NEW MUSICAL - 2025/6

Module Overview

Students will be cast and directed in a new musical commissioned by GSA. There will be developmental workshops with the writing team and four or five weeks of full-time rehearsals followed by a performance week of dress rehearsals and performances. The New Musical will be supported by a production creative team of appropriate professionals who will give continuous feedback on student progress throughout the course of rehearsals. The commissioned writers and subject matter will be chosen with an awareness and comprehension of the continually developing Global perspective within the industry. Directors and production staff are selected from members of the faculty, the production courses and from a pool of professional working directors and technicians.

Students will develop skills acquired in Year 1 of the programme and in all prior training by applying them to a new writing, providing challenges of creating original characters without reference to previous productions. Guidance on appropriate methodologies and the determining of appropriate goals will be given by the Director, Choreographer/Movement Director and Musical Director.

Module provider

Guildford School of Acting

Module Leader

WOOLFORD Julian (GSA)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content includes:
The Module begins with workshops with the writers. There follows approximately four weeks of intensive rehearsal with the Director and/or Movement Director and a Musical Director, together with consultation with design, wardrobe, make-up and marketing departments. This is followed by a production week that will include a demanding and lengthy technical rehearsals and dress rehearsal(s). The module will culminate with performances to a live audience.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:
Their ability to contribute to a professionally led rehearsal process, taking direction, working collaboratively with the creative team and other cast members and developing character and performance. Flexibility and resilience, vital to the development of new musicals are embedded in the process. Students will then demonstrate their ability to replicate and develop the performance across the run of performances.
Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of

The Creative team (Director, Musical Director and Choreographer/Movement Director) assess the student through their entire rehearsal process. Students are assessed on consistency of performance, commitment, imagination and professional conduct in the rehearsal room. (Addresses learning outcomes 1-7)

GSA staff who are not involved in the creative process assess the student¿s performance. Students are assessed on consistency of performance, commitment, imagination and professional conduct onstage.
(Addresses learning outcomes 1,2,3,5,6)
Formative assessment
Students are provided with formative verbal feedback in rehearsal through direction, corrections and communication with the creative team. Towards the end of the rehearsal process ¿notes sessions¿ will be conducted in which students will record the required corrections and modifications to their performance in accordance with industry practice.
Feedback
Students are provided with formative verbal feedback in rehearsal through direction, corrections and communication with the creative team. Students receive written and individual rubric-based feedback on the summative aspects of the module.

Module aims

• Consolidate the skills learned throughout Year One of the programme and from all prior training, by creating and performing a character as cast in a professional-standard public production, incorporating integrated acting, voice and movement
• Contribute appropriately to ensemble practice in a professional environment
• Manage personal engagement in an environment which follows the industry model with professional directors, musical directors, choreographers and designers
• Develop and sustain a working performance technique throughout the demands of a series of public performances
• Facilitate contribution to the development of a new musical, thereby developing collaborative skills and creative approaches to problem solving

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to: Facilitate student learning within the context of a professionally led production, including engagement with creative teams, technical staff, full production values including costume and make-up supervisors, set and lighting designers and a full professional structure of stage management and technicians.

The learning and teaching methods include: Workshops developing the libretto and score. Rehearsals with the full, and with selected members, of the cast Technical inductions, Technical rehearsals and Dress rehearsals Performances

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MUTM051

Other information

Digital Capability Throughout the module, students engage with technologies utilised in the contemporary professional Musical Theatre rehearsal environment including but not limited to Digital Rehearsal Materials and Technical Digital Design environments in Light, Sound and Costume. As professionals in training, students are encouraged to use current media such as email, virtual meeting and communications software, for appropriate use in communication, recording and team working. Students utilise the University¿s VLE (SurreyLearn), and a range of Digital media platforms for appropriate use in communication,administration, scheduling, and reporting. Students will also engage with creating Digital Content to secure employment and create their own artistic content. Employability Employability is integral to this module. Employability is embedded in teaching, learning and assessment. Students receive transferrable employability skills through professional development delivered during training by expert staff with practitioner backgrounds. Students will gain employability knowledge and expertise through; authentic practical modes of working in rehearsal and performance mirroring professional practice; independent and collaborative working; the development of critical thinking; the ability to reflect on one¿s own practice and engagement with professional expertise. Engagement with industry stakeholders (who are invited to attend classes and performances) and CV building promoted through professional organisations alongside¿sustained demonstration and exploration of skills in a ¿real world¿ setting. GSA aims to nurture career-ready graduates that will be sought after by agents, casting directors and employers.Talks and Industry Outreach is also encouraged, and GSA has a dedicated Director of Employability. Global & Cultural Capabilities Texts are chosen to enable students to reflect, interact, engage, value and respect their own and lived experiences, skills, perspectives and diversity. Students and are constantly encouraged to reflect the changing world we live in and the current debates in the Creative Industries. Students are actively encouraged to develop their global, social, historical, and cultural awareness, to share experiences and knowledge from their own backgrounds and cultures and to appreciate, recognize and interpret diverse perspectives. Students are expected to commence the programme with an open mind, a willingness to learn and engage in discussion, and ready to broaden their understanding of the lived experiences of the varying characters and communities they will be portraying as actors-in-training. All modules benefit from an inclusivity ethos and students across their course of study benefit from the oversight of the Director of Equality and Diversity at GSA. Every effort is made to make a range of performances accessible, and students are also encouraged to reach out to the Disability and Neuro-Diversity service within the University of Surrey if they are experiencing barriers to individual learning. Resourcefulness & Resilience The process of acting and performing, by its very nature, encourages Resourcefulness and Resilience. Students undertake intensive classes, rehearsals and performance schedules which develop their skillset through practice. They learn to navigate uncertainty, to deal with risks and challenges, and to encourage personal considerations of future visions. ¿Real-World¿ working schedules and assessments reflect the resilience and resourcefulness required for a Musical Theatre career, which, simultaneously, nurture students¿ self-management skills. Classes, rehearsals and performances feature independent and collaborative learning, peer support, problem-solving, communication, independence, perseverance, stamina self-value and critical thinking, all of which promote resilience and resourcefulness. The classes and the structure of the verbal and written feedback enable students to build a holistic view of their individual process. Students are supported throughout (and beyond) their training by expert staff with practitioner backgrounds, and a majority of full-time staff are Mental Health First Aid trained and can give advice and guidance on where to seek further help ¿ again, enabling students to take control of their learning and any barriers to learning. Sustainability Students are encouraged to contextualise their learning and reflect on their current and future social, cultural, ethical, political, economic, and environmental impact from a personal, professional and global perspective, and to recognise their shared responsibility. Students are encouraged to reflect on the values, perceptions, and actions of their own, of others and of characters they are portraying in rehearsal and performance, and the impact this has on audiences. All GSA productions are planned and designed to meet high sustainability standards: props, sets and costumes are designed to be re-used and recycled where possible. GSA has the strongest commitment to working on productions in the most sustainable way possible.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.