IMPORTANT: Please note that this guidance pertains to the updated 2027 Musical Theatre Syllabus (for exams taken from 1st January 2027 onwards). For guidance relating to the 2021 Musical Theatre Syllabus (for exams taken before 31st December 2026), please see here: Musical Theatre Exams (Solo / Duo) - 2021 SYLLABUS
The published or devised spoken dialogue must be a minimum of 30 seconds and no more than one minute in length and must be included in the overall performance time of the song(s).
As detailed in the syllabus, the spoken dialogue may be devised by the Learner(s) or taken from a published text. It should enhance the overall performance of the song, giving the imagined audience some insight into why the character is singing, thereby setting the mood of the piece.
If you would like to use published spoken dialogue, some musicals or film musicals will have dialogue within the script that can be used for this element of the exam.
Alternatively, you could find suitable spoken dialogue by looking at other songs within the same musical or film musical, especially those sung by the same character, to see if they have any lyrics that could be spoken as dialogue.
If you choose to use published spoken dialogue, please note it is permitted to edit it so that it is the right length, as long as the sense of the words is maintained.
If you cannot find any suitable spoken dialogue within the musical or film musical from which the chosen song has been taken, you can devise your own spoken dialogue.
If you choose to do this, consider hot seating the character by asking the Learner questions in character, for example ‘how are you feeling right now?’ Then write the answer down.
The published or devised spoken dialogue should inform the imagined audience of the character’s situation and provide a context for the listener that enables them to appreciate the circumstances and emotions within the song.
The spoken dialogue must be a cohesive part of the performance, either leading naturally into the song and/or linking two sections of the song together and/or concluding the song– try to avoid a long pause between the end of the spoken dialogue and the start of the music.
The spoken dialogue could be spoken over the musical introduction to the song, during the song performance or after the Learner has finished sing the song to conclude the performance.
Teachers and Learners should carefully consider where to integrate the spoken dialogue into the performance and whether it allows the Learner(s) to meet the assessment criteria to their best potential.
If the Learner is adopting an accent this should be sustained from speech into song.