Introduction

Throughout this portfolio I aim to reflect on my practical development throughout my first year in full time training. At the beginning of the second semester, I set myself three main goals to focus on. The areas I had identified as in need of focused improvement were my vocal development, physical strength and mental well-being. These are the three areas in which I have identified a need for a constant upkeep of development, especially if I require progress to be made in these areas and desire to have a career in the Musical Theatre industry.

Vocal Development: Range, Strength, Stamina and Technique

My vocal development has never been a consistent journey. I have spent my life in and out of singing lessons since age eleven, and never really understood how to practice without just learning and singing a song. It was all very unclear to me until we began Singing Technique class with Scott Harrison. I learnt that in a professional setting, you should be practicing 6 days a week for an hour and a half to two hours a day, with a 75% focus on exercises that build skills and the other 25% on learning and singing songs. Klickstein (2009) states that musical progress relies a lot more on consistent practice, rather than talent, so I developed an independent practice to build into my routine. Taking advice from Clear (2018) I focused on improving small changes every day to equate to more progress over time. I started by creating an archive of every singing exercise shared to me in either 1-2-1 singing lessons, or as a class in singing technique, and started spending about 20 minuets a day working on my technique, with the goal to work towards two hours a day by the time I graduate.

I have never been a confident soprano. My head voice had always been weak compared to my favoured chest voice, and I never managed to extend my range higher, so I usually learnt the alto parts when learning ensemble pieces. Having a weak upper register and limited range had limited the number of songs I was able to sing. Once I begin auditioning professionally this will be an issue for me when I receive audition material and struggle to hit the notes with strength. I decided at the beginning of my training I wanted to have a much more balanced voice, which meant developing both the head and chest voices equally to allow for greater flexibility and range. I want to be able to perform a wider range of musical styles, which would be required in the professional industry to ensure I can be a versatile performer and have a longer and diverse career.

This is a clip from my first acting through song class at the beginning of term one. You can physically see how uncomfortable and tense I am, and I shy away from higher notes making them sound tense and strained. Since that class, I have spent my independent practice time working on strengthening and extending my higher register. I made it a habit to have a daily warm up every morning before working on exercises. I used the ‘o’ vowel in an arpeggio in my higher register. The ‘oo’ vowel is the hardest to maintain in that register, and the goal is to keep the vowel in the same shape. When I first did this exercise, I found it very hard to hit the notes with any power, and I lacked the stamina required to keep going with the exercise after only a few minutes. After repeating 10-15 times over the weakest areas, I then switch to a diphthong oo-ee-oo to begin to introduce different vowels in the sound. In a study conducted by Lycke and Šiupšinskienė (2016) it was found that ‘singing students in more advanced singing classes demonstrated a significantly greater frequency range, particularly at high frequencies, than did first-year students’. Meaning that after utilising and stretching the muscles in that higher register, you can see significant range development over time. I have already found that by implementing these exercises into my daily practice I have significantly strengthened my head voice and feel a lot more confident. I also feel that learning pieces for the Christmas concert and preparing to be in the choir for The Hunchback of Notre Dame has significantly improved my strength and stamina. Both performances require a heavily operatic, legit sound, focusing on vibrato and the head voice. I have had to spend additional hours to focus on not only learning the notes, but learning how to produce a similar sound found in a church.

This is a clip that I recorded recently of my progress of the same song. You can see how much easier I can reach those higher notes. When singing material from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I notice how much ease I find singing in that register now compared to the start of the year. Developing my higher register will always be a long-term goal for me. I will have to constantly ensure I am equally balancing my chest and head voice throughout the whole of my training, and then my career, to be able to perform a wide range of musical styles and achieve that high level of performance that I strive for.

Physical Conditioning: Stamina, Strength, Flexibility and Injury Prevention

Aside from singing exercises, my other daily upkeep is my physical conditioning. There is a huge physiological demand on musical theatre performers in the industry, and I want to develop the strength, stamina and flexibility required of a professional performer. Before I attended the Conservatoire I used running as my main source of fitness. I ran approximately 20km a week, and I completed a half marathon in July 2024. This was probably the most fit cardiovascular-wise I have ever been, but a summer spent travelling meant I could no longer keep up my running practice. Craggs (2023) states that you can start to see a decrease in your maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) after only two weeks, meaning by September 2024 I was already back to square one. I was finding it hard to keep going during long dances in classes such as jazz or ballet, and I was getting out of breath very quickly in our cardio conditioning lesson. I decided I wanted my stamina back. I saw a TikTok video from McGuire Mayes (2023), more notably knows as @balletwithisabella, about stamina in ballet dance. She shares that the only way to improve is to run your variation over and over again. I realised that in classes, I was not going full out in every run of our variations as I was trying to save my stamina for that one perfect run. I didn’t realise that I was stunting my stamina progression. I decided to go full out in every run from then on, building on my stamina each time we ran the variations. I found each class to be easier and easier. I also switched to take the stairs instead of the lift when walking up to my flat and finally prioritised fitting in a couple of runs a week. Over the summer I plan to keep up my stamina by running around three times a week and getting a training plan in place for another half marathon, as well as attending dance intensives and drop-in classes.

