Our Director, Debbie Winter, sat down with MA Voice Pedagogy student Christine Descher while she was in the process of preparing her research for publication.
We are now delighted to share that Christine's study, Singing as a Triple Threat: Performers’ Experiences Across Musical Theatre Disciplines, has been published in Voice and Speech Review (Descher, 2026).
Drawing on her experience as a performer and voice teacher working in musical theatre, Christine was inspired to explore an area that remains relatively under-researched: performers' experiences of combining singing, acting and dancing, and the impact this has on singing performance. Through interviews with musical theatre performers, her research examined the challenges, perceptions and strategies associated with performing across these disciplines simultaneously.
In this candid conversation, Christine discusses the inspiration behind the project, her research process, and some of the key themes that emerged from the study. She also reflects on the importance of practitioner-led research and how continued investigation in this area can contribute to performer training, vocal health, wellbeing and sustainability within the musical theatre industry.
Watch the full interview below to learn more about Christine's research journey and the findings of her newly published study.
Reference
Descher, C. (2026). Singing as a Triple Threat: Performers’ Experiences Across Musical Theatre Disciplines. Voice and Speech Review, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/23268263.2026.2673745
Interested in Musical Theatre Research?
Christine is also a member of the Musical Theatre Research Alliance (MTRA), a growing international community of practitioners, educators and researchers committed to advancing scholarship, innovation and knowledge exchange in musical theatre.
Christine Descher
Christine is a singer, voice teacher, and coach. She trained in and taught western classical music and now specialises in musical theatre.
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