Foundations of Musical Theatre
Course details
Introduction
Step into the spotlight with our Cert HE Foundations of Musical Theatre, a transformative course designed to kickstart your path to centre stage.
This course will refine your skills in singing, acting, and dancing, while providing invaluable industry insights. It serves as the perfect springboard for your artistic journey, whether you seek a focused period to perfect your artistry or aim to later pursue specialist / vocational training.
Key Features
- Individual singing lessons and group classes in acting, dance (ballet, tap, and jazz), singing, voice and acting through song.
- Regular performance workshops and auditions preparation training, including the opportunity to have mock auditions.
- There will also be the chance to work with Music and Dance students during our CoLab festival.
After completing the course, many students successfully move on to undergraduate study including Arts Ed, ALRA, Bird, Italia Conti, PPA, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Urdang, and Trinity Laban.
Please note, this course was previously called Foundation Year in Musical Theatre and Independent Study Programme Foundation: Musical Theatre Pathway.
Key Facts
- UCAS
- 501F
- Location
- Laurie Grove / Laban Building / King Charles Court
- Duration
- 1 year (full time)
- Start Date
- September
Fees
2025-26
- Info
- Fees represent 2025/26 year only, programmes with more than one year are subject to fee increases after the first year
- Audition fee: All programmes except BA (Hons) Musical Theatre Performance and BA Music Performance and Industry
- £95 (for 2025 entry)
- HE Cert: Musical Theatre Performance (Full-time)
- Home £9,250 International £26,060
Key Dates
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Induction
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Open Day
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Autumn Term
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Activities Week
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Spring Term
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Activities Week
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Summer Term
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Activities Week
Detailed Information
The course is suitable for a variety of different applicants, including:
- gap-year students preparing for entry to a conservatoire or university music faculty.
- those seeking to further develop their musical theatre skills before auditions.
- those wishing to consolidate their interest in musical theatre prior to university interviews.
- those seeking to develop their artistic identity whilst enjoying London’s vibrant cultural scene.
- those seeking to establish a more secure technique or sound before making decisions about further study.
Modules
| Modules | Credits |
| Skills and Techniques | 90 |
| Preparing to Audition | 10 |
| Preparing to Perform | 20 |
For further details, see our programme specification (in Downloads section).
Teaching and Learning
Learning takes place through a blend of formal tuition, experiential learning, and personal study.
- Individual one-to-one lessons, intensive group tuition, and performance workshops.
- Develop and contextualise individual learning within rehearsal and performance settings during the Preparing to Perform module.
- Refine audition technique during the Preparing to Audition module.
- Cross-disciplinary work through participation in Trinity Laban’s annual CoLab festival.
- Self-study and access to the conservatoire’s many learning resources.
- Development of independent learning strategies including formulating personal programmes of study and targets for learning.
- Collaborative learning with students from other courses at different levels (e.g. creating work with other musicians, dancers and / or other artists).
Terms 1 & 2 – 25.25 hours per week
You are expected to make use of the resources (studios and library) for personal rehearsal and preparation time during timetable gaps.
- Acting (Acting – text based and improvisation work, Voice & Speech): 6 hours
- Singing (Acting Through Song, Ensemble Singing, Musical Theatre Voice): 6.75 hours (this includes 45 minutes per week of one-to-one singing and 1 hour of Musical Theatre Voice which runs with groups of five).
- Dance (Ballet, Body Conditioning, Jazz, Tap): 8.75 hours
- Audition Technique & tutorials: 3.75 hours (covers all three disciplines)
- CoLab: There will also be the chance to work with Music and Dance students during CoLab.
Terms 3–5 weeks – 35 hours per week
You will undertake a five-week performance project which culminates in three performances.
Assessment
- Practical tasks
- Assessed classes
- Rehearsal and Performance
- Skills & Techniques portfolio
- Working Journals
- Research activities
- Development of audition repertoire
- Self-critical analysis
You will receive regular formative feedback in class from teachers, and written feedback (including an indicative grading) following each formal assessment point.
Entry Requirements
Trinity Laban places greater emphasis on its own audition and tests than on formal qualifications. As a guide, please note that the course is aimed at students considering entry to undergraduate study at conservatoire or university. Places are offered to applicants who demonstrate the potential to reach that level within the year. Audition requirements currently map entirely to those for the BA (Hons) Musical Theatre Performance degree – for further details, please see Musical Theatre Auditions.
Please note that this programme is eligible for Student Loans. Students registering at Trinity Laban on a Higher Education course should normally be at least 17 by the date of registration.
English Language Requirements
For students whose first language is not English, an English language assessment will be undertaken on application / audition, from which recommendation for further study may be made.
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The minimum standard for entry to the programmes is IELTS 5.5 in all four areas or equivalent. This is also the minimum requirement for Student visas.
Staff
Programme Leaders
Victoria Stretton
Head of Musical Theatre
Dr Lyndsay Barnbrook
Programme Leader
Rhona McGregor
Singing Lead
Verity Quade
Music Lead
Dr Helen Evans
Acting Lead
How to Apply – Musical Theatre
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