Academics Jessica O’Bryan and Scott D. Harrison introduce their most recent book on Musical Theatre Education and Training by acknowledging that it has been a labour of love, saying: “We share a great passion for this artform, and for educating and training successive generations of artists”.
Their passion shines through in this informative and packed volume that brims over with fascinating facts, tips and stories. Outside of the authors’ historical research, much of the information has been acquired from in-depth discussions with industry participants across the UK, USA, Australia and further afield.
It is the interviews, with more than 100 musical theatre writers, composers, directors, designers and performers ranging from established artists and leading professionals as well as those just embarking on careers, that provide the core of this well-researched book. The quotes chosen offer candid and knowledgeable commentaries about this artform, exploring the practicalities of skills development and pre-tertiary training alongside the wider examination of how best to prepare musical theatre practitioners for the profession now and into the future.
Offering such a sweeping canvas, the authors have sensibly divided the book into three key parts with a brief summary between each part and bookended by a prologue and epilogue. Each chapter highlights existing knowledge, examining current literature and ideas, followed by an analysis of the perceptions and views of those interviewed.
The first chapter of Part One explores the qualities that make musical theatre a unique genre while subsequent chapters dissect the three major components of the artform – singing, acting and dance. Often known as the ‘triple threat’ (though the term is here contested by some participants), it provides a solid basis for the integration of these three sub-disciplines. The fifth chapter draws these disciplines together into a more coherent whole, looking at how the skills can merge and work together. Steeped in a common-sense approach, this is nevertheless an excellent summary of how to understand and deliver musical theatre.
Part Two widens the discussion to examine learning activities that go beyond the three main disciplines. ‘Contextual Studies’ considers a background in music history, theory and the role of musicianship. This is followed by an important chapter on ‘Career Diversification’ exploring key issues of career-readiness, entrepreneurship, marketing and self-promotion plus employability.
Here we learn that the expression ‘side hustle’, explained as having a fallback position or another string to your bow, is considered essential for anyone seeking a career in the entertainment industry. Animated participant comments follow thick and fast in this chapter, offering excellent quotes from industry leaders and others.
The last chapter explores ‘Complementary Skills’ such as composition, direction, choreography and musical direction, as well as playing an instrument – nowadays considered a fourth attribute for the ‘triple threat’ performer. Part Two highlights the ‘knowing, being and becoming’ skills of the musical theatre performer, adding to the ‘doing’ skills of Part One. It also offers a view that there is more to this artform than just what is being taught at a tertiary level.
Part Three moves into territory that has only become prevalent in recent years and – as the authors themselves note – away from what they had initially conceived as the main content of the book. It is potentially the most illuminating and relevant part for today’s world. Predicated on recent seismic shifts in the industry, this inclusion clearly reflects discussions with interviewees on the broader culture and needs of the profession. It explores issues of diversity and inclusion, matters of consent and safety and mental and physical health and wellbeing. There is much to be considered here and, heavily populated by participant comments, it is both a thought-provoking and often surprising read.
Depressingly, we learn that, despite advances being made in some areas of the arts and in training schools themselves, little appears to have changed in making musical theatre a more inclusive and diverse artform in the 21st century. This is true across the USA, UK and Australia, not helped by a decline in music and arts education in publicly funded schools across those three English-speaking regions. Overwhelmingly, musical theatre is still regarded as a privileged white middle-class artform. Socio-economic, financial and cultural barriers to access and inclusion in arts programs not only exist but appear to be the norm.
In terms of the structure of the book, and mainly in the second and third parts, participant quotes are wide-ranging and diverse, sometimes repetitive as they cross over with comments in other chapters of the book. This was perhaps understandable given the range of questions. One sensed that the authors’ collated material was immense and could not be adequately explored or represented in just this one volume.
Read: Book review: Grace and Marigold, Mira Robertson
The original intention of the authors was “to explore skill acquisition and to better understand the unique culture of musical theatre in ways that might benefit its educators and the industry”. Subsequently, this was expanded into spending more time on participants’ contributions in areas such as discrimination within musical theatre education and the broader industry – so the book’s focus shifted.
Nevertheless, O’Bryan and Harrison have written a much-needed, thought-provoking and practical guide to the pedagogy of musical theatre training in the 21st century. That it has expanded into examining pertinent current issues is all to the good and makes it much more than a mere textbook about musical theatre. By examining a range of complementary skills and important issues of diversity and inclusion, it takes a clear-eyed view at the changing face of the industry as a whole.
This is not a dry, academic study but rather an accessible and eminently readable book that should appeal and have direct relevance to practitioners, teachers and administrators of musical theatre and other performing arts courses. Additionally, it should prove to be a useful handbook for aspiring young performers, keen to understand the key attributes of their craft and how both their training and knowledge can help them achieve a long-lasting career in the profession.
Musical Theatre Education and Training in the 21st Century, Jessica O’Bryan and Scott D. Harrison
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9781138586734
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288pp
Publication: 17 September 2024
RRP: $55.99
