Musical Theatre

The module will be presented as a series of lecture/seminars introducing key practitioners, concepts, and contexts, exploring how the history of musical theatre performance informed – and was informed by – social and cultural developments across cultures, societies, and art forms.

It will encourage students to understand performance in relation to historical, cultural, social, and political contexts to inform their practical work on other modules. The module will contextualise musical theatre from a variety of broader perspectives, say gender or national identity, and will require students to consider their practical work in relation to the context(s) in which said work was written and first performed.

This performance ‘training’ module will introduce students to a variety of foundational techniques and skills that will be assessed here, while also implemented in other modules/projects. The module will explore several different acting techniques, be it ‘mining the text’ or ‘viewpoints’, and engage with the work of key practitioners, i.e. Stanislavski. Students will work on both individual and group material to develop as both an individual actor, but also as a group – or ensemble – member.

This module will provide a foundation for students by introducing, and exploring through practice, several key texts, textual approaches, practitioners, and broader approaches to acting in musical theatre.

This module is an introduction to basic principles of vocal sound production technique from a holistic, release-based perspective. Fundamentals include: application of abdominal, thoracic, vertebral breathing patterns to sound production; techniques for the use of resonators and the cultivation of resonance; work with sustained tones; articulation of sound in the English language and alinguistic sounds.

The module focuses on the development of the performer by building skills, knowledge and understanding through safe dance practice. Ballet and Jazz techniques, practices and approaches will underpin the classes on the module, supported by viewing live and video dance performance. Students will explore a range of movement styles and approaches with an aim of building their physical and expressive capacity. Focus will be on strength, flexibility, alignment and coordination to enable the exploration of different dance techniques and performance styles. Students will be encouraged to integrate these approaches to develop an individual embodiment for application in choreographic contexts dancing alone and as part of an ensemble/chorus.

This performance ‘project’ enables students to engage critically and creatively with a multitude of ‘texts’ to, ultimately, craft a devised group performance. The module employs skills developed in other modules to empower students as both individual and ensemble performers. The module introduces students to several key improvisation/devising techniques and practices, require students to devise a variety of solo or small performance pieces, before constructing (with the guidance of the tutor) a group performance for assessment. The group performance is likely to be contained, or influenced, by a broader theme, topic, or text(s) determined by the tutor.

This performance ‘project’ enables students to engage critically and creatively with a variety of musical theatre texts, styles, and genres. The module employs skills developed in other modules to empower students as both individual and ensemble performers. The module introduces students to several key musical theatre composers, librettists, directors, choreographers, and more, while also a variety of works from across different genres, contexts, and time periods (i.e. American ‘Golden Age’ musicals). The module culminates in the performance of a excerpts from several existing musicals, many of which will be contrasting in terms of style, genre, tone, compositional practice, time period, context, and so on.

This theoretical module will focus on understanding the way musical theatre performance responds to and is received in the context of history, genre, form, and socio-cultural identity politics. It will introduce key theoretical concepts, including globalisation, interculturalism, adaptation, and postmodernism, plus key political developments such as identity politics (i.e. feminism or intersectionality) and theories of the body to challenge the idea that musical theatre is simply ‘entertainment’.

It will be taught through lectures, seminars, and classroom discussions and tasks. The work of this module will inform the practical exploration in other modules and projects.

This advanced performance ‘training’ module will develop student’s existing knowledge and understanding of key acting techniques and skills for level 5 study. The module will both expand and introduce several different acting techniques, be it ‘actioning’ or ‘states of tension’, and engage with the work of key practitioners, i.e. Meisner. Students will work on both individual and group material to develop as both an individual actor, but also as a group – or ensemble – member.

This module will enable students to engage with, and exploring through practice, several key texts, textual approaches, practitioners, and broader approaches to acting in musical theatre.

This module allows students to focus on the development of their own voices in relation to singing a range of musical theatre repertoire. Drawing on the knowledge and exploration undertaken at level 4 this module will facilitate the further development of individual student vocal potential across a range of genres and contexts, with the aim of developing the student voice capable of operating confidently across musical theatre styles. Focus will be placed on the development of technical confidence, competence and understanding in order to facilitate engagement with a range of texts and repertoires across the spectrum of vocal use.  Emphasis will be placed on the development of critical thinking and analysis and the development of reflective practice.

This module will develop employability-focused skills through largely practical tasks and projects. Students will participate in a ‘swing’ project in which they learn several roles (or tracks) within a section of material (e.g., a portion of an act of a musical). This will demonstrate the flexibility required in being a working performer, many of which who are highly skilled at performing a different ‘track’ at a moment’s notice. The module also focuses on audition technique in terms of developing student’s repertoire in relation to casting types and specific audition briefs.

