Musical Theatre

Musical theatre is one of the most technically demanding of all performance forms, requiring simultaneous excellence in singing, acting, and dance, and the capacity to integrate all three in the service of storytelling. Studying it at degree level means developing each discipline to a high level of technical competence while also building the interpretive intelligence and emotional range to perform complex material with conviction.

At the University of Chichester, the BA (Hons) Musical Theatre (Music) degree takes a distinctive approach: it is the only musical theatre programme in the UK that places the voice, acting through song, and song analysis at its absolute core. This is not merely a performance training programme with some music modules attached. Chichester's course is built on a serious musical engagement with the musical theatre repertoire, developing your ability to understand and interpret songs at a deep level before you perform them.

Dance, including ballet, tap, and jazz, and acting technique are substantial parts of the curriculum across all three years, but the musical and vocal intelligence of the performer is the organising principle that holds the programme together.

You will develop your singing technique, your understanding of vocal production and care, your acting through song, and your contextual knowledge of the history and development of the musical theatre form. This depth of musical grounding means you leave with a more sophisticated understanding of the repertoire than a purely physical performance training might produce.

Graduates pursue careers in professional musical theatre on stage and tour, in original productions and revivals of classical repertoire. Others work in music education, community theatre, youth theatre, and the broader performing arts. Some move into musical direction, casting, arts administration, and related production roles.

The vocal and musical grounding that Chichester's approach provides is also a strong foundation for postgraduate study in music or in applied and community performance contexts.