The Experience of Authenticity for the Musical Theatre performer: Considerations, Challenges and Opportunities
Tuesday 15th October 2024, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
This short course explores the role that authenticity plays in the training of the musical theatre performer by looking at its history, its influence on actor training and its impact on speaking and singing voice pedagogies. Challenges related to the use of this fascinating and elusive ideal are explored, as well as opportunities for a revised practical approach geared towards musical theatre vocal work.
The course is structured in three parts: the first will explore the concept of authenticity by placing it in an historical context that will help us identify its privileged relationship with theatre and actor training. The second will outline the results of a research project investigating how young performers experience ideas such as authenticity, individuality and truthfulness in their practical day-to-day studies or professional work. The third will propose exercises and activities aimed at bringing a revised approach to authenticity into the classroom.
At the end of the course, you will have been exposed to ideas and reflections on authenticity ranging from the philosophical to the practical, as assumptions at the heart of actor training that have shaped the dualism between voice and singing pedagogies will be presented and discussed. As a result of these discussions, musical theatre will emerge as an art form needing a specific framework that refuses dualistic polarities in favour of difference and complexity existing without a need for conflict or resolution.
🏷️ Price £30 (UK VAT inclusive)
🎥 Recording automatically sent to all who book (even if you cannot attend live)
▶️ Rewatch as many times as you like
📜 Certificate of attendance available
Marco Morbidelli
Marco Morbidelli holds a master’s degree in voice studies from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and works at Mountview as Course Leader for the BA Performance programme (Acting, Actor Musicianship and Musical Theatre pathways) as well as Joint Head of Singing.
Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.
Learn MoreSorry, this is an archived short course...
We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.
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This six-week course is an opportunity to learn about both Received Pronunciation and Standard Southern British English. Rather than a course in learning how to speak RP/SSBE (there are many brilliant available courses for this already), this course is about learning how to coach it.
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5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
The Use of Vibrato in Belt and Legit Styles of Singing in Professional Female Musical Theatre Performers
Dr. Alyssa Becker
Shaped by the popular music of its time, musical theatre blends storytelling with an ever-evolving range of vocal styles—from classical legit singing to jazz, hip-hop, and powerhouse belting. Despite its importance, much of what we understand about vibrato comes from laboratory-based studies that strip singing of its musical, stylistic, and performance context. Join Dr Alyssa Becker as she connects current research with real-world pedagogy, revealing how elite musical theatre performers strategically use vibrato to shape style and storytelling, and showing how these insights can be applied in the voice studio to train stylistic flexibility and control!
Wednesday 18th March 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
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Ruth Williams Hennessy
Are you a singer or speaker struggling with stubborn jaw tension that just won't quit? Even with elite training, the "stuck" jaw is often a symptom of a surprising culprit: your feet! Join Ruth Hennessy in this interactive workshop where she bridges the gap between podiatry and phonation, moving beyond "temporary fixes" to address the physical misalignments that bottleneck your performance.