VSC Online Symposium 2025
Bridging the gap between artistic training and athletic conditioning, a diverse group of speakers and researchers will be delivering presentations and papers, focusing on promoting longevity and health of musical theatre performers. This symposium aims to elevate awareness surrounding the unique demands of performers, define best practices for training and care, and bridge the gap between different disciplines.
The Athletic Artist: Physical and Vocal Demands in Musical Theatre
Wednesday 26th November 2025
5 pm - 9 pm (GMT)
Join us for our very first online symposium, dedicated to bridging the gap between artistic training and athletic conditioning for performers!
Symposium cost: £50
Symposium Theme
Welcome to The Athletic Artist: Physical and Vocal Demands in Musical Theatre, a symposium dedicated to bridging the gap between artistic training and athletic conditioning for performers.
Musical Theatre performers are athletes balancing the demands of singing, dancing and acting. The purpose of this symposium is to ask important questions, share research and disseminate good practice. It is an opportunity for researchers and industry experts to come together as a hive mind to stimulate further research and work collaboratively as a network.
Schedule
5:00 pm (GMT) Welcome and Introduction, followed by:
| Time | Session Title |
|---|---|
5:05 pm |
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Amanda Flynn |
5:55 pm |
Simultaneous Singing and Dancing: A Cross-Disciplinary Review with Debbie Winter |
6:05 pm |
The Additional Demands on the Musical Theatre Performer and Potential Links to Increased Laryngeal Tension: A Rapid Review with Dr Claire Thomas |
6:20 pm |
Interactive Workshop: Excavating Emotionally Engaged Performance. What is the physical and mental toll for Musical Theatre singers? With Louisa Morgan |
6:50 pm |
The Vocal Athlete: A Literature Review of Physiological Resilience to Performance Adrenaline in Professional Singers with Dan Cassin |
7:00 pm |
Cross Training and Conditioning for Musical Theatre Performers: A Theoretical Framework with Jennifer Myers |
7:10 pm |
Psychological and emotional well-being of undergraduate theatre artists in Nigerian HEIs with Abimbola Adetola Stephen-Adesina |
7:20 pm |
Singing as a triple threat: A qualitative study of professional, semi-professional, and vocational trainee performers’ experiences of singing while simultaneously performing the three musical theatre disciplines of singing, acting, and dancing with Christine Descher. |
7:30 pm |
Integrating acting through song and extreme singing techniques for sustainable performance with Kaya Herstead–Carney |
|
|
Finding Wonderland: A case study of the teacher as coach in supporting undergraduate musical theatre students in an industry-facing production of Wildhorn's Wonderland with Racheal Owens and Frances Williams |
7:50 pm |
Vocal Health Practice for Musical Theatre Singers with Catherine Kimmance |
8:00 pm |
Voice as Gesture and Experience: Two Performative Paradigms in Contemporary Musical Theatre with Anca Markos |
8:10 pm |
Technique You Can See with Jeremy Ryan Mossman |
8:20 pm |
And All That Jazz: How professional musical theatre performers experience and manage vocal challenges when executing Fosse choreography, and how these insights inform more integrated and sustainable voice and movement pedagogy in training institutions: A Practice-led investigation with Cathrine Hopkins |
8:30 pm |
Round Table DiscussionExpert Panel: Mary Saunders Barton, Besfort Williams and Scott Harrison.
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View the full programme:
