This document contains a skills audit completed by a student assessing their skills and abilities across various areas relevant to musical theatre. It evaluates their understanding and skill level for movement, vocal, interpretive, character, physical, dance, singing, personal management and other specialist skills. It then provides long term SMART targets set by the student to improve in acting, dancing, singing and professionalism. The targets are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. The student reviews whether they achieved each target, how they did so, and what difference it has made to their skills and abilities.

1. Skills Audit
START OF UNIT 2
No
understanding/
no skill
Some
understanding/
some skill
Good
understanding/
good skill
Excellent
understanding/
excellentskill
MOVEMENT SKILLS
Coordination 
Balance 
Weightplacement 
Focusand control 
Spatial awareness 
relaxation 
Movementmemory 
Gesture 
Facial Expression 
Characterisation 
Pace,energy,dynamics 
trust 
VOCAL SKILLS
articulation 
inflection 
modulation 
projection 
register 
pitch 
timing 
breath control 
use of pause 
use of pace 
dialect and accent 
characterisation 
projection. 

2. MUSICAL THEATRE INTERPRETIVE SKILLS
analysis of score, dialogue, lyrics
and choreography to build an
understanding of

character and relationships to other
roles/characters

social and historical background of
the musical

author’s/composer’s/choreographer’s
intention

CHARACTER INTERPRETATION
Analysingphysical characteristics 
Proxemics/relationships 
Semiotics 
Sub-text 
PHYSICAL SKILLS
characterisation 
facial expression 
gesture 
mannerism 
posture 
rhythm and tempo 
weight placement 
timing and pace 
relationship 
reaction and interaction with other
characters/roles

audience 
proxemics 
use of space 
use and manipulation of props and
equipment.


3. DANCE PHYSICAL SKILLS
physical skills appropriate to the
dance style

physical characterisation and
expression

timing and rhythmic accuracy 
emphasis 
musicality 
phrasing 
projection 
breathing 
impetus 
facial expression 
bodily expression 
relationship 
reaction and interaction with other
performers

stylistic quality of movement 
use of space 
spatial awareness. 
MUSICAL THEATRE AND SINGING SKILLS
tuning 
rhythm 
tempo 
intonation 
musicality 
dynamics 
characterisation 
projection 
phrasing 
expression 
awareness of accompaniment. 

4. PERSONAL MANAGEMENT SKILLS
attendance and punctuality 
being ready to work, warming up
and cooling down

wearing correct attire and
presentation, e.g. footwear, dance
wear, loose clothing,

hair tied back, no jewellery 
concentration and focus 
learning dialogue and actions 
listening and responding positively
to direction, instruction and
feedback

willingness to experiment and try
things out

sensitivity and empathy towards
others.

SPECIALIST SKILLS: please give details

5. LONG TERM TARGETS
Look at your initial skills audit and set yourself a long term SMART target for acting, dancing,
singing and one other fromthe initial skills audit sub headings.
SMART TARGETS - Long Term target no. 1 ON ACTING SKILLS
Specific EXACTLY whatis it
you want to
achieve (state:
which, who, what,
where, when, why,)
I need to nail my characterisation of Danny Zuko. As
currently my confidence for playing the character isn’t
extremely high as my knowledge of Danny isn’t vast.
Reasons for this is the characters of Grease carry the
narrative and are so iconic. Audiences already have an
image of how Danny should be so I need to meet their
expectations if not exceed them. Grease is such a
character based musical so I must get Danny right to
captivate audiences and match the stylistic nature of
the show. Overall in the musical theatre industry it will
be expected of me to know these iconic characters of
famous musicals and also to show off my skills and
talents by matching the style of the musical and
having a fantastic characterisation on whatever
character I’m given regardless on if I’ve seen
him/played him before or not.
Measurable How will you
demonstratethat
your target has
been met?
By asking my director for clear feedback and going
over each scene again and again until it flows naturally
and I am not worrying about character and just
performing it. I’ll also ask my peers for their
observations and ask what their opinion is and see if in
their eyes I have improved.
Achievable How will you
ensurethis is in
your ability? Are
there specific
resources thatcan
assistyou? Can it
be done at all?
This is an achievable target as once placed within the
industry this will just be expected. Therefore I am
going to first of all watch the film of Grease to how
John Travolta played Danny, then watch other live
interpretations from various performances here I will
analyse their mannerisms and spot their idiosyncrasies
so I can adapt it into my version of Zuko. Industry
performers have to do this all the time, research plays
a key part in how a performance is created, even if
they aren’t watching a previous version of their
character they will still be inspired by different
characters/performers from various platforms. So
achieving this target will be a great insight to how
research can enhance my individual performance and
prepare me on how to use vital research in multiplying
my characterisation.

