Putting it together : developing teamwork skills through music theatre productions

For students of the performing arts, and in particular, music theatre, the process of rehearsing and performing a complete music theatre production plays a vital role in equipping them with skills and strategies in the development and maintenance of high performance teams that are necessary for a lifetime of further learning and employment opportunities in the performing arts. Within the arts and entertainment industry, performers, artists, technicians, creators and managers need to learn to maximise the benefits of high performance team strategies that will allow them to survive the inherent volatility of the professional industry. Thus educators within performing arts courses need to create environments where teamwork skills are identified and nurtured, enabling graduates to find success and personal fulfilment in their development as performers and then, in the future, as professionals in the performing arts industry. This paper considers strategies for maximising team-building skills within the context of a music theatre production, drawing upon current theories of management of high performance teams as models for this process.