MA Musical Theatre

Guildford School of Acting

Normally a first or 2.1 honours degree. Approved equivalent qualifications or experience will be considered, particularly in the case of overseas students and candidates with less conventional educational backgrounds. Applicants who have worked professionally in the performance industry for at least five years will also be considered. All entries are subject to the GSA audition process.

English language requirements

IELTS minimum overall: 6.5

IELTS minimum by component: 6.0

All fees are subject to increase or review for subsequent academic years. Please note that not all visa routes permit part-time study and overseas students entering the UK on a Tier 4 visa will not be permitted to study on a part-time basis.

Modules include

• Dance Techniques
• Acting Methodologies
• The Integrated Voice
• Rehearsal Project 1 and 2
• Singing and Music
• Practice Research
• Professional Development
• Public Performance
• Advanced Practice

Module Overview

You will study nine compulsory modules and, for a master’s qualification, the Advanced Practice module, which develops a professional and contemporary practice portfolio dissertation. Examples of modules available are:

Dance Techniques

This module seeks to develop and refine a secure and consistent technique in dance and physical skills. Central to the module are classes in jazz, ballet and tap, as well as other styles such as social dance, contemporary or musical theatre styles. It aims to improve posture and placing, and to develop the requisite strength and flexibility necessary to sustain a career in musical theatre. All classes will concentrate on the development of technique, presentation, style and vocabulary.

Acting Methodologies

During this module the various acting classes work to create solid psycho-physical, imaginative and technical foundations. The work on text focuses on the basics of Stanislavski, looking at how the actor can use organic processes to convert words on a page into playable actions and objectives, and how these are affected by the given circumstances. Classes in improvisation are designed to explore spontaneity, creativity, complicity and releasing the imagination.

The Integrated Voice

This module is designed to appreciate and explore the vocal and physical demands placed on the performer in any given space. It is founded upon a commitment to the integration of the physical and vocal techniques necessary for work in the theatre. In voice, designated texts (sonnets, poetry, political speeches and accent monologue other than own) will be explored and performed. The classes are practical and are heavily biased towards learning and training through ‘doing, reflecting, understanding and adapting’. Relevant vocal anatomy and physiology, as well as phonetics, communication psychology and the use of the whole body, underscore the work.  

Rehearsal Project 1

This module will focus on material that encourages, supports and develops disciplined ensemble practice. It will engage with the specific disciplines of genre and style, and will contain choreographic and musically challenging elements. It will facilitate the development of a structured and effective rehearsal technique, underpinned by both practice-based and academic research. Acting, vocal and physical skills will be integrated and applied in the rehearsal and performance of selected excerpts, with particular attention paid to the transition from the spoken word to the sung lyric. You will also be expected to develop your sense of stagecraft and rehearsal discipline.

Rehearsal Project 2

This module will demand more advanced character development techniques and technical challenges. You will develop your ability to identify, evaluate and process character information and objectives by focusing on further text drawn from musical theatre repertoire. Whereas the first term  concentrated on ensemble work, creating a coherent ‘environment’ to a narrative, the second term  will allow you to create and explore individual character roles. Consideration will be given to the practical challenge of achieving a playing style appropriate to musical theatre that does not compromise dramatic credibility.

Singing and Music

This module is a core component of the MA Musical Theatre and will include classes in vocal anatomy, weekly individual singing tutorials and weekly group singing classes. Progress and subsequent assessment strategies will examine technical control, use of voice qualities, and communication and performance in a number of genres and styles. It will focus not only on the anatomical and physiological elements of singing, but also on the understanding and application of terminology and the ability to incorporate all aspects of technique into an integrated performance.

Practice Research

This module provides a forum for the research, preparation and contextual discussion that is essential to the practice of musical theatre at an advanced level. It begins with research into the theories and practices of musical theatre within an historical context. A chronology of musical theatre is observed, from a starting-point of nineteenth-century operetta up to the present day. Social and economic influences on the creation of musical theatre are researched and discussed, together with the demands of style, genre and period, and the subsequent implications for the performer. This research will be applied, reflected upon and critiqued in the Public Performance module.

Public Performance

You will be cast and directed in a musical, determined by the skills and dynamics available in each student group. There will be five weeks of full-time rehearsals followed by a week of public performances. The musical will be supported by a director, musical director and choreographer who will give continuous feedback on student progress throughout the course of rehearsals. You will learn to negotiate a process of engagement with full production values and staff, comprising musicians, costume and make-up supervisors, set and lighting designers and a full professional structure of stage management and technicians.

Professional Development

This module runs throughout Terms 1 and 2, and work done in this module will support the final Advanced Practice dissertation. Guest directors, musical directors, industry professionals, casting directors and agents are brought in for a number of seminars, mock auditions and masterclasses, designed to comprehensively prepare you for entry into the profession. Priority is initially given to song audition technique and the formation of a broad audition portfolio suited to the individual student. Also included is an overview of current market demands and seminars that enable a heightened awareness of general castability. Disciplines such as interview techniques, preparing CVs and photographs are also covered, along with intensive stand-alone workshops and masterclasses such as stage combat training, corporate role-play and practitioner-specific seminars.

Advanced Practice

The Advanced Professional Development element incorporates continuing singing and dancing classes in order to progress to industry standard. You will research, rehearse and perform in an industry showcase designed to introduce you to the profession at large. Masterclasses and professional development workshops will enable you to develop a clear awareness of casting potential, employability and suitability of chosen material, as well as how to present a charismatic, confident, assured performance appropriate to a chosen scene.

The Advanced Contemporary Practice element enables you to build on your proposal made at the end of Term 2 by collaborating on an original or adapted piece of work suitable for performance in a fringe theatre context. You will be allotted time with a director, musical director and choreographer, and will work in small groups to create, document, rehearse and eventually perform your work in a season of fringe theatre or cabaret.

Programme Structure

The MA Acting and the MA Musical Theatre are fully accredited by Drama UK (formerly known as the NCDT, the National Council for Drama Training). This guarantees that the courses, together with the contact teaching hours, class sizes and opportunities for professional practice and development conform to current exacting industry standards. When polled, 99% of our MA students said that it was an imperative in selecting their course. We currently have more than 40 MA students on these courses.