The downside to my running habits is that I saw a regression in my flexibility. I have never been an overly flexible person, but I was able to get into my right leg splits after stretching every day for about a year in 2018. Since then, my muscles have gotten very tight and due to my running, and alongside poor stretching habits, I saw my flexibility degrease even more. Running lead to my hamstrings and hip flexors tightening up, the main muscles I required to be long and relaxed when performing kicks in jazz or grand battements in ballet. I could not even reach my hands to the floor when I started in September. One of my dream roles is to play Inga in Young Frankenstein. This role requires you to have great flexibility, as the character performs a penché over the leg of the hay cart in the original choreography (Stroman, 2007). Sutton Foster manages to do this with ease, and reaches 180 degrees with her legs in this penché. This is an example of the type of movements I am working towards being able to complete by the time I graduate. My main goal working on my flexibility this year was to lengthen my hamstrings. To action this, I have committed to a stretching routine which I complete after classes each day. I do this to ensure my muscles are warm, to prevent injury and allow for a deeper stretch. This routine consists of many leg stretching exercises which I repeat on both sides, followed by a stretch in second on the floor, and then splits on each side. This started off as very uncomfortable, but as the weeks went on, I began to notice my progress. I also take extra care in deeply stretching after running now, to ensure my hamstrings do not tighten up again. I am not yet at a place I am fully happy. I will continue to keep stretching and aim to be in right leg splits by second year.

Alongside the goals of stamina and flexibility, injury prevention and rehabilitation are an important part of my process too. In a study completed on performers on the West End, 46% of injuries were sustained during a contract, and lower extremity injuries were most common with dancers (Evans et al., 1998). In another study, one third of the total injuries were said to have a gradual onset (James & Lazarczuk, 2019). After we returned after Christmas, I began to notice a gradual ache developing in my left hip. I kept dancing on it, but decided to go see a physio during reading week when it wasn’t improving. He gave me instructions to not lift my leg off the floor during dance classes to avoid aggravating it further, and to develop my gluteal muscles. At the time, my hamstrings and quadriceps were overdeveloped, and therefore kicking into action before my gluteal muscles did, consequently creating stress on my hip joint. I had never had a joint injury before, so I had to take time to learn how to help my hip heal. I have many symptoms of iliopsoas tendonitis, also referred to as ‘snapping hip syndrome’, so I began following a treatment plan. Bracilovic (2009) explains in her book that the main goal of treating iliopsoas tendonitis is to reduce pain and inflammation. ‘PRICE (Protect, Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) is initially useful, followed by gentle stretching exercises once the symptoms have improved’. I followed this advice and rested over Easter break, after which I began incorporating hip flexor, quadricep and psoas stretches to release those tight muscles. I have also begun building my glute muscles since returning from Easter. Every morning, along with abdominal exercises, I have implemented a few sets of glute activation into my routine. I have invested in an exercise ball and resistance bands to help aid my rehabilitation. I start with glute bridges, making sure to target my lower abdominals as well as my glutes. I have progressed this exercise by performing it on the exercise ball to increase the difficulty. I also include kickbacks in my routine, as I find this really targets my glutes. Another exercise I use is clams. Starting by laying on my side, I open and close my legs like a clam. Both of these exercises I have started to progress using a resistance band to increase the difficulty. According to Contreras (2013), progress for glute imbalance can take from 4 weeks to 3-6 months depending on severity. Meaning this is a bigger goal I am going to have to dedicate a lot of time to, over the next semester and summer break. However, I am starting to notice the difference in my dancing, and the pressure easing off my hip joint.

Mental Health & Well-Being: Reducing Tears, Mental Stamina and Creative Approach

Early in the first semester I had identified my mental health and well-being as a key focus, alongside my vocal and physical development. Returning to education was quite tough for me as I had been out of it for 5 years. I was adjusting to being treated like a student again, and feeling self-conscious of being older than some other members in my class. I noticed my need for reassurance and fear of failure, and once I realised it was getting in the way of me being the best student I could be and stunting my learning I decided it was a much bigger issue then I was acknowledging. In October 2024 I began writing up notes from my days, what I learnt, how I felt. I noticed that I found myself in ‘slumps’ and getting upset quite frequently. I decided to spend some time reading into why I get in these moods and how I can get myself out of them once I find myself upset.

Curtis (2019) states that ‘professional performing artists, students of singing, dance and acting, as well as undergraduate university students are all at greater risk of mental health problems than the general population’. He shares that impacts of long hours, financial situations and body image all have an impact of the musical theatre student, along with the lifestyle of a typical student such as poor diet, low quality sleep, and high alcohol intake (Lovell et al., 2014). It seems that perfectionism is a typical characteristic of performers (van Staden et al., 2009), and I am no different. I found research & development week particularly difficult as the whole week spent exploring felt very uncomfortable to me. I have been taught by the British educational system that answers are right or wrong, and having a dance and ballet background has taught me to love the rules of creative expression. So being in an environment where there are no rules is very hard for me. But over the course of the week, I consciously worked to let myself enjoy the unknown, and by the end of the week I was so proud of the progress I had made. I have to keep reminding myself now to just let things happen, and explore.

