Is it possible that actors are moving into a musical theater marketplace where being a triple-threat (actor/singer/dancer) isn’t enough? One music director thinks so. Dr. Justin Cowan, a conductor, music director, and professor believes that musical theater actors need to be proficient with an essential additional skill—musicianship. “Strong musicianship skills instantly make actors more competitive in an industry that is currently oversaturated with talent,” Cowan insists. Let’s go over some reasons why he might be right.
What is musicianship?
Musicianship is the ability to read another language: musical notation. When actors are fluent in sheet-reading, they rely less on music directors and recordings to learn songs. And while many actors can also play instruments, knowing how to utilize your voice as an instrument independently makes a difference.
What is a music director for anyway?
While musical processes have periods of the rehearsal timeline where actors are taught the music’s tempo and shape by the music director (these sessions typically happen at the beginning of the rehearsal process, so actors can effectively learn choreography later), music directors should utilize rehearsal time to focus on guiding the tones, textures, colors, and nuances of the story through an actor’s singing.
Because rehearsal processes are usually clipped into a fast-paced whirlwind, the process becomes more efficient when music directors don’t need to hand-hold actors and can instead focus more on directing.
Why do actors avoid musicianship training?
Bottom line? It’s intimidating. Further, when college training programs offer musicianship courses, it’s common for them to be taught by instructors from music departments that often aren’t actor-friendly. So when an actor takes music theory and feels out of his element, the whole subject becomes an intimidating mystery and the “fake it ‘til you make it” instinct kicks in.
How does musicianship make you more competitive?
When an actor can proficiently read music, she becomes a more vital asset to a production team than an actor who doesn’t. Why? Time. Every producer and director wants to work with artists who have technical skills that could save time and stress in the rehearsal room so artists can dedicate more energy to the creative process of making a show magical and unique.
How to Become a Musical Theater Actor The second way musicianship makes actors more competitive is a little less intuitive but gives actors a sneaky advantage in the casting marketplace and it all has to do with new works. Let me explain. When new musicals are created, they often go through development processes that can last for years and bounce around from theater to theater.
These development processes have shorter timeframes—usually a week or so. If an actor has strong musicianship training, he can pick up on new music faster. In a new work casting process, a music-strong actor becomes invaluable because he can be a functional and competent collaborator in the workshop process as a show is being built and revised. Actors who can easily and quickly read music in a new musical process can create more fleshed-out performances because they can dedicate more of their limited rehearsal time to creating detailed characters. Also, without a cast recording available, new musicals rely on actors who can hold their own and be musically self-sufficient.
When an actor can become a valuable and worthy collaborator in a workshop, they have a higher likelihood of consistent gigging with the project. When an actor makes a strong impression, she becomes an invaluable team player in the development process because the music director no longer has to reteach the basics of the musical for every short workshop production the piece goes through.
There’s one more advantage Cowan suggests: “Aside from new works, casting agents and creative teams want to work with actors who they know will be able to be successful in short rehearsal processes.”
How do I improve my musicianship as an actor?
Cowan has a piece of cost-friendly advice for actors who want to improve their music skills: singing in a volunteer choir. This is a low-stakes environment that can help sharpen your teeth and learn music theory through guided, layered experience—almost like a speaking or conversation-immersion group for new language learners.
Don’t be intimidated by musicianship as an actor; embrace it. If you do, you become a more valuable artist in the musical marketplace.
Check out Backstage’s musicals audition listings!
The views expressed in this article are solely that of the individual(s) providing them,
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.