With this week having celebrated International Swing Day, the importance of swings in the company of a musical is once again brought into the spotlight, with many people wondering just how these performers are able to drop into a given role at very short notice. Luckily, former swing and coach Jaye J. Elster may have the answer, as well as the process to transform you into a swing yourself.
How to Swing in Musical Theatre is a guidebook to how theatre performers can effectively become swings on shows. From explaining the difference between swings, alternates and understudies, the book details how a performer goes from being cast to their first performance effectively, taking advantage of their role in the company, and importantly, how performers can manage the feat of learning multiple parts simultaneously.
It’s worth saying that this book is aimed more at a performing arts student audience rather than that of a general reader, although the opening chapters do a fantastic job at making the key differentiation between different type of performers, including swings. However, for non-students or performers, the book very quickly loses a lot of its relevance, with following chapters quickly feeling repetitive or obsolete for your everyday reader. Whilst this was to be expected, there’s very little in this book that can be taken and applied to your own life, non-swing performances or smaller productions, which can leave you feeling slightly disconnected from the book, especially with no reference script or production for you to attempt the strategies the book poses.
In order to make this book easier to follow for all, it could make use of an existing production. With the author having been a swing themselves, they could have made use of a musical throughout, that would have given a reference point for a lot of the concepts the book discusses, which would have made following the narrative or attempting the strategies yourself possible. Also, the book repeatedly says how all swings will have their own methods to swing, which makes this book less “how to swing in musical theatre” and more “how this person swings in musical theatre”. A useful insight for budding performers, certainly, but less for those looking into the world of the musical swing.
This book certainly had its redeeming qualities, but unless you’re planning on embarking on a career as a swing, or have already swung on a musical before, this book is unlikely to be something you’ll find particularly enjoyable. However, if you or someone you know is considering such a career, this may be the perfect guide for you to get started.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
How to Swing in Musical Theatre (ISBN: 978-1-03-218389-3) was published in 2023
