Dear Musical Theatre Students
I would like to congratulate you on gaining a place on the course and we look forward to seeing you in September.
You’ll shortly begin your studies with us, so to support you during the period of settling into a new way of working and studying, here are some suggestions for you on how best to prepare for your studies over the summer.
Please click below for the:
Musical Theatre Equipment List
Find out about the profession you are going in to!
Familiarise yourself with theatre, musical theatre and plays as much as possible. Watch as much as you can. There is a huge selection of online resources and books available about musical theatre, acting, and theatre past and present. You are about undergo a practical vocational training and thereby become part of the future of the profession – so make yourself aware of the body of work that has taken place and continues to take place around you.
Go online There are countless sites online where you can find Musical Theatre news and reviews on sites such as thestage.co.uk, Broadway.com, whatsonstage.com, musicaltheatreresources.com, theatretrip.com and many others.
Read All serious national papers, or their online versions, have arts sections. You will find articles, reviews and commentaries of what is happening in the profession – extremely useful to know about people and places that are at the cutting edge of the world you are going into. Get into the habit of reading these– actors need know about the world in order to gain some perspective on the lives of others. How can you play with integrity a character whose world – either real or imagined – you know nothing about?
Plays are not always the easiest things to read, but it is something you will get used to and you will find that after a while may be able to ‘perform’ the play in your head! Knowing plays is a terrific advantage, as is the ability to read aloud in character from the page (sight reading).
Listen You must listen to some of the many recordings available by established artists in the musical theatre industry. There are countless Official Cast Recordings available, and you can also access plenty via YouTube and Spotify. This will give you good ideas of styles of singing and musical style; and fuel your exploration of new repertoire. BBC Radio 2 have a two hour programme on Musical Theatre, Elaine Paige on Sunday from 1pm. Also worth listening to is Friday Night is Music Night; also available on BBC Radio, as well as various podcasts.
Watch Go and see as much live theatre as you can. Musicals and plays, and things you don’t think you might enjoy, too. Start to work out what you do and don’t enjoy; and why. Watch good quality TV, cinema, opera, fringe theatre; anything which can help you gain a broad understanding of performance culture.
There are, with a bit of selective searching, some terrific TV programmes on the arts. There’s still a decent amount of quality drama to be found too, as well as a wealth of filmed musicals, historical and contemporary. From Singin’ In The Rain and Guys and Dolls to Newsies and Hamilton; there is plenty to be going on with, much of which will help you when you arrive at college.
Keep Fit Consider dance classes; or regularly attending anything which helps you stay fit, flexible and coordinated. The course will have a busy programme of dance and movement classes and it will help to prepare you for the amount of physical activity and energy required for the programme.
The department also has its own Instagram and Twitter account @RoyalWelshMT, where you might find some interesting news and ongoing information.
The list provided is not supposed to be prescriptive or exhaustive; simply a suggested plan of action to prepare for your studies in musical theatre at RWCMD. Hopefully, your own passion will ensure that in time, you will have a good working knowledge of the profession, past present and future!
Vivien Care
Course Leader Musical Theatre | Arweinydd Cwrs Theatr Gerddorol