Musical Theatre Pathways: Vocalist or Actor Training?

Researchers from the Russian State Social University and thee Schnittke Moscow State Institute of Music sought out to identify the most efficient model to prepare a student in a career as a musical theatre actor.

The study compared the curricula of six music and theatre colleges, specifically the ratio of lessons on vocals for actors and lessons on acting for vocalists. They also performed analytical observation through audience survey and critical reviews in journalistic publications to see assessment of the actors’ acting and singing in professional engagements. These lines of analysis aimed to look at the effectiveness of performers’ mastery of acting, vocals, dance, stage movement, and stage speech.

The results suggest that training a vocalist in acting shows greater effectiveness in training musical theatre performers compared to the opposite model of training an actor in the vocal arts. This may be due to training the specifics of professional requirements for musical actors. For example, musical theatre requires the combination of singing, dancing, and acting, As such, a vocalist needs to have train coordination, flexibility, and physical fitness. Educational programs that train vocalists tend to focus on this coordination.

The main objective of educational institutions in the arts is to prepare students to work in the current industry and to be able to develop their skills for an ever-changing world. This study shows that a focus on vocal training may lead to creating artists with skills that can be applied not only to musical theatre but also to other facets of show business, including film and non-musical theatre.