This document outlines the skills and training required to become a musical theatre performer. It discusses the three art forms of singing, dancing, and acting that must be mastered. Performers must be punctual and able to take direction and criticism. Training can occur at schools like Mountview or Lipa, which accept students through auditions and workshops. Musical theatre performers work with directors, choreographers, and other collaborators. Maintaining health, fitness, and balancing a career with personal life can also present challenges.

1. How to be a Musical Theatre
Performer

2. My Aspiration- Kerry Ellis
• Kerry Ellis is an inspirational musical theatre
performer whom I admire and would love to be
like within my future career.
• She has performed many times in West End and
Broadway with roles such as, Meat (wwry),
Elphaba (Wicked) Nancy (Oliver) fantine (Les
Mis) and brought out musical albums.
• She has managed to sustain a career ever since
her first West End production, this is through
dedication, hard work and passion.

3. 3 Art Forms
Singer:
• Wide range
• Harmonise
• Ensemble
• Characterisation
• Timing
• Solo work
• Breath control
• Looking after the voice
Dancer:
• Diversity of styles
• Stamina
• Learn choreography
• Characterisation
• Ensemble
Actor:
• Characterisation
• Take on direction
• Accent
• Projection
• Memorise lines
• Look after voice
All of these skills have to be
performed at a high standard
with tuition in the lead up to
auditions.

4. • You have to be punctual by:
• Turning up on time – first impressions
• 100% prepared – dedication
• Meet every deadline – lines
• Take on constructive criticism –
improvement
WHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT

6. Training Routes
• Entry requirements: ‘Mountview is committed to
offering training to people from a wide variety of
backgrounds. To reflect this, our admission policy is
through audition and interview rather than academic
qualifications.’
• Audition Process: workshop, speeches and Q&A.
• Courses available: Acting, Actor Musician, Musical
Theatre, Creative Producing, Musical Direction, Theatre
Directing and Theatre production arts.
• Mountview does not offer open days.
• They have many successful people from Mountview such
as: Mina Anwar, Glynis Barber, Justin Edwards and
Graham Gill.

7. • Entry requirements:BA (hons) Applied Theatre and
Community Drama requires GCSE grade C, 2 A levels
grade B and C, BTEC diploma merit/ distinction with a
minimum of 72/80 UCAS points.
• Courses Available: BA (hons) Acting, BA (hons) Applied
Theatre and Community Drama, BA (hons) Dance, BA
(hons) Music, Foundation Certificate in Commercial
Dance
• Audition Process: a workshop, a guided tour, and your
individual audition slot.
• Lipa offer open days throughout the year for potential
students to look at.
• A student from Lipa, Eduardo De La Paz Canel, has
successfully won double Grammy award for an album.

8. Comparing both schools

9. Who do Musical Theatre Performers
work with?
• Directors
• Choreographers
• Vocal coaches
• Musical directors
• Make up and wardrobe
• Understudies

10. Life Factors
• Stress – Due to long hours of rehearsal, the strenuous dance
work outs, lack of employment, fatigue and pressures of
deadlines.
• Fitness – Musical theatre performance have to maintain a
certain level of fitness to keep up with dance routines, long
hours of rehearsals.
• Family and social obligations – Unsociable hours, working
weekends, evenings and holidays.
• Diet – A healthy balanced diet is essential for a performer so
that it maintains good health, wellbeing and energy levels.
• Financial matters – Theatre performers have to consider that
work is not always continuous and can be seasonal and
sporadic.

12. • Morris, Rebecca (May 29th 2016) What skills do
musical performers need? Available at:
https://www.quora.com/What-skills-do-musical-
theater-performers-need [Accessed 16/2/17]
• Mountview Website. Available at:
http://www.mountview.org.uk/applying.html
[Accessed 15/2/17]
• Lipa Website. Available at: https://lipa.ac.uk/
[Accessed 15/2/17]
• Anomalous writer (N/A) performance techniques.
Available at:
http://www.vocalist.org.uk/performance_techniq
ues.html [Accessed 19/2/17]