Identity transfer is one of the most important abilities I should have as an MD, like when to serve as technical music support, when as the translator between casts and creative team, or when to see myself as the leader of the group. During these months doing placement, I’ve got involved in a few productions, including musical theatre and actor musicians production. They have differences in the working process and strategies to approach as I stated in my presentation, which I’ve learned a lot from.

Setting an expectation at the start of the rehearsal in the room is one of them, letting the casts all know it, so that we all have a goal to reach in this rehearsal. For example, at the very first of Murder Ballad rehearsal, I just told my casts the night before we were going to learn the songs, and sent all the notebash we needed in the group chat.

It turned out they didn’t get the vocal line in their mind, and didn’t have the time to learn harmony line, which slowed down the efficiency. I didn’t mean to blame at them, but reflected on what I could do to make the rehearsal more efficient as the group leader musically. When it came to the next rehearsal, I set the plan before, and let them know it in the group chat the night before so that they could review and prepare materials. For instance, we are going to go over the Opening number in the first half an hour, and in the next an hour and a half learn the harmony line of Narrator 10 and put them together.

On the day, I would repeat the plan again to remind them also myself, so everyone would be on the same boat, and aimed for the same goal. It turned out we were following the plan, and the rehearsal went well. I think that setting an expectation for the day and telling the casts is a good way to keep them and also myself motivated, which is more like putting a little pressure on them to unsure they understand what the MD wants from this rehearsal. If we all work towards that goal during rehearsals, even if we don’t quite hit the mark, it will still be in a good process.

Choreography is a big part in musical theatre productions. We as MDs mostly have different ways of counts from choreographers. We like follow the musical language, but they have a different counting system from us. They might ask for an extra two bars, or the director might request an additional playoff. MD will need to be flexible, adapt and responsible for this moment, deciding within a limited time frame which section to repeat as playoff, and what adjustments to make to the arrangement. Choreographers may also need to cut bars. For instance, in the swing section of Wonderful Town, some dance breaks were removed. Apparently these additional requests are closely linked to the MD’s role, as they inevitably involve musical editing and may affect the music’s coherence, such as whether the transition remains seamless after added or removed bars, or whether a cue is needed to guide the vocal in. As I stated in my presentation, when comes to choreography, our role as the MD is to serve as the translator, translating musical terminology, particularly phrases in odd time signatures, into rhythm that the choreographer prefers, whilst also serving as a liaison to explain the connection between the two to the casts, and make them to understand and master the material more quickly and effectively. Communication skills are just as important as professional techniques. You’ll need to collaborate with people from different disciplines, and have the ability of translating the musical language into terms that others can understand. The Morning of the Dragon in Miss Saigon is a good example. There are many time signatures changing in the beginning. Ben pointed out that he was working as the translator between choreographer and casts. He explained the counts first to the choreographer. The choreographer taught dancing section to the casts. He then explained the combination to the casts.

Choreography in actor musicians production is slightly different from my observations. Most of the instruments have to be part of the considerations. They take the priority as I mentioned in my presentation. In Dark Carnival, all the instruments are on the stage for most of the time, including the stands. When there is moving around the stage or floor moment, instruments like double bass and brass section might be effected, because double bass is heavy and brass section needs breath control. Also electric guitar and bass have long necks that are fragile, which will be part of the concerns as well. As opposed to an musical theatre performance, band has a certain place and doesn’t move, so they won’t affect the choreography. It is actually the conductor who plays a more important role. Ben Mark Turner, the musical director and conductor of Miss Saigon National Tour, is very excellent. When I sat in the pit once in Leeds Grand Theatre, I was impressed by his passion. Although there was a music stand in front of him, there were no scripts or sheet music on it. He had them all in his brain. Throughout the whole performance, he was incredibly passionate about the music and conducting. He said, ‘I don’t need to play the keys in Miss Saigon. It would be so boring just standing there waving my arms and marking the beats. Your passion will be delivered to the orchestra and the casts. They will receive that passion and be motivated as well’. I admire his approach to conducting, because carrying the enthusiasm for a single performance is not hard, while keeping that level of intensity for six shows a week is not easy, which is something I need to learn from him.

When it comes to the close relationship between music and choreography, one thing worth to mention is the significance of communication. Everyone is an individual with their own ideas. If you do not state them, no one will know what they are. In this industry, collaboration is constant, so communication is absolutely vital. We encountered the issue in the Wonderful Town project. The MDs were too busy with their own projects and exams. In a professional production, you would receive a call sheet the day before, clearly outlining the tasks and schedule for the following day. But we always had to ask the team the night before whether an MD would be needed the next day, rather than them proactively informing us, which left us all exhausted. For instance, the day before the official performance, the MDs was supposed to run through the music with the company, but by 9pm we still hadn’t been told what time they need us to be there. It was only when we asked, that we discovered there was no electronic keyboard in the rehearsal room the next day, as it was a dance studio, so the MDs didn’t need to come. However, the score was very difficult because it was the reduction of orchestration. It was essential and worth for the MDs to be present to go through the music with company, so we urgently contacted Scott, our module coordinator, then ended up with contacting Performance Resources via Matt Young to explain the situation and booked a keyboard for the following morning. The next morning, the MDs moved the 88-key weighted keyboard and accessories from the main building to the dance studio and back again. Although this wasn’t our assessed project, since we were involved, we wanted to do it properly and ensure we didn’t affect those who were being assessed. This experience has reaffirmed to me that how important communication is. Whether the news is good or bad, if there’s any uncertainty regarding a decision that might affect the group, it must be raised promptly. After all, two heads are better than one.

My journey as a conductor on the keys begins from this course. I only have experiences in traditional conducting. However, through placements such as the Performance Project and Dark Carnival, I have gradually learned this skill. At first, I would get nervous because everyone was watching me. I’m not a person who enjoys being the centre of attention. But through repeated practice and people’s encouragements, I asked myself to demonstrate leadership and not to get nervous. If I’m nervous and feel embarrassed, I certainly won’t be able to conduct well. Now I’m very confident conducting on the keys, which is part of what I want to develop from this course. This actually linked with something I observed whilst sitting in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in York and Moulin Rouge in Birmingham. When I sat in the pit of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to observe the band call, the Key 2 player had to go to A&E at the last minute, so the musical director asked me to dep in. I haven’t played that score before. I found that sight-reading whilst watching the MD conducting is quite a challenge for me, especially during the vamp sections. You have to watch for the MD’s cues and also keep an eye on the notes and information in the next bar. Every MD has a slightly different conducting style. There is no right or wrong answer. It is just the band needs a period of adaption, and be able to switch for different MDs. In a situation like this, where I was suddenly called upon to step in, I didn’t completely know what this particular MD’s conducting style was like, so I had to adapt whilst sight-reading. His approach to the vamp was to conduct normally, but when to come out the vamp, he would give a broad upbeat on the last beat as the cue. Arlene, the assistant musical director of Moulin Rouge World Tour, conducted clearly in another way. During the vamp, she would conduct with her right hand whilst her left hand indicated the number of repetitions. When her left hand was showing zero, that was the cue to come out the vamp, which I found very clear and straightforward. I’m building up my own conducting system now based on my experiences and what I’ve learned from others that will benefit me.

As I said in my presentation, in Dark Carnival, I am sitting at the back of the stage, so in that case it is unlikely feasible for casts to turn back see me cue them and conduct, which will break the flow and distract audiences’ attention as well. In terms of conducting, it really depends on whoever is visible on the stage, and if it is necessary to have someone lead the group. Here’s leading to a question: if there’s no conductor, how will we keep the tempo? During the rehearsal of the Sailors and the Whores, I found out after the choreography was added, people went to focus on their steps, and didn’t have enough attention to care what they were playing, so the tempo was getting faster and faster. I tried to play harder to drag them back, but because I was playing the upbeat in this song so that I couldn’t be the one to easily fix it. If I were playing the downbeat, I could potentially drag them back to the tempo. I thought they were attempting to get faster is because choreography was very new to them on that day, and it was the first dancing they learnt after the pure music call. They were still trying to process body coordination. When they got used to the dance steps, they would be able to focus on what they played again. My external tutor Ben gave me some good advice. If there is drums in the song, then the drummer will lead the tempo. If there’s no drums in the song, then it will be the bass serving as drums. In that case, if me (keys) and the bass player could stick to the tempo, even if others attempted to get faster, they wouldn’t be able to, and us two would drag them back to the tempo. I took his advice, and applied in the next rehearsal when we did this song. I asked the bass player to hold the tempo, and explained the logic to him as how Ben explained to me, and it worked quite well.

Another thing I learned was from Dark Carnival and applied it to my own rehearsals. Rehearsals are not the actual performance. When going through the blocking repeatedly to reinforce memory, I can ask my casts no need to sing over full energy every time. During Dark Carnival, our director ASJ would say, ‘Everyone is at gear 3 out of gear 5 in this run. For the full run on the last day of the final rehearsal week, you’ll need to be at gear 4’. Ben, my external tutor, has also said that if you know a performer is capable of singing at the level you require, then during repeated rehearsals of ‘big moments’, if it isn’t necessary, there’s no need to worry about vocal quality, as the vocal cords might get tired and harm vocal health. Vocal health is an extremely important part of the entire process in a musical theatre production. The musical director has the responsibility to look after the casts’ vocal health. I applied this to my own rehearsals. When rehearsing Bend and Snap from Legally Blonde, I made a small change at the end. I changed the spoken word to a pitched phrase that required my singer to belt.

After we rehearsed it a few times, I knew she was capable doing it. Then when we were simply running through the songs to reinforce memory, I didn’t have her belt at full power as to protect her voice.

Another thing I learned is that an MD should be able to sing every harmony line written in the score as much as possible. Singing out loud as presentation is more useful for the casts’ learning, because so many information, like diction, tone, phrase and etc, can be conveyed to them. At the start I was a bit hesitating to sing out loud, and would always prefer to use the piano to demonstrate the pitch/vocal to them, because I’m not a professional singer and afraid to make mistakes. But this got improved significantly later on once I’d overcome that mental barrier. Laura, our musical direction teacher, encouraged me to sing for them as demonstration. Some cast members are more receptive to hearing the music sung. I pushed myself to sing out as much as possible, and prepare myself mentally to overcome this psychological barrier. I would first find the pitch on the piano and then taught it to the casts. Gradually, my intonation and sight-singing skills improved, and became more confident in singing as well as the technical music support. I found that when cast members struggled to find the starting note for harmonies, I could use songs they were familiar with, such as pop song songs that are matching the intervals to different songs, which made it easier for them to find the notes. For example, minor third interval can apply to Hey Jude by The Beatles, perfect fifth interval can link to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This trick is very useful for people who are not proficient with harmony. I’ll definitely apply it more to my rehearsals in the future.

Be able to adapt to changes, whether it’s unexpected on-stage incidents, or technical issues is also MD’s ability. Most of the time I have to immediately find a solution that works for the situation on site. For instance, during the band call in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, there was no sound in the in-ear monitors and the keys2 connection was not working well, so it wouldn’t produce any sound. The MD Joe carried on regardless these technical problems, because tech rehearsal time was tight and he wanted to get through as much of the songs with the performers as possible, and then addressing the issue with relevant staff afterwards. I reckon this saved much time, and probably was the best way to work at that moment.

During rehearsals of Wonderful Town, in the songs Swing, and Conga, both of them are fast speed. With only a piano duet playing as accompaniment, it sounded a bit different from the backing track. During the actual performance, the performer skipped bars unfornately. In these case, as the musical director, I had to deal with unexpected situations promptly, skip the bars and follow the singers. In the song 100 Ways to Lose a Man, the score of the final line ‘lose a man’ ended with a low chest voice, but to give it more power and tension, we changed it to an octave higher, which also gave more joy to the ear.

Language is also an adaption MD needs to think of. Based on the Individual Difference Factors for Second Language Grammar by Yuichi (2022), people have different comprehensibility and accent, so we will have different strategies and approaches to give corrective feedback and practice. Take Chinese and English as examples. They have different vowels, consonants, tones, etc. From my study journey in UK so far, I noticed that ‘r’ is difficult for English people to pronounce, because the way we say ‘r’ is different. This factors can link to warm up. I can have various warm up exercise to help people get their tones, release their stress, and this is what I want to research more.

Whether do I need to ask casts for having a specific gesture as signal of singing starts or not. This is the question popped up in the rehearsal room of Murder Ballad. It’s agreed that I would start playing my guitar after the singer took three steps of ‘bitch walk’. During rehearsals of Necropolitan in Dark Carnival, it was the clarinet player stood at the centre of the stage where the guitarist could see him, and did a deep breathe as the cue for the guitarist to start together. I raised this concern to Ben when we had the meeting online. He said that it would be obvious if casts had specific gestures before singing, like deep breathe, and audiences would notice as well. Usually it would be coordinating during rehearsals. Sometimes the actors lead the cue, and sometimes the MD lead it. Everyone has to develop an internal metronome, and through repeated practice during rehearsals, they will develop ‘muscle memory’. During the performance of Miss Saigon at the Grand Theatre in Leeds, because the pit wasn’t spacious enough, the drums were in a separate room.

He could only rely on the monitor to see the MD conducting. There might be a slight delay on the monitor. Ben mentioned that there was a moment where the drummer needed to take the lead, so they relied on the decisions made during regular rehearsals and also the internal metronome built in drummer himself. Ben also mentioned that there will be a chance the tempo working well in the rehearsal room, but it might sound relatively slow or fast in the theater, and adjustments will be needed. He wasn’t entirely sure of the reasons behind, but it happened in Miss Saigon. It sounded well in the rehearsal room, but felt slow in tech rehearsal, and they decided to go a few beats faster. My guess is that because the theater has a large space with good reverberation, so the sound travels farther than it does in the rehearsal room, which could be the reason.

I really enjoyed as the band playing in Christmas concert. I arranged Bring A Torch with a string quartet, band instruments and percussion, which was the first time my orchestra arrangement was performed to audiences. The challenging part was the repetitions towards the end, coupled with time signature changes as pictured.

