Trends in musical theatre voice: an analysis of audition requirements for singers.
OBJECTIVE
The American musical theatre industry is a multibillion dollar business in which the requirements for singers are varied and complex. This study identifies the musical genres and voice requirements that are currently most requested at professional auditions to help voice teachers, pedagogues, and physicians who work with musical theatre singers understand the demands of their clients' business.


METHODS
Frequency count.


METHODS
One thousand two thirty-eight professional musical theatre audition listings were gathered over a 6-month period, and information from each listing was categorized and entered into a spreadsheet for analysis.


RESULTS
The results indicate that four main genres of music were requested over a wide variety of styles, with more than half of auditions requesting genre categories that may not be served by traditional or classical voice technique alone.


CONCLUSIONS
To adequately prepare young musical theatre performers for the current job market and keep the performers healthily making the sounds required by the industry, new singing styles may need to be studied and integrated into voice training that only teaches classical styles.
Shenandoah Conservatory, Shenandoah University, Winchester, Virginia. Electronic address: kgreen@su.edu.
Kathryn
K
Green
Shenandoah Conservatory, Shenandoah University, Winchester, Virginia.
Warren
W
Freeman
Shenandoah Conservatory, Shenandoah University, Winchester, Virginia.
Matthew
M
Edwards
Shenandoah Conservatory, Shenandoah University, Winchester, Virginia.
David
D
Meyer
D004517:Education, Professional / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D009146:Music; D009790:Occupations / Q000639:trends*; D063346:Singing; D013997:Time Factors; D014833:Voice Quality; D014834:Voice Training
Auditions; Broadway; Casting; Contemporary commercial music; Musical theatre; Vocal pedagogy