6. Realistic Itshould be
challenging but
realistic. Why/how
is it realistic?
This target is realistic in nature as I previously
mentioned researching into a role and working
characterisation is a necessity if wanting to succeed in
musical theatre industry. I’m not going out of my
depths by trying to develop my role, I should be doing
this and I will.
Time frame Clearly specifies
target dates,
review dates. Itwill
give a feasible
deadline and a
reason.
I want to reach this target by the February showcase.
As by then it needs to be mastered for audiences to
enjoy my interpretation and if I haven’t achieved this
target by then I will be embarrassed and massively
disappointed in myself. This wouldn’t be accepted in
the industry so it must be achieved.
Review of this SMARTtarget
Have you achieved it? How did you achieve it? When did you achieve it? What difference
has it made to you as an actor?
Yes I believe I achieved this target, I did this by thorough research and applying particular drama skills
to make sure that my characterisation was spot on. I watched multiple interpretations of Danny Zuko to
see how did different performers project that over the top attitude, I particularly kept watching the
performer in Grease Live and his version as he truly made it his own maintaining that Travolta sass but
also applying a bit of a smug/arrogant sense to him. This then led on to my drama skills, I applied
particular gestures and idiosyncrasies that I would continuously repeat subtly throughout the show to
constantly have the persona of Danny, these were pulling my collar up and always having a smug smile
reaction to each of the T-Birds, which then completely altered when talking to Sandy. Watching it back I
believed this worked as I communicated each quality about Danny Zuko. This process has helped me
consider the neat process involved when researching a character and playing them, I can apply these
research methods and drama skills into the professional industry to future characters I am given.

7. SMART TARGETS - Long Term target 2 ON DANCE SKILLS
Specific EXACTLY whatis it
you want to
achieve (state:
which, who, what,
where, when, why,)
With me wanting to improve my characterisation I
must also retain this whilst dancing. My long term
target for dance is to represent the stylised nature of
Grease through my dance and match the
choreographed movements from our chosen
repertoire by this I mean I want my confidence in
character dancing to increase. Currently I majorly lack
in confidence in my dancing ability, I do not want to
hold this feeling nor display that to audiences as it will
completely step myself out of the character if I notice
even of them thoughts. A big improvement in this is of
course I wish to make is to improve my dance ability
and confidence in it. So I feel if I can tackle this big
hurdle then it will strengthen me as an overall triple
threat performer.
Measurable How will you
demonstratethat
your target has
been met?
This target is measurable as I will constantly refer back
to the target I made at the end of each rehearsal. I will
also document the rehearsal process through video,
once having multiple videos I can pull up a comparison
of my first attempt to my latest. Hopefully as the
videos go on I should begin to notice I am in time
more with my peers and successfully communicating
my character.
Achievable How will you
ensurethis is in
your ability? Are
there specific
resources thatcan
assistyou? Can it
be done at all?
It's achievable as it's necessary, I amwanting top
marks for my performance and I also want to excite
audiences, neither of these aims can be achieved
without focusing on improving my ability. This isn't
out of reach, I realise I will need more rehearsal time
than others and more help from my choreographer
and directors as dance isn't my strong suit but with
this extra added time I should excel in my abilities and
reach my goal.
Realistic Itshould be
challenging but
realistic. Why/how
is it realistic?
It is a realistic goal as I wish to take this target and
rehearsal process as a massive learning curve, as I am
wanting to be a musical theatre performer I recognise
that my chances in receiving roles will grow if I also
have the confidence and comfortability to dance. This
target isn't to become the master dancer but instead
to increase my confidence in this art form and excite
character with movement which I feel is a necessary
attribute to have in the field/industry I'm wanting to
step into.

8. Time frame Clearly specifies
target dates,
review dates. Itwill
give a feasible
deadline and a
reason.
I should complete this target by January as by then the
rehearsals will be spent polishing up and making finer
adjustments so I won't have as much time to try and
communicate my character through dance. So if I can
already have it under my belt then I can focus on the
polishing completely to overall make it a slick
performance.
Review of this SMARTtarget
Have you achieved it? How did you achieve it? When did you achieve it? What difference
has it made to you as an actor?
I can say in full confidence that I have achieved this target, when watching the dances back I see myself
as Danny Zuko and not myself, I am so pleased about this as I believe this is the hardest target I had set
myself as I struggle with dancing as it is, but I made sure I didn’t have a look of concentration on my
face once so I remained in character. I did this by going over the dance again and again until it became
muscle memory but also adding to the dance whilst learning it my character traits; shoulders back, chin
up, smiley smug face, loose body. I felt I had achieved this just going into our final two weeks of
preparation for the show, which took a bit longer than what was comfortable but once I was there I
wasn’t leaving. This has made a huge difference regarding my acting as I feel I slipped into the dance
naturally and with more confidence because I was Danny a confidence dancer not Ramy who is a
nervous dancer. I must continue this learnt skill and keep applying it to future routines I become apart
of.