New musical theatre works are constantly being created for professional performance, community contexts, and for other environments. In this module you will have the opportunity to perform a short musical theatre work that is new to you or that you have made a contribution to creating. This process of working on newer material will help you to understand the ways in which musical theatre functions differently for audiences than for performers, to learn about the processes of translating a work from page to stage, and to begin to understand the dramaturgies of musical theatre.

This first semester module is focused on pieces of new musical theatre that in their very early stages of development, and will provide a workshop space for writers, directors, dramaturgs, and performers to collaborate on the development of the piece resulting in a workshop showing.

New musical theatre works are constantly being created for professional performance, community contexts, and for other environments. In this module you will have the opportunity to perform a short musical theatre work that is new to you or that you have made a contribution to creating. This process of working on newer material will help you to understand the ways in which musical theatre functions differently for audiences than for performers, to learn about the processes of translating a work from page to stage, and to begin to understand the dramaturgies of musical theatre.

This second semester module focuses on the rehearsal and small scale inhouse production of new musical theatre pieces that are at a later stage of development and the writers are ready to see how their musical plays in its entirety in front of small audiences. This module may require additional rehearsal time to effectively mount the whole show.

This module is designed to combine elements of learning from across the degree together, including creative devising, directing and dramaturgy, the implementation of dance skills to create choreography, acting, singing, as well as the industry module. Students will form small companies to engage in a process of experiential guided learning to gain experience in forming a company and making work. The aim is to give students the confidence to create similar work beyond the degree as a means of creating meaningful employment.

This production module offers the opportunity for students to be involved in a large, directed musical theatre performance. Students will be required to conduct background research about the musical, the context, and their role, to attend rehearsals and to develop their roles using techniques learned elsewhere on the programme. The module will culminate in the performance of the musical.

Following on from level 4 studies in Film Enterprise and level 5 studies on Digital Distribution, Work Placement and Volunteering: Community Filmmaking, this module prepares students for post-study employment opportunities. The module aims to provide students with a realistic knowledge of the current employment possibilities within the film industry and develops the important aspects and understanding of industry requirements needed for graduate entry into the film industry. Professional and current practitioners will advise and tutor students on seeking and securing work within a particular sector, ones that compliment skills acquired on the Film Production degree. To hone interpersonal skills, each student will present their completed website and showreel, inclusive of a reflexive accounting of their creative choices.

This module develops understanding of how advance post-production techniques are deployed in the modern film production process. Using a wide range of Adobe Creative Cloud applications (Premiere, Photoshop, After Effects etc.) you will create a short film sequence utilising and demonstrating post- production techniques. Seminars and workshops will explore examples of post-production techniques in current use and provide historical context to improve understanding. This module will equip students with advanced skills in post- production appropriate to entry into the film and media production industries. A formative task affords project progression tutor feedback.

• Technique and Repertoire - 30 Credits
• Dissertation - 30 Credits

This module is designed to combine elements of learning from across the degree together, including creative devising, directing and dramaturgy, the implementation of dance skills to create choreography, acting, singing, as well as the industry module. Students will form small companies to engage in a process of experiential guided learning to gain experience in forming a company and making work. The aim is to give students the confidence to create similar work beyond the degree as a means of creating meaningful employment.

This production module offers the opportunity for students to be involved in a large, directed musical theatre performance. Students will be required to conduct background research about the musical, the context, and their role, to attend rehearsals and to develop their roles using techniques learned elsewhere on the programme. The module will culminate in the performance of the musical.

Following on from level 4 studies in Film Enterprise and level 5 studies on Digital Distribution, Work Placement and Volunteering: Community Filmmaking, this module prepares students for post-study employment opportunities. The module aims to provide students with a realistic knowledge of the current employment possibilities within the film industry and develops the important aspects and understanding of industry requirements needed for graduate entry into the film industry. Professional and current practitioners will advise and tutor students on seeking and securing work within a particular sector, ones that compliment skills acquired on the Film Production degree. To hone interpersonal skills, each student will present their completed website and showreel, inclusive of a reflexive accounting of their creative choices.

This module develops understanding of how advance post-production techniques are deployed in the modern film production process. Using a wide range of Adobe Creative Cloud applications (Premiere, Photoshop, After Effects etc.) you will create a short film sequence utilising and demonstrating post- production techniques. Seminars and workshops will explore examples of post-production techniques in current use and provide historical context to improve understanding. This module will equip students with advanced skills in post- production appropriate to entry into the film and media production industries. A formative task affords project progression tutor feedback.

• Technique and Repertoire - 30 Credits
• Dissertation - 30 Credits