What sets a technically strong performer apart from a truly unforgettable one? In this episode, Molly Marie Walsh — performer, educator, and MT history advocate — unpacks how a deep understanding of musical theatre’s roots enriches performance, informs vocal style, and builds lasting careers. From the social commentary of Hadestown to the escapism of 1930s musicals, Molly and Alexa explore how history shapes artistry, interpretation, and authenticity on stage. A must-listen for performers, teachers, and anyone passionate about meaningful storytelling through song and stage.

WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?

3:10 What’s Molly’s favourite era of Musical Theatre history?

8:05 Case study

12:20 Is historical and contextual understanding always necessary?

17:45 Context & vocal targets

24:38 Context & aesthetic design

26:38 Context and the creative’s career

29:02 How can contextual understanding help in an audition?

33:46 How historical understanding upholds the craft of Musical Theatre

43:27 What about the ensemble?

47:20 Different resources

About the presenter, click HERE

RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS

Urdang

Broadway Musicals Show By Show by Stanley Green

Graham Norton interview

Fifty Key Stage Musicals by Robert W. Schneider and Shannon Agnew

Fifty Key Stage Musicals: The Podcast

Artists mentioned: Jesse Mueller; Sierra Boggess; Marisha Wallace; Billy Porter

Agnes de Mille

Jeanine Tesori

Shaina Taub

Jamie Lloyd

Our Musicals, Ourselves by John Bush Jones

The Cambridge Companion to the Musical by William A Everett & Paul Laird

150 Years of Popular Musical Theatre by Andrew Lamb

A Critical Companion to The American Stage Musical by Elizabeth L. Wollman

Strike Up the Band by Scott Miller

Horrible Histories

Singing Teachers Talk Podcast Ep.10 Songs for Male Contemporary Musical Theatre Singers

ABOUT THE GUEST

Molly Marie Walsh, originally from California, is a seasoned Musical Theatre performer with credits in the US and UK, including Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Into the Woods, and A Christmas Carol. Now based in the UK, Molly teaches voice, drama, and musical theatre across Buckinghamshire and at London’s Urdang Academy. Molly has worked with musical theatre writers Kansley & Lidert, and she has recently completed the BAST Level 5 Extended Diploma in Singing Teaching Skills.

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

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Feeling like there’s never enough time? You’re not alone. In this episode, Alexa and Line tackle one of the biggest challenges for singing teachers (and humans): time management. With humour and practical wisdom, they share simple, effective strategies, from time-blocking and micro-goals to prioritisation hacks and the Pomodoro technique. Whether you’re juggling students, study, or life in general, this episode will help you reclaim your time and reduce overwhelm. Bonus: details on BAST’s new co-working hubs for added support and accountability.

WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?

2:33 How much time do I need for the BAST Level 5 qualification?

4:59 What is the BAST Level 5 qualification, again?

9:04 Time blocking

17:58 Mega vs Micro goals

19:08 Reverse engineering

21:27 Buffer time

23:49 Priorities

31:13 Task batching

33:43 Time tracking

34:50 ‘Tomato’ technique

38:17 Co-working (and the BAST co-working hubs!)

About the presenter, click HERE

RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS

Kimberley George

RSL Awards

Canva

iCal/Google Calendar

Chronotype Quiz

Trello

monday.com

Scrum

Kanban

Waterfall Project Management

Asana

Agile Project Management

Eisenhower Matrix

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Indistractable by Nir Eyal

Rachael Drury

Good Habits, Bad Habits by Wendy Wood

Discord

Aime McNee

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

basttraining.com | Subscribe | Email Us | FB Group

This week, Alexa is joined by performer and vocal coach Conor O’Hara (fresh from the UK tour of Wicked) to explore 10 standout songs for male singers in the contemporary musical theatre space. From smart audition choices to vocal technique tips, Conor offers practical, performer-led insight that both singers and teachers will find invaluable. Whether you're building your rep book or guiding a student through their next audition, this episode is packed with gold.

WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?

1:04 What is Conor’s dream Musical Theatre role?

2:37 What was Conor’s journey into Musical theatre?

5:44 What is a Musical Theatre audition like?

12:25 What’s Conor’s ‘go-to’ song?

13:20 What song should you really take to an audition?

20:35 Conor’s 10 song list

About the presenter, click HERE

RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS

Emily Kristen Morris

Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.200 The Secret to Powerful Belting and Seamless Mixing

The Hangar Theatre Company

GSA

Mountview

RSC

Debbie O’Brien

Artists mentioned: Jamie Muscato; Jeremy Jordon; Ben Platt; Aaron Tveit; Jack Wolfe; Brian Darcy James; Ben Joyce; Gavin Creel

Danielle Tarento

Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.212 10 Songs to Find Your Pop Style

Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.205 10 Songs to Inspire Your Singing Lessons

Royal Scotland Conservatoire

Spotify Radio

Jeanine Tesori

ABOUT THE GUEST

Conor trained at Mountview Dramatic Training, gaining a BA (Hons) in Performance (Musical Theatre). He led the UK premier tour of 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' as Charlie Rawlins, was a swing in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 'A Christmas Carol' and has recently finished touring around the UK with the Musical 'Wicked'.

Alongside a career as a performer, he is currently a singing teacher at Italia Conti. Based in North London, he offers private tuition in person and online for professionals looking to book their next job, students in or out of work aiming to better their technique, drama school auditionees, non-professionals and more.

Conor believes strongly in finding the right repertoire to suit the goals of the performer, whether that's to forward

BAST Training helps singers gain the confidence, knowledge, skills & understanding required to be a successful singing teacher.

"The course was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It's an investment with so much return. I would recommend this course to any teacher wanting to up-skill, refresh or start up." Kelly Taylor, NZ ...more

basttraining.com | Subscribe | Email Us | FB Group