Why study BA (Hons) Musical Theatre transcript

0:00:00

My name's Maggie Tarver I'm the course leader of

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

0:03:09

the Musical Theatre course here at Solent University.

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

0:06:01

Maggie smiles at the camera as the screen merges into a gradient card of red to purple

0:07:14

Colourful graphic card with white text which reads - "Why is Musical Theatre a great career to get into?'

0:13:01

Everybody loves musical theatre. I mean you know, audiences and performers, I mean it's such,

Gradient fades and Maggie appears back on screen in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

0:19:03

such a popular area to get into and it's fun, it's a lot of fun, but also I want to say,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

0:26:02

opens up a hell of a lot of areas for you to go into as well. So, we've got quite

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

0:31:17

a number of students at the moment on cruise ships doing entertaining on the cruise ships,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

0:37:09

so we've got some on Disney cruise ships in the Caribbean, it doesn't get much better than that.

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

0:44:18

And we've got some that are doing just P&O cruises around the world and stuff and we've

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

0:51:13

also got students that are working in musical theatre shows and children's entertainment, so

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

0:56:14

it opens up quite a broad area of opportunities for you that utilises your talents and your skill.

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

1:04:24

Maggie smiles at the camera as the screen merges into a gradient card of red to purple

1:05:22

Colourful graphic card with white text which reads - "What is great about Musical Theatre at Solent University?'

1:11:05

We're very practical based, so it's about 70 per cent practical and 30 percent theory,

Gradient fades and Maggie appears back on screen in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

1:18:08

but we do have the theory side, which is also distinct from any conservatoire situation. So,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

1:24:12

and we link the theory with the practice through the modules and everything that we're doing.

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

1:30:10

We have some very specific techniques that we teach, so we have the Estill voice technique,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

1:39:17

our voice tutor's qualified to deliver that specific technique which is quite

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

1:44:14

amazing, the results that they get from that. I'm qualified to teach the Perdekamp emotional method

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

1:52:00

and we're the second institution in the UK that can offer that,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

1:58:02

so that's quite special and quite unique and that's an acting technique that

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

2:02:06

I take them through and help them working through the scenes and into the songs as well.

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

2:09:01

We have a lot of opportunities and a lot of connections with the industry,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

2:13:07

so at the moment the musical theatre students are working towards a tour which is going to go around

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

2:20:02

in the summer with TSE Productions. And that's a new initiative that we've started this year

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

2:27:03

that we're going to build on and continue to create. So there's so many opportunities for

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

2:33:11

them to actually get work experience, concrete work experience, we're working with the Mayflower

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

2:38:18

theatre here, MAST for opportunities for them to get work experience in those areas

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

2:45:13

and yeah, I mean, there's just so much to offer. Now on top of that if they're interested,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

2:52:08

we work with the film and TV students as well, so they're always looking for actors,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

2:57:03

so if on musical theatre you want to have a go at doing some screen as well, the opportunities are

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

3:02:20

put out to the students I mean I think I've probably sent out maybe 10 a day,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

3:09:21

looking for actors and it's up to them if they want to do that, but it's an extracurricular

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

3:14:03

opportunity for them to gain more experience in acting and get footage for their show reels. So,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

3:20:20

and we work with the musical technical students in the music studios so they can create a really

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

3:27:11

high-quality professional singing reel, to launch them into the industry, so it's

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

3:34:24

there's so many opportunities that we offer, not just within the course but extracurricular as well.

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

3:40:17

Maggie smiles at the camera as the screen merges into a gradient card of red to purple

3:42:00

Colourful graphic card with white text which reads - "What facilities are there at Solent University?'

3:45:11

Well we work in MAST the professional drama theatre in the middle of Southampton

Gradient fades and Maggie appears back on screen in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

3:54:16

and we use their rehearsal space, which is a professional space and a professional venue,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

3:59:13

which is fantastic and most of the musical theatre work is done in there. If it's not done in there,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

4:04:22

it's done in other studios, with sprung floors and mirrors and stuff, but we try to work a

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

4:09:13

lot out of MAST because that solidifies those connections, I mean it's all about networking

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

4:16:00

and if our students are working in there and there's shows going on, there's opportunities

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

4:20:24

to meet people, so we're really pushing that side of it which is great for the students.

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

4:28:22

We perform in MAST as well, so the final year productions are performed in MAST

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

4:33:13

in their professional theatre as part of their professional program

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

4:37:17

and it's marketed by MAST and the tickets are sold to MAST etcetera.

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

4:41:16

Maggie smiles at the camera as the screen merges into a gradient card of red to purple

4:42:12

Colourful graphic card with white text which reads - "What opportunities are there for students?'

4:45:19

So at level four you do a short performance but that's in-house because we don't kind of,

Gradient fades and Maggie appears back on screen in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

4:51:09

feel that you're ready yet to to go out there and launch to the public. But at level five that

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

4:56:14

changes, so at level five in the first semester we do a live brief where someone comes in,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

5:02:14

someone from the industry comes in and delivers a brief and then - this also stands us apart I

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

5:10:14

think is quite unique for us - because what then happens is the musical theatre students

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

5:15:07

create their own work and that doesn't happen I think very often in musical theatre,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

5:20:10

more often than not it's working with the score and an already or readily established piece,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

5:27:03

but for the live brief we get them to create their own work in musical theatre genre,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

5:33:19

which can be very exciting for them, and you know we coach them through it and take them through

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

5:38:00

and offer the support and then those performances are performed at the various venues, so as I say,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

5:45:11

the TSE productions this year has come out of that particular project and that's going to go

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

5:51:23

on a national tour in august using our students in paid work, so the students had to audition for it

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

5:58:00

and it's gone from there and last year quite a lot of our students are with agents and working in the

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

6:05:07

industry or auditioning for big west end shows at the moment, we've had a couple of students

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

6:10:00

auditioning for 'Les Misérables' and you know, big west end shows, 'Six', we've had

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

6:15:23

one of our graduates from last year auditioned for 'Six', I think she's still waiting to hear, but,

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

6:22:08

so we really do work on preparing you for the industry in that final year, so that you have

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

6:29:09

some idea where you're going to go after graduation, which I think is really important.

Course Leader of BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, Maggie Tarver is in the Spark building at Solent University talking to camera. Slow, soft rock music plays softly in the background.

6:33:21

Maggie finishes talking and smiles towards the interviewer

6:34:06

Upbeat music plays. Cuts to a graphic that says, 'Get ready for university', www.solent.ac.uk, fades down, and fades up Solent University logo. [Video ends]