I didn’t want it to feel too repetitive, because hearing would get bored by repeated a few times with no texture changes, so I tried to change registers of the strings to enrich the harmonic texture. Andrew, our professor, teaches us that if we have brass/strings in MainStage, while we have an actual player play that instrument, it will sound better with more textures. Applied this point into my work in What it Means to be a Friend, which is part of London to Broadway. I have a full brass channel in MainStage to reinforce the actual alto sax, which sounds good from audience’s feedback. The also sax is just for doubling.

I played both electric and acoustic guitar for this concert, which was a great opportunity to practise though guitar isn’t my primary instrument. However, it certainly improved my musicianship, because I had to study new chord fingerings, how to switch register positions more quickly, and the strumming patterns across six strings. It has also improved my guitar playing indeed. Through these practical experiences, in the future project, I can arrange it better, bringing out its characteristics like bending and sliding. If needed I can also be able to teach others guitar playing.

However, during the rehearsal process, we met a few issues due to the lack of communication. In the band call, we weren’t been told that the dance break in Underneath the Tree was cut. It took everyone at least 2 mins to revise on their scores. Then it was Taken Me to Heaven got cut without informing us. This was unprofessional because one of the MD was arranging it. A creative work needs a lot of effort and time investment, which is like a baby for the author. Whether it gets cut or not be performed well, the author will get depressed. From this experience, I reckon that effective communication can improve efficiency, avoid unnecessary time waste, and protect the author to some extent.

Beyond the music content, there are other non-musical related things we as the MDs need to think about. Before the first rehearsal of Murder Ballad, Jason (MA Musical Theatre Creatives) collected everyone’s accommodations, and privately showed creative team this sheet.

In our group, there was an cast might have anxiety during the show, so a break was essential. I appreciate he has done this sheet and protect everyone, because if there are people who aren’t good at expressing their needs in the group, then I’ll need to perceive everyone’s current feeling through observation and emotional intuition to decide whether we can proceed to the next stage, or perhaps go further than planned, which will be an extra effort for MD. Especially when goes into full run and shows, MD is the person to lead the band and connect with casts. That will be over 20 people most of the time. People have to deal with London’s underground bacteria attack, weather changes, and for casts specifically their vocal health, so knowing their accommodation requirements in advance are very helpful. Some other aspects as ASJ, director of Dark Carnival, mentioned to me that extra training in anti-racism, gender intelligence are always beneficial for any creative leader’s process.

Musical director jobs are very depending on networking mainly. I met Yutong Zhang who is the MD of SIX international tour last year. She said most of the jobs she has done so far were not through job hunting. Ben, the current MD of Miss Saigon, and Ben, the dep keys2 in Moulin Rouge World Tour. All of them point out networking is a very important part. Through my job applications so far, I didn’t see any Musical Director recruitment except SIX. If you have solid MD skills, others know you are brilliant, and you are available when someone asks you for a show, then you will get that job. I am working on my skills, building up my networking, and aiming to become the musical director in West End and part of the Asian (Chinese) representative. I tried to find more placement opportunities, like assistant musical director that is Creative Work Placements in British Youth Music Theatre, but I got rejected. I will try to apply more for gaining practical experiences. This job-hunting approach reminds me of my tech work. I have a music technology background, mainly doing sound desk and operation. I have been working for Chinese New Year’s Gala in UK for three years now, and people know me doing a good job. I got another work for sound assistant in London and Manchester through this networking. This makes me realise the importance of people skills. Being open and friendly when making friends, putting yourself out there and building a network. You never know that one day someone might think of you and offer you a job. 

Bibliography

Bernstein.L. (2000) Wonderful Town [Musical score]. Piano reduction by Charlie Harmon. Boosey & Hawkes.

Excel English (2021), Three Differences Between Mandarin Chinese & English. Available from: Excel English Institute, Web site: https://excelenglishinstitute.com/english-vs-mandarin-chinese-three-main-differences-between-the-languages [Accessed: April 15, 2026].

Guo.Y. (2026) Potential placement questions to ASJ [Email]. Message sent to Baxter.L. (l.baxter@lcm.ac.uk). 3 April 2026, 21:25.

Keefe.L.O. & Benjamin.N. (n.d) Legally Blonde The Musical [Musical score]. Music Theatre International.

Schonberg.C.M. (2014) Miss Saigon Piano Vocal Score London 2014[Musical score]. Cameron Mackintosh Ltd.

Suzuki, Y. (2022), The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquistion and Individual Differences, Routledge.

Turner.M.B. (2026)What role is it as an MD in different situation, and what jobs will MD do? [Recorded Online Conversation]. 10 March 2026, 17:30. Leeds Conservatoire Library.