Course Catalogue

LJMU Partner Taught

1. An understanding of the integrated nature of musical theatre performance (acting, singing and dance); 2. An understanding of the various historical forms and structures of musical theatre and the methods by which the narrative is developed; 3. An understanding of the process of rehearsal and performance development for musical theatre; 4. The opportunity to start to develop your own personal approach to performing in musical theatre.

Outline Syllabus:The module is delivered through a practical exploration of the staging and development of scenes and sequences from existing musical theatre productions through which students will explore: 1. the relationship between the sung and the spoken (and particularly the transition from one to the other); 2. the integrated relationship between dance/movement, acting and singing in musical theatre story telling; 3. the dramatic / theatrical strategies used in a range of musical theatre productions (from the contemporary musical theatre repertoire); 4. the rehearsal process used in musical theatre performance. Students will have multiple sessions each week to develop sequences and scenes from productions. Students will be able to explore a wide range of musical theatre forms from the contemporary musical theatre genre. Throughout the module students will be encouraged to reflect upon their studies in this module and in their specialist modules in acting, dance / movement and singing. MT Repertoire classes The academic year will be delivered in two halves. • In the first half of the year, students will work on dance-based pieces of contemporary musical theatre repertoire, focusing on the skill of stamina building through high energy aerobic choreography, whilst singing as an ensemble. These will be assessed in a final performance in a theatrical setting. • In the second half of the year, students will work in small groups on set pieces from the musical theatre repertoire, to include the transition from scene into song, focusing on the ability to carry the acting skills into and through the song work. Students will be guided on self-directing their scenes to develop their skills of devising and staging, and understanding the developmental stages of acting through song. These will be assessed in a final performance in a theatrical setting. Ensemble Singing classes • Ensemble classes will provide the students with the opportunity to explore a variety of styles of repertoire in small and larger groups. In ensemble, the focus will primarily be on learning how to work under the direction of a Musical Director; having the opportunity to break into smaller and larger ensembles, but working specifically from sheet music and learning the nuances of being a Musical Theatre ensemble singer. • At this level, students will work on material from the legitimate musical theatre repertoire. Devising Skills • This class comprises a series of lectures, training students in the process of writing a musical, in order for them to better understand and appreciate the genre of theatre in which they wish to perform; followed by practical rehearsals to create and stage a piece of new musical theatre writing. Students will learn about the many composite parts of the creation of a piece of musical theatre, and ultimately use these skills to create a piece of musical theatre writing, which is performed as an enhancement activity.

Additional Information:The module builds on the repertoire skills learned at Level 4. Assessment is via two presentations.