The mental health of musical theatre students in tertiary education: A pilot study

This article seeks to illuminate questions of mental health in tertiary-level musical theatre training. Professional performing artists, students of singing, dance and acting, as well as undergraduate university students are all at greater risk of mental health problems than the general population. At the nexus of these domains is the tertiary-level musical theatre student. Through a survey conducted with recent musical theatre graduates in Australia, this study investigated the impact of tertiary-level musical theatre study on the psychological wellbeing of its students, identifying relevant stressors and mitigating factors. The results demonstrate a higher instance of mental health concerns in this cohort than the general population and other tertiary-level groups. Some solutions to mitigate the issue are presented.