Singing in Your Own Voice: Vocal Music Performance and Teaching-Learning Practice in a South African Theater Company

This case study explores how a South African professional theater company exemplifies the work of teaching artists who bridge artistic practice and teaching-learning practice (TLP) by navigating between Western vocal pedagogies and indigenous oral traditions. Using a qualitative, interpretive design involving interviews, rehearsal observations, and document analysis, the study examines how work-singing and play-singing describe the interplay between institutional and community-based learning. The findings show that when teaching artists embrace play-singing as a mode of learning and expression, they nurture creative agency, belonging, and identity, advancing inclusive, culturally responsive performance education in South Africa.