The MA Musical Directing pathway is designed to support the development of skills and creative thought for musicians with a passion for theatre. As a Masters student, you will study the musical landscape, engage in practice-based-research and explore your own potential as a contributor to the future of the art form.
The programme is closely linked with the industry and this ensures that you acquire the practical skills to support a sustained and varied career. Through specialised and focused conservatoire-level training, specific attention will be paid to:
- Keyboard skills
- Conducting skills
- Scoring and arranging techniques
- Vocal technique and repertoire coaching, Programming and Sound
These one-to-one classes are designed to build your skill and experience as a musical director in the varying areas relevant to the form. You will have the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects matched to your specific interests and goals. Projects could include:
- Musical Director, arranger and orchestrator of the RCS Christmas Concert
- Musical Director of our BA Musical Theatre Glasgow and London Showcases
- Musical Director on the development of new and commissioned work
- Assistant Musical Director across fully produced BA Musical Theatre and Actor Muso shows
- Musical Director of a Cabaret season, Musical Directing roles on a season of work produced for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
This is a one-year, part-time intensive course: one full day a week for 28 weeks. The course is designed to develop your skills in the core disciplines of drama, with practical exercises in acting, voice and movement, taught by industry professionals. You will work individually, in small groups and as an ensemble with your peers on the course. Entry is by a free audition: everyone is welcome to audition.
The course will cover the three main aspects of fundamental drama training - Acting, Voice and Movement skills - with units in Stanislavskian methodology, improvisation, physical theatre, voice technique, and scene work from contemporary plays. You will develop and apply the skills learned, culminating in an exciting day of showings to an invited audience.
By the end of this course you should be able to...
• Demonstrate a clearer understanding of acting methodology
• Employ the disciplines and techniques central to effective realisation in your acting.
• Exhibit correct breathing techniques and vocal resonance and clarity
• Interpret text, working in a collaborative way with others
• Work from the neutral body to create character physically and use space effectively.
This highly practical and comprehensive course is for anyone aspiring to a career in acting. All sessions are taught by industry professionals in a range of modules that develop skills in voice, movement and character work, underpinned by a grounding in acting methodology. It provides a solid grasp of key industry expectations and also offers a route to further training or higher education. Previous students have progressed to a range of drama schools including RADA, Central, Royal Scottish, East 15, Oxford School of Drama, Mountview, and Drama Studio. Others have pursued careers directly within the industry.
Entry is by audition, and the course is accredited by OCN London, with access to Advanced Learner Loans.
In the first two terms, classes include the study of contemporary and classical texts, voice work, textual analysis, and exploration of the work of key acting practitioners. You will develop creatively through improvisation, actor's movement and physical theatre, screen acting and audition technique. In the final term, you will apply your skills in a public performance of a full-scale production, using professional values, in the John Lyon’s Theatre at City Lit.
Studying part-time over a year, you will gain a Level 3 qualification accredited by Open College Network London
The Foundation Programme in Musical Theatre is designed for aspiring musical theatre artists who wish to develop their skills and techniques through a dedicated programme of practical and contextual study. It is an opportunity for students to access high-quality conservatoire training and may provide an entry route to further specialist/vocational training (e.g. undergraduate degree programmes within the conservatoire or wider higher education sectors, particularly within the UK) or a platform for a dedicated period of personal study.
Key Features:
- Individual singing lessons and group classes in acting, dance (ballet, tap and jazz), singing, voice and acting through song.
- Regular performance workshops and auditions preparation training, including the opportunity to have mock auditions.
- There will also be the chance to work with Music and Dance students during CoLab, our two-week festival of creativity and innovation.
After completing the programme, many students successfully move on to undergraduate study.
The BA (Hons) Musical Theatre Performance programme is designed to enable you to develop the skills, attributes and knowledge necessary for a career as a creative entrepreneur and artist (singer-actor-dancer) in the Musical Theatre industry.
Key Features:
- Support and guide your development in preparation for a career in the professional musical theatre industry
- Empower students to operate as creative entrepreneurs
- Foster the development of graduates able to make and perform musical theatre works that reflect, interrogate and/or enrich society
- Enable you to value, have confidence in, articulate and execute your own artistic choices
- Support your development as an independent learner able to recognise and realise your own intellectual, creative and practical potential
- Facilitate your learning from professional musical theatre practitioners
- Enable you to understand the range of creative roles within musical theatre and how these might inform future employability
- Nurture your collaborative and leadership skills.