One of my goals this term was to begin reading more non-fiction books to help aid my knowledge of self-help strategies. I was inspired by our group tutor Adam Stadius, who would frequently give us recommendations and quotes from ‘self-help’ authors which he felt resonated with us as performers. A book I have started reading this year is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (1992). The book provides a 12-week program to unblock your inner artist and to prompt creative recovery. This jumped out at me, because as someone who has always said I was creative, I actually don’t create a lot. I like staying in the lines, following the rules. I am only in week five, but already noticed the difference in myself, and myself as a student. The practice tells you to commit to three pages of ‘morning pages’, a sort of meditative stream of consciousness. The point is to get all your inner thoughts that are clouding your mind out and on the paper without judgement, so that you can be freer to create. I have been waking up at 06.30-07.00 every morning to complete the morning pages, and in return I have really noticed a shift in my mindset. I no longer feel panicked and overwhelmed about the noise in my head, I have time to process things, and I have been sleeping earlier and for longer. Having time in the morning to myself before the day officially starts has been a game changer for my mindset, and a habit I will implement for a long time when possible.

I have also taken big steps to limit my screen time. I no longer have social media on my phone, and I block any apps I do have that keep my attention from the world around me. My phone goes into downtime at 22.00 every night, and doesn’t unlock until 08.00, and on top of all that, I constantly keep my notifications turned off and in ‘do not disturb’ mode. Jonathan Haidt mentions in his book The Anxious Generation (2024) that the use of social media in young girls specifically can be damaging. ‘Girls who say that they spend five or more hours each weekday on social media are three times as likely to be depressed as those who report no social media time’. I was noticing the effects of growing up with social media, and I feel so much better for taking the time to have limited my screen time. I now have more free time to read, exercise or complete creative hobbies that fill me with joy.

Maintaining my mental health habits is always going to be a part of my life. Adjusting to a new routine, moving to a new city, leaving home for the first time, that was never going to be easy. But I can now say, due to me maintaining my wellbeing I feel in a much happier, stable place. As long as I keep checking in with myself, reading up on self-help, finding what brings me joy, I can continue to remain mentally healthy.

Conclusion

It is easy to speed through first year without really looking back over what I have achieved or accomplished. Overall, I am satisfied with where I am currently. I have had a few obstacles, mental health or hip injury for example, but I have proven I am stronger than my setbacks and I have the drive to keep going. All of these lessons took differing amounts of time to learn, so I only wish that I spent more time working on these goals earlier on in my training. But really, all I can do is focus on the present, and what can I do right now that is going to help me and my training. I will stick with these three main goals for the rest of the year, and wait to see the performer I become.

Bibliography

Bracilovic, A. (2009) Essential dance medicine. New York: Humana Press.

Cameron, J. (1992) The artist’s way: a spiritual path to higher creativity. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc.

Clear, J. (2018) Atomic habits: an easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. New York: Penguin Publishing Group.

Contreras, B. (2013) How to fix glute imbalances [Blog post]. The Glute Guy. 12 January. https://bretcontreras.com/how-to-fix-glute-imbalances/ [Accessed 10 May 2025].

Craggs, T. (2023) How fast do you lose fitness when you take a break from running? [Blog post]. Runner’s World. 20 July. https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/a40470932/detraining/ [Accessed 10 May 2025].

Curtis, J. N. (2019) The mental health of musical theatre students in tertiary education: A pilot study. Studies in Musical Theatre, 13(3), 333-348. https://doi.org/10.1386/smt_00011_1

Evans, R. W., Evans, R. I. & Carvajal, S. (1998) Survey of injuries among west end performers. Occupational and environmental medicine, 55(9), 585-593. https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.55.9.585

Haidt, J. (2024) The anxious generation: how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness. New York: Penguin Random House LLC.

James, A. S. M. & Lazarczuk, S. L. (2019) Epidemiology of injuries in west end performers. Journal of dance medicine & science, 23(4), 139-144. https://doi.org/10.12678/1089-313X.23.4.139

Klickstein, G. (2009) The musician’s way: a guide to practice, performance, and wellness. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lovell, G. P., Nash, K., Sharman, R. & Lane, B. R. (2014) A cross-sectional investigation of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms and health-behavior participation in Australian university students. Nursing and health sciences, 17(1), 134-142. https://doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12147

Lycke, H. & Šiupšinskienė, N. (2016) Voice range profiles of singing students: the effects of training duration and institution. Folia phoniatr logop, 68(2), 53-39. https://doi.org/10.1159/000448136

McGuire Mayes, I. (2023) STAMINA FOR VARIATIONS [Video]. https://youtube.com/shorts/yJk5agtLCk0?si=7F9aoGyaFPys57BQ [Accessed 10 May 2025].

Stroman, S. (2007) Young Frankenstein. Hilton Theatre, New York.

van Staden, A. A. R. A. D., Myburgh C. P. H. & Poppenpoel, M. R. N. (2009) A psycho-educational model to enhance the self-development and mental health of classical dancers. Journal of dance medicine & science, 13(1), 20-28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1089313X0901300103