Welcome to the multifaceted world of musical theatre. If you’re going to succeed, you need to be able to act, sing and dance – preferably all at the same time and to the highest possible standard. The good news is that if you really can crack it then you will be employable in almost any form of theatre because all the bases are covered. The bad news is that for almost everyone it takes phenomenal dedication to train to acquire the skills you need and a lot of talent and stamina to be able to benefit from the training.
Think you’ve got what it takes, including an insatiable hunger to work in this industry? Let’s look at the training options.
If you’re still at school, get involved in as much drama, musical theatre and youth theatre as you can. Even if you only sell programmes or help with the lighting, you are beginning to gain experience of how theatre works. Get on stage in any capacity, if you can. Audition for school shows, local non-professional shows or youth theatre and take part in summer schools in your area. Apply to organisations such as the National Youth Theatre and Youth Music Theatre UK.
When you choose sixth form options at 16, you may want to do A level theatre studies or dance or drama. Take LAMDA exams at the same time in acting and/or singing for musical theatre if you get the opportunity because it’s all extra teaching and good for your CV. Some schools offer a BTec in performing arts as an alternative to A level, or you may prefer to move to a local further education college for this. All of this – unless you opt for an independent school or college – is free because it’s part of the secondary education system.
And, while you’re doing all this, develop as many other skills as you can. If you play a musical instrument, keep working at it. Many actor musicians get roles which they wouldn’t have been considered for had it not been for the ability to play, say, the trumpet – with willing adaptability to other wind and brass instruments. Learn to drive if you can too – ready to drive the tour minibus in the future. And languages are an asset for an actor.
Then, for most, comes vocational training. Very few people are good enough to go straight into the industry at 18, although there are always exceptions.
Whether or not you are ready for the sort of three-year vocational musical training offered at schools such as Guildford School of Acting, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts or Rose Bruford depends on how much experience you’ve already had.
“I applied to degree courses at drama schools,” says LIPA student Jessica Pritchard, 18. “But my age and lack of experience seemed very apparent so I wasn’t getting the results I hoped for.” After months of agonising, Pritchard found the one-year foundation course at LIPA (fee £8,950). She says:
The course has helped me in so many ways with my acting, singing and dancing and I really feel I am acquiring the foundation skills and confidence I need to go on and get the best out of a three-year degree programme
Foundation courses in musical theatre run in some of the best known drama schools, as well as at smaller independent colleges such as Dorset School of Acting and Read Dance and Theatre College in Reading, both of which have an excellent track record of students going on to win places on vocational courses. Foundation courses are always self-funded, unless you can win a scholarship through the school itself – The Stage supports a number of these.
Many colleges offer a three-year musical theatre programme which means that you are entitled to student funding, including a loan. The fees are, in most cases, £9,000 per year, but you do not have to begin repaying your loan until you are earning £21,000 per year. Some colleges offer two-year courses as foundation degrees which are funded in the same way as full degrees. Or there are some outstanding independent ones about such as the Musical Theatre Academy, winner of The Stage 2012 school of the year award, but you have to fund yourself. For a degree course theoretically you need two A levels or equivalent. In practice, admissions people are pretty flexible and are looking for people with the right potential.
Another option is to do a degree in something else, work on your performance skills through university drama while you’re there and then do a postgraduate one-year course in musical theatre – such as the one at the Royal Academy of Music or Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama among many possibilities. The disadvantage of this is that it’s expensive because you have used up your loan entitlement, so most students have to self fund and a single year of training, however intensive, isn’t much. The entry requirements for postgraduate courses are usually fluid with experience often an acceptable substitute for a first degree.
Do your research carefully, talk to as many people in and around the industry as you can before making any decisions – and perhaps one day we’ll see you singing, dancing and acting in the West End.
For more about musical theatre training including advice on funding and interviews and features from the professionals buy this week’s special musical theatre issue or subscribe to our digital edition here
