Andrew Davidson
Senior Lecturer in Acting & Musical Theatre, Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Theatre
FHEA, FRSA, MMus, PGDip (Directing), PGDip (Composition), BA (Theatre), BMus (Hons I)
About
Biography
Andrew Davidson is an Australian theatre practitioner, musician, and award-winning teacher. He is Senior Lecturer in Acting & Musical Theatre at Guildford School of Acting (GSA), University of Surrey. Andrew is a graduate of Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). He directs plays, opera, musicals, and cabaret. As Head of Dramatic Arts at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM), Andrew established a unique training programme in Acting and Theatre Making. Andrew studied music composition at The University of Sydney. As a composer, he has written for drama, musical theatre, and dance. As a music educator, he is a qualified teacher of Dalcroze Eurhythmics and Kodály Musicianship. As a freelance musician, he plays piano for ballet and contemporary dance. Andrew is a published researcher and has presented at international conferences and symposia.
University roles and responsibilities
- Senior Lecturer in Acting & Musical Theatre
- Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Theatre
- Teaching on all performance programmes
- Wellbeing Champion for GSA
- Mental Health First Aider (MHFA England)
- LGBTQIA+ Awareness Trainer for UoS
My qualifications
Master of Music
Longy School of Music of Bard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Postgraduate Diploma in Directing
National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney, Australia
Postgraduate Diploma in Composition
The University of Sydney, Australia
Bachelor of Arts in Theatre
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Bachelor of Music (Honours Class I)
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Diplôme Supérieur Méthode Jaques-Dalcroze
Institute Jaques-Dalcroze, Geneva, Switzerland
Certificate in Kodály Music Education
British Kodály Academy (BKA), London, UK
CELTA Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Cambridge University & University of Technology Sydney
Continuing Professional Development
Highlights: Decolonising the Curriculum; Eating Disorders & Body Image; Equity, Diversity & Inclusivity; Intimacy on Set; Mental Health First Aid; Shakespeare & Race; Student & Staff Dynamics; Online Engagement; Unconscious Bias
Affiliations and memberships
International Guild of Musicians in Dance (IGMD)
Professional Member
News
In the media
December 2020
THE NEW DALCROZIAN is the first podcast discussing the work of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze as practised in the 21st century. Hosts Anthony Molinaro and Lauren Hodgson explore topics related to Dalcroze Eurhythmics and music education. In this episode, Andrew Davidson gives us the history of Hellerau. Listen from 13'30".
A History of Hellerau
The New Dalcrozian
November 2021
HAMBURG OPEN ONLINE UNIVERSITY (HOOU) presents Andrew Davidson in an online seminar entitled Dalcroze Eurhythmics and Actor Training. This Open Educational Resource (OER) is produced by the Hamburg University of Music and Drama, and is episode three of Rhythmik / Musik und Bewegung.
Dalcroze Eurhythmics & Actor Training
Hamburg Open Online University
May 2022
THE UNCENSORED CRITIC is a podcast where Ollie Gower talks to actors, directors, movement directors, creatives, and anyone in love with the arts. In this episode, Andrew Davidson discusses the work of Sanford Meisner, his links to Stanislavski, Stella Adler, and Lee Strasberg, and how actors achieve their best work through listening to each other.
On Meisner and Script Analysis
The Uncensored Critic
Teaching
2015-present: As a Senior Lecturer at GSA, Andrew teaches across all programmes in Acting, Actor Musician, Musical Theatre, and Applied Theatre. Andrew has directed projects including: All My Sons, Everybody's Talking about Jamie, Fiddler on the Roof, The Glass Menagerie, Hedda Gabler, The Heidi Chronicles, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Rabbit Hole, The Taming of the Shrew, and Women of Troy.
2013-2015: As an Associate Lecturer at Drama Centre London, Andrew taught Acting through Song for the BA Actors, and Ensemble Singing for the MA Actors. He was an Associate at Arts Ed and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Andrew was the Acting Tutor for Central School of Ballet and a Piano Accompanist for London Contemporary Dance. He taught Dalcroze Eurhythmics for Trinity Laban Conservatoire and Dalcroze UK.
2007-2013: As Head of Dramatic Arts at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM), Andrew created and led the Bachelor of Performance degree. Andrew taught Performance Skills, Performance Practice, and Contextual Studies. He directed productions including: Before / After, The Laramie Project, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, On the Razzle, Playhouse Creatures, pool (no water), Women of Troy, and The Who's Tommy.
2001-2006: As Musical Director for Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP), Andrew wrote music for plays by Tommy Murphy and Rebel Wilson. He created music for the ATYP Foundation Launch and led the songwriter cabaret, Songs for the Numb. He was awarded ATYP Tutor of the Year in 2006. In this same period, Andrew directed Tony Kushner's The Illusion, and an acclaimed production of Mozart's The Magic Flute.
Publications
Andrew Davidson [in process] (2023) "Identity, relationship, and function: reflecting on student experience in higher music education through the gaps between solfege systems", British Journal of Music Education
This paper investigates the gaps between solfege systems used for ear training and sight singing in higher music education. It considers historical motivations for labelling musical pitch and asserts that each of these motivations continues to be relevant to the contemporary music classroom. The author discerns three reasons to label musical pitch, dependent on what is being taught: the identity of the note; the relationship between notes; and the function of the note. The paper then takes a philosophical turn, proposing that this same vocabulary (i.e., identity, relationship, and function) can be used to enrich music students’ understanding of themselves and others, as artists and educators, creating a human analogy for the objectives of solfege. This reflective process has particular relevance to music teacher training and continuing professional development for teaching musicians. The paper does not engage with unhelpful debates about better or worse solfege systems. Instead, it urges music educators to recognise the proposed reasons to label and to articulate them to their students, thus clarifying the intent of their teaching. The paper is written from the author’s perspective as a qualified teacher of Dalcroze Eurhythmics, the Kodály Concept, and General Musicianship. Its themes are transferable to readers engaged in music teacher training.
