Musical Theatre [with Placement year]

Develop as a triple-threat performer who excels at singing, acting and dancing, with our BA (Hons) Musical Theatre degree in Cambridge.

As a Musical Theatre student at ARU, you’ll train with industry professionals, take part in showcases and productions from Year 1, and gain real-world experience.

On our BA (Hons) Musical Theatre degree you will gain skills unique to musical theatre training, specifically actor-musicianship, physical theatre, dance and choreography.

Your tutors will include established musical directors, artistic directors and choreographers – and you’ll learn in professional performing arts facilities including our Mumford Theatre.

With a buzzing creative scene, and opportunities to perform in renowned local venues, Cambridge is the perfect place to study Musical Theatre. You can even choose to study abroad for a semester, with funding on offer to help cover the cost.

In your first year as a Musical Theatre student, you'll work on building foundational skills in ensemble singing, acting technique, and ballet and Jazz dance. This will culminate in your first musical production in the Covent Garden Theatre.

In year two, you'll continue to develop technical skills to a more advanced level whilst preparing to take on a week of performances in a fully realised book musical in our Mumford Theatre. Alongside this, you'll work through in-class performance assessments.

Our Musical Theatre degree features three productions and two skills showcases. You'll learn advanced audition techniques and produce your own showreel. Alongside this, you'll gain confidence, emotional resilience, and the ability to work as part of a team.

Graduate ready for careers in musical theatre and a wide range of professions in the creative industries, the arts, and education.

As an ARU student, you can also get involved with the University of Cambridge's Footlights comedy events as a writer, performer or member of the production team.

Professional facilities
As part of your Musical Theatre studies at ARU, you’ll have access to all of our creative facilities including:

• dedicated drama studio, with highly flexible black-box performance space

• full-size on-campus professional theatre

• large rehearsal space with audio playback facilities, piano, LED lighting rig, portable dance mirrors, gym mats and rostra/modular staging

• Students’ Union-run dance studio

• radio mics

• podcast and video capture system

Careers
Our BA (Hons) Musical Theatre degree prepares you for a variety of roles in the performing arts, and the wider creative industries. Our wide choice of optional modules means that you'll be able to specialise in a particular area, if you choose to.

You can work as a musical theatre performer, director, choreographer, or stage manager or you could choose to focus on technical theatre. You could also create your own company, produce new work and tour it globally.

You can access jobs within arts organisations and management, acting as a theatre producer or event organiser, or join theatre and companies' marketing teams. You may develop as an arts journalist or critic or you could work in arts fundraising.

As a graduate you’ll have access to numerous job opportunities in education: primary or secondary school teacher; workshop facilitator for a various communities; school musical theatre assistant; touring schools using musical theatre to educate.

A growing number of roles in the health sector look at the role of drama in wellbeing. If this interests you, you can train as a dramatherapist on our MA Dramatherapy and get 20% off your fees with our Alumni Scholarship.

Employability and personal career development

Informed by employers, our courses support an integrated approach to employability. You’ll have opportunities to develop the skills and abilities they look for and gain a deeper understanding of how your academic learning relates to the world of work through Live Briefs and Ruskin Modules.

Year 1 core modules: Technical Skills 1 and Showcase; Technical Skills 2; The Small-Scale Musical. Year 2 core modules: The Book Musical; Ruskin Module; Theatre Theory and Specialist Skills; Technical Skills 3. Year 3: Work placement. Year 4 core modules: Undergraduate Major Project; Professional Preparation; Professional Practice. Year 4 optional modules: Directing; Stage Choreography; Dance Collaboration; Workshop Facilitation; Acting Through Song; Vocal Reel. Modules are subject to change and availability.

You’ll show your progress mainly through performance and practical work, with some small written components or longer essays if you choose theoretical options. The methods of assessment will include studio and public performances, essays, presentations, critical reflections, and a Major Project, which can be practical or written work.