From Backpacks to Broadway: Children's Experiences in Musical Theatre [Hardcover]

Musical theater is a dynamic, collaborative art form, which encompasses music, theater, dance, and the visual arts. Traditionally associated with adult performers, musicals also have roles designated specifically for children. How then does involvement in musical theater support childrens learning through the performing arts? What do children value from their musical theater experiences and how do these experiences influence childrens personal, social, and artistic lives?

Based on a decade of research, this book explores these questions through childrens participation as singers, actors, and dancers, in school-based, community, and professional musical theater. By valuing childrens voices as important in understanding experience, Rajan constructs a framework of musical theater participation, and applies broader educational implications to highlight the unique characteristics of musical theater in childrens lives.

Rekha S. Rajan is a visiting associate professor of research at Concordia University Chicago. She is an arts education specialist and has a doctorate in music education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is also the author of Integrating the Performing Arts in Grades K-5 (SAGE) and Grant Writing: Practical Strategies for Scholars and Professionals (R&L).

This book is a welcome touchstone resource for professionals working with children in musical theatre. The primary strength of this book is its attention to childrens perspective within the phenomenon of musical theatre. Interviews over time with children enabled the author to obtain rich and useful data on their perspective. Overall, the book gives a clear picture of the experience of being in musical theatre in the twenty-first century. Katie Carlisle, associate professor, music education, graduate director; director, Center for Educational Partnerships, Georgia State University

This book was an enjoyable read and informative demonstration of the unique impactló,