Andrew Davidson (2021) "Konstantin Stanislavski and Emile Jaques-Dalcroze: historical and pedagogical connections between actor training and music education", Stanislavski Studies
This paper explores the fields of actor training and music education in order to illuminate the historical and pedagogical connections between the work of Konstantin Stanislavski and Emile Jaques-Dalcroze. It identifies historical parallels between their artistic practices, including their dedication to rhythm and polyrhythm. It illustrates the ways in which their pedagogical paths crossed. It analyses the artistic lineage that can be drawn from the work of Jaques-Dalcroze at the Hellerau Institute to the work of Stanislavski at the Moscow Art Theatre. This includes the influence of Dalcroze Eurhythmics on the development of Tempo-Rhythm. The paper considers how aspects of Stanislavskian actor training are reflected in aspects of Dalcrozian music education, including ensemble work, intention and emotion, and the evolution of psychophysical performance. It proposes that there is a correlation between the creative process undertaken by an actor on a play text, known as Active Analysis, and the creative process undertaken by a musician on a compositional score, known as Plastique Animée. Comparing the pedagogical principles of Stanislavski and Jaques-Dalcroze from the author’s own perspective as an actor trainer and music educator reveals areas for further research. This paper presents themes that are transferable to artists and educators engaged in continuing professional development.
Andrew Davidson (2021) "‘The cycle of creativity’: a case study of the working relationship between a dance teacher and a dance musician in a ballet class", Research in Dance Education
Research on the role of the ballet pianist is limited. A gap in the literature concerns the ways in which dance instructors and accompanists ‘make sense’ of their collaboration. The working relationship between a dance teacher and a dance musician in a ballet class was investigated. The researcher, a ballet pianist, conducted a semi-structured, in-depth interview with a ballet-teacher colleague who is also a musician and composer. The data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a methodology which takes into account the interpretations of the participant (dance teacher) and the researcher (dance musician). This single case study presents three higher-order themes: ‘the cycle of creativity’ between the teacher, musician, and students; ‘a tonic sense in the body’ facilitated by the musician’s playing; and ‘the ideal situation’ regarding the musician’s sensory awareness during the class. It also reveals two subordinate themes that challenge effective relationships: the students’ perceived response to percussion; and the teacher’s use of recorded music. The results offer insight into specific perceptions and understandings that are transferable to dance teachers and dance musicians engaged in continuing professional development.
Andrew Davidson (2023) "The listening actor: intersections between the musicality of Meisner Technique and ear training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics", Theatre, Dance and Performance Training
Discussion on the role of listening in actor training is limited. Compared with studies on ear training for conservatoire music students, there is a gap in the literature regarding the ways in which student actors acquire and improve listening skills. This paper investigates the musicality inherent in Meisner Technique, an approach to actor training, and points to intersections with ear training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, an approach to music education. It analyses the common ground between these pedagogical practices, drawing on sources from a variety of domains in which listening is foregrounded. It asserts that Meisner Technique and Dalcroze Eurhythmics promote similar forms of responsive, interpretative, and collaborative listening skills. This paper is written from the author’s interdisciplinary perspective as a teacher of acting and music at a university conservatoire. It offers insight into practical training through a personal, philosophical lens. Its themes are transferable to actor trainers and music educators engaged in continuing professional development.
Andrew Davidson (2021) "Identifying Eurhythmics in Actor Training: The Viewpoints of Time & Space", Le Rythme: The Artistic Identity of Eurhythmics
The influence of eurhythmics on Actor Training can be viewed as an elaborate and variegated family tree. In this article, I focus on a single branch of that tree. I identify and describe the artistic and pedagogical DNA of eurhythmics within Viewpoints: an approach to Actor Training developed by Anne Bogart in the USA over the past four decades. I begin with a brief outline of the historical and philosophical contexts for eurhythmics and Viewpoints. I illustrate the parallels and intersections between eurhythmics and Viewpoints as I have experienced them as an acting teacher at university and conservatory drama schools. I describe the Viewpoints of Time and Space in practice, and provide examples of complements to be found in eurhythmics. The article offers insight into my perception of a Dalcroze identity within Viewpoints Training that is transferable to eurhythmics teachers engaged in continuing professional development.
Andrew Davidson, Ian Maxwell, and Parvinder Shergill (2022) "Resilience and Wellbeing in Actor Training", Be the Change: Learning and Teaching for the Creative Industries
Across the conservatoire sector, resilience and wellbeing have come into sharp focus during the global pandemic. Until recently, research has paid only limited attention to the field of actor training in this regard. This chapter presents Andrew Davidson, director, musician, teacher, and Wellbeing Champion for Guildford School of Acting (GSA) in conversation with Associate Professor Ian Maxwell, lecturer and researcher at the University of Sydney, and co-author of the Australian Actors’ Wellbeing Study; and Dr Parvinder Shergill, award-winning doctor in mental health for the National Health Service (NHS), writer, actress, and filmmaker. The conversation considers current challenges for acting students and teachers, and the lived experiences of graduates and professionals in the industry. Two viewpoints emerge from the discussion: an individual perspective on the development of self during actor training; and an industrial perspective on the transition into and through the acting profession. The individual perspective gives a snapshot of wellbeing in actor training and offers a creative vision of resilience. The industrial perspective takes an anthropological and phenomenological view of the acting profession and recommends radical cultural change.