Josh Appointed Head of Musical Theatre at Virginia Commonwealth University
Rebuilding the Brand: Reframing a Musical Theatre Program
When I stepped into the role of Head of Musical Theatre at Virginia Commonwealth University, I saw an opportunity not just to refine curriculum, but to clarify identity.
A program is more than its course list. It is a philosophy. It is a promise. It is a brand.
Over the past semester, I have worked to reshape the focus, language, and curricular arc of the Musical Theatre BFA to better reflect the demands of the contemporary industry. That has included:
• Streamlining the training sequence for clarity and momentum
• Elevating storytelling as the central through-line of performance training
• Integrating professional standards of rehearsal, communication, and artistic rigor
• Strengthening cross-disciplinary collaboration within the School of the Arts
• Reframing the program’s outward-facing identity to align with where musical theatre is headed, not where it has been
The goal has not been reinvention for its own sake, but refinement. Alignment. Precision.
Musical theatre training today must produce artists who are technically grounded, emotionally literate, stylistically versatile, and entrepreneurially aware. The program now reflects that standard more clearly in both structure and messaging.
You can view the updated program framework here:
https://arts.vcu.edu/program/theatre-musical-bfa/
Institutional transformation is rarely loud. It is architectural. It happens in systems, sequencing, and standards. I am proud of the clarity the program now carries, and excited about the artists it will continue to produce.
Josh Pilots SpongeBob Projection Design for Broadway Media Distribution
https://www.broadwaymedia.com/
Josh Makes Scholarly Contribution to Most Widely Used Musical Theatre Text Book in the World
Josh’s contribution was solicited because of his reputation as an excellent high school theatre educator.
His contribution includes:
A syllabus for a one-semester course specifically designed for High School Drama teachers, with weekly assignments (reading, selected book exercises, performances, analysis, viewing, etc.)
He has also provided comprehensive grading metrics for the course.
Additional research projects, quizzes, worksheets, exercises or other learning materials in support of this section of the book.
These materials are included in Acting In Musical Theatre: a comprehensive course – The Resource Guide. The supplementary material he provided for the textbook, Acting in Musical Theatre: a comprehensive course, will add immeasurably to the utility of this textbook, which is now the most widely used book on this subject in the world (available in four languages). The Resource Guide is an edited scholarly work that provides abundant and excellent teaching materials for instructors from high school through undergraduate and graduate programs around the world. This guide is available exclusively online through the Routledge website.
