A Day in the Life of a Musical Theatre Student

Join BA (Hons) Musical Theatre (Film Acting) student Emily as she takes you through a typical day from her first year on campus – sharing what life, learning and performing really looked like behind the scenes…

As a first-year student, I didn’t know what to expect when I started university, especially when my course is a one-of-a-kind! So, here’s a walkthrough of a day in semester one for anyone who’s looking at joining!

I’ve chosen to look at Thursdays, as they were my busiest days. My day would start with a 7:30 wake-up call to catch the 9 am bus for a 9:30 am start with Rob in Camera & Audio 101. This is where we learnt how to navigate around, you guessed it, camera and audio. From 11 am to 12 pm, I had an hour gap.

I would get something to drink from the restaurant or one of the vending machines around campus before heading to Ballet with Bronwen. In semester one, we learnt the basics of ballet, such as tendu at the barre. From here (1:35 pm), I would go straight to my 1-1 singing lesson with Lucy.

Here, I’d spend half an hour working on my singing techniques and learning how to sing certain songs comfortably (not like a screaming cat). Then I would have a huge gap, so I’d get the bus back to Fishbourne. One thing to note about the buses is that they run one an hour on each route, so sometimes I have to wait for the bus to arrive. I recommend waiting inside the Bishop Otter Restaurant!

In my gap, I would tidy my room, catch up on any coursework and have a shower to freshen up. Sometimes I’d need to pop over to Tesco to get some last-minute bits for dinner, that’s okay though, because my accommodation is right next to Tesco!

Around 4:30 pm, I’d get dinner started and make sure I had any scripts I needed for my next lesson packed. By 6 pm, I’d be getting my coat on (it’s cold outside this late!) and heading down to the bus stop to catch the ten past six bus. The bus takes roughly 20 minutes to get to campus, so I’d arrive with half an hour to spare before my 7 pm musical theatre acting lesson. Usually, I’d grab a drink from the vending machine and settle down on a bench while I wait. In this lesson with Amanda, we would explore scripts and stage acting techniques.

A notable piece we worked on for me would be “A Streetcar Named Desire”! Finally, around 8:30 pm, I would get the bus back to my accommodation, where I would make a hot drink, throw on my pyjamas, settle into bed and watch some Grey’s Anatomy. And that is my day in the life of a BA (Hons) Musical Theatre (Film Acting) student!