?

An undergraduate degree or, in some cases, APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning) with evidence of a current exceptional standard of ability plus previous relevant experience. Further information can be found on the entry requirements page here.

Please contact us here if you have further questions regarding entry requirements.

Can I visit in person before accepting my offer?

If you are in receipt of an offer and would like to visit, please contact us here. We will accommodate brief tours wherever possible during term times.

What are the fees?

Details of fees for our courses can be found here.

When are bursary and scholarship award decisions announced?

Awards are announced once students are enrolled on the course and applications have been considered.

How many hours a week will I study?

This is a highly intensive course and core classes and some independent study time are scheduled from 9am-6.30pm each weekday. During term time there are also frequent evening and weekend masterclasses, rehearsals and competitions.

Where will I be taught?

Teaching takes place at the Royal Academy of Music on Marylebone High Road. Some project and production rehearsals take place at locations that are within a few minutes travel from the Academy.

What facilities are available to me?

We have one dedicated dance studio and three dedicated rehearsal rooms for group classes and projects throughout the term. One-on-one teaching takes place in practice rooms which each have a piano. MD students share a room with a piano, keyboard and audio equipment. Students can book rooms for practice before and after classes during the week and on Sundays.

All of our large rooms have screens for online access and screening purposes. Tripods and back-drops for self-taping are also available.

Performances are generally held in the The Susie Sainsbury Theatre, The Angela Burgess Recital Hall, and the The David Josefowitz Recital Hall.

Production rehearsals sometimes take place off-site in local studio spaces.

You will have your own locker adjacent to our classrooms and access to dedicated shower facilities. A subsidised café and a bar provide hot and cold food and drinks during term times.

What is the practical/written work and assessment ratio?

The main focus of the course is the development of your practical skills and craft, and your awareness of professional development, and this is reflected in the course and assessment structure.

75% of your final mark is divided equally between your contribution to the Industry Showcase performances (Term 2) and your contribution to the Final Production rehearsal process (Term 3).

The Portfolio component is the remaining 25% of your final mark. This comprises a written and visual record of, and reflection on, your journey through key aspects of your training on the course.

How many productions will I work on during the course?

Each term culminates in public or industry-facing performance/s in the Susie Sainsbury Theatre. There are also project and competition performances in each term for invited guests.

Will I be able to work whilst on the course?

The teaching timetable encompasses relatively full weekdays plus some evening and weekend rehearsals, masterclasses, competitions and productions, meaning there is little opportunity to work during terms. Students do sometimes have part-time work on Saturdays, and occasional paid stewarding opportunities are available at the Academy.

What are my career options after graduation?

Most of our graduates go into the Musical Theatre industry as a performer or MD (depending on their pathway on the course), most benefitting from agent and industry relationships that they made during their final two terms. Some also go on to act in non-musical theatre and/or screen productions, to create their own work, to teach singing or to work in other roles within the stage and screen industries.