9. SMART TARGETS - Long Term target 3 ON SINGING SKILLS
Specific EXACTLY whatis it
you want to
achieve (state:
which, who, what,
where, when, why,)
My target is to work on my phrasing of notes whilst
singing song. Currently I adapt and sing the lyrics
how I like and not how it's meant to be sung. An
example is me breaking particular notes in Summer
Nights as it's easier instead of holding one out. To
fix this I must gain help from my vocal coaches and
gain tips and techniques that make me feel more at
ease with holding a long note.
Measurable How will you
demonstratethat
your target has
been met?
I'll measure this by recording multiple attempts of
me singing Summer Nights with the times in
between spent learning and finding my voice. With
Grease the musical everything needs to sound
natural so I need to constantly be aware of my
gradually improvement and work with it, even in
rehearsals leading up to the night.
Achievable How will you
ensurethis is in
your ability? Are
there specific
resources thatcan
assistyou? Can it
be done at all?
This target is achievable as already when I made
that mistake my singing teacher helped me
perform the opposite and it worked, I held my note
correctly by impersonating what she was doing.
The reason it is a target despite picking it up so
quick is before I need it to become second nature,
I've realised for big musical numbers to be
performed correctly you don't just need a voice you
need the ear for it too. Within the industry I may
have any song thrown at me and I need to be able
to just hear it and pick it up knowing how to sing it
straight away, meaning having the correct string of
notes, pitch, breath control etc. So this target will
help towards that main goal.
Realistic Itshould be
challenging but
realistic. Why/how
is it realistic?
It's a realistic goal as it simply takes practice and
like I have already mentioned within the workshop
I made the mistake of breaking the note/lyric I was
already fixing it making it sound more fluid.
However I just need to be able to eventually listen
to songs and know what string of notes should held
and which shouldn't. This particular target is a skill

10. many musical theatre performers would consider is
a necessity.
Time frame Clearly specifies
target dates,
review dates. Itwill
give a feasible
deadline and a
reason.
I need to have it done within the next fortnight as I
don't want to waste any time going over and over
the same techniques once I know them properly I
can confidently say that I'll attach them to my list
skills optimising the ability when needed.
Review of this SMARTtarget
Have you achieved it? How did you achieve it? When did you achieve it? What
difference has it made to you as an actor?
Yeah I achieved this target early in the process when having a singing workshop with our singing
specialist Mrs Guy. I achieved it by her breaking the song down and highlighting where I am going
wrong and beginning to make it my own, Mrs Guy wouldn’t move on until I had sang it correctly
which helped and not to mention should voice record my voice and point exactly what was wrong
with it e.g. holding the note too long, pronouncing the vowels strangely etc. As from previous
research it had been made clear to me that this would be unacceptable in the industry so I must not
fall back into this silly habit.

11. SMART TARGETS - Long Term target 4 ON Professionalism
Specific EXACTLY whatis it
you want to
achieve (state:
which, who, what,
where, when, why,)
I need to focus sooner and quicker. With the
industry being a cut throat world I need to bring my
A game to each and every single rehearsal I take
part of and performance. Therefore I have noticed
that I can often take a few minutes to begin fully
focusing in workshops and rehearsals, I recognise
this needs to change in order to stand out.
Measurable How will you
demonstratethat
your target has
been met?
I will measure my target through peer and tutor
observations. I will ask my fellow classmates and
teachers if they have noticed a change in my
attitude as soon as I walk into the lesson and if they
say no I know it’s something I still have to massively
focus on improving.
Achievable How will you
ensurethis is in
your ability? Are
there specific
resources thatcan
assistyou? Can it
be done at all?
My target is easily achievable as it doesn’t even
question my skills or abilities nor does it take
practice. It only asks how high my drive and
determination is to succeed and I want to portray
mine as really high as it is. And I will do this by
achieving this target.
Realistic Itshould be
challenging but
realistic. Why/how
is it realistic?
It is most definitely a realistic target as necessarily
it isn’t even that challenging I just need to focus
more and achieve my absolute best.
Time frame Clearly specifies
target dates,
review dates. Itwill
give a feasible
deadline and a
reason.
This needs to be achieved within the next fortnight
as I don’t want to waste any precious
rehearsal/workshop time getting into gear or focus
and instead just instantly be driven no matter what
art form we are doing.
Review of this SMARTtarget
Have you achieved it? How did you achieve it? When did you achieve it? What
difference has it made to you as an actor?
After reflection I definitely achieved this target very quickly. I drove myself into the habit that
despite whatever mood I was in outside the studio space or theatre as soon as I walked in I was
infectiously happy and optimistic forcing everyone else’s moods to be lifted meaning energy is
brought up. By the second week I had already fallen used to this and so had my peers. It has

12. increased my level of professionalismI believe, as all the world is left outside including all emotions,
this made me begin to focus more and get more done. In the professional industry there will be
many people who do this on a regular basis and that is who I am striving to be like, those natural
optimists.