One performer sings a single song from a stage musical, acting it as a character, in a short age-banded slot of two to six minutes and is marked out of 100 by an adjudicator.
A musical theatre solo asks one performer to sing a single song taken from a stage musical and to act it at the same time. The song belongs to a character in a story, so the entrant is judged not only on how well they sing it but on whether the audience believes the person singing it. A strong entry has a clear sense of who the character is, who they are singing to and what they want in the moment.
On the eTalenter templates that carry it, the class is run in two quite different ways. In a British music, speech and drama eisteddfod it sits in the music section as an individual item for boys and girls together, with six age bands from 7 and under to 18 and under, limits of 4, 4, 5, 6, 6 and 6 minutes, and a mark out of 100. In Australian dance and vocal eisteddfods it appears as a short individual item, usually three to five minutes, marked out of 100, and in several of them it is run inside a dance programme where movement is expected alongside the singing.
A round is quick to run. The entrant is called, the accompanist takes position or the backing track is cued, the song is performed from the first note to the last, and the adjudicator writes comments and a mark while the next entrant prepares. Because the time is short, the way the performer starts, edits the song and ends it matters almost as much as the singing.
Organisers include the class because it attracts entrants who enjoy acting as much as singing, it needs very little beyond a stage, a sound system or piano, and it gives young performers a safe place to try out a character in front of an adjudicator who will tell them what worked.
Where Musical Theatre Solo is run
Musical Theatre Solo appears on eleven eTalenter templates: one British eisteddfod covering music, speech and drama, and ten Australian eisteddfods and festivals, most of them dance or dance and vocals programmes with a few music-led ones. Songs-from-the-shows classes are common at eisteddfods and performing arts festivals in the English-speaking world, but this page records only the templates that carry the class.
- United Kingdom
- Australia
Key facts
- Individual entry, open to boys and girls together on every template that carries it
- British template: six age bands, 7 to 18 and under, with limits of 4, 4, 5, 6, 6 and 6 minutes
- Australian templates: limits range from 2 minutes for the youngest bands up to 3, 3.5 and 5 minutes, with age bands from 4 and under to adult and open ages
- Marked out of 100 on every template; no judging criteria are printed in the sources, so none are assumed here
- No language is set; the song is chosen from a stage musical by the entrant
- Different from Pop Song (a contemporary popular song) and from Vocal Solo (a song performed as music rather than as a character)
On eTalenter, Musical Theatre Solo is filed under Dance, Music and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 11 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Musical Theatre Solo is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 2–6 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Musical Theatre Solo
What a Musical Theatre Solo panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Characterisation: a clear person with a reason to sing, shown in the face, voice and posture from the first line, not only in the chorus
- Vocal quality and pitch: a supported, secure sound that stays in tune with the accompaniment and does not strain at the top of the range
- Diction and storytelling: words that can be followed, with the meaning of each verse coming across so the audience understands the situation
- Acting through the song: movement, gesture and eye line that suit the character and the story without costing breath or tuning
- Stage presence and confidence: a controlled entrance, a committed start, and a finish that holds the moment before the performer relaxes
- Song choice and edit: a piece that suits the performer's voice, age and stage of development, cut cleanly to fit the time limit for the band
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Musical Theatre Solo under Scoring Setup, or start from the full singing competition judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Musical Theatre Solo
How entrants and their teachers usually get Musical Theatre Solo right on the day:
- Choose a song from a show that suits the performer's age and range, and understand where it sits in the story; a song the singer can believe in beats a bigger number that is out of reach
- Read the lines of the scene around the song and decide who the character is talking to, what they want and how that changes from the first verse to the last
- Check the time limit for the band first and cut the song to fit, with a proper ending rather than a stop mid-phrase that the adjudicator has to guess at
- Learn the words away from the music and speak them as a monologue before singing them, so the meaning is secure before the tune is added
- Agree with the organiser how the music will be supplied, and bring a clearly marked copy for the accompanist or a spare copy of the backing track
- Rehearse the entrance, the first line and the finish many times, since these are the moments an adjudicator remembers
- Keep the staging simple and rehearsed in the actual space size where possible; one clear movement that fits a line earns more than busy choreography
- After a placing that disappoints, read the written comments and work first on the lowest-scoring area, often diction in the verses or a weak ending
Frequently asked questions
Is Musical Theatre Solo judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
How long is the Musical Theatre Solo class?
On the British template the limit is 4 minutes for 7 and under and 9 and under, 5 for 11 and under, and 6 for the three oldest bands. On the Australian templates the limit is generally between two and five minutes, depending on the event and age band.
Do I have to act as well as sing?
Yes, the class is a song performed as a character from a stage show, so acting is part of the performance. The templates do not print marking criteria, but the aim of the class is to tell the story of the song as well as sing it.
Is Musical Theatre Solo judged individually or as a team?
It is an individual item on every template that carries it, with a mark out of 100 for each entrant.
Is Musical Theatre Solo the same as Pop Song?
No. Musical Theatre Solo is a song from a stage musical performed as a character, while Pop Song is a contemporary popular song sung as the performer's own interpretation. They are separate classes on the British template.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full singing competition judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Musical Theatre Solo in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Musical Theatre Solo, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
