Jacqui Hall Cuny is a passionate pedagogue, musical theatre performer, stage and vocal director, and researcher with over 40 years of professional experience.
Known by both her maiden (Hall) and her married name (Cuny), she sang, danced, and played piano throughout her childhood before completing a classical musical degree in voice, and an arts degree in drama.
Jacqui made her professional theatre debut in Annie in 1981 and subsequentlytoured Australia with major commercial musicals — Candide, The Sound of Music and Pirates of Penzance — before moving to England to further her career. There she was cast in musicals in Manchester, Birmingham, and London’s West End, returning to Australia in 1989. Back on home soil, she continued performing, with roles in the original cast of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Return to the Forbidden Planet and Better Known as Bea with Toni Lamond.
Over the past 25 years, Jacqui has continued her love affair with musical theatre, performing, directing, and teaching in Sydney and Brisbane. In 2018, Jacqui completed a Master of Music Studies in Vocal Pedagogy (with Distinction), where she examined the teaching and practices in musical theatre tertiary training and how triple threat skills are integrated. Her findings fuelled her passion to know more, and in 2022, she completed her PhD studies in musical theatre at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. Jacqui’s doctoral thesis examined the elements that create musical theatre performance synergy – or the X-Factor – how these elements combine and work together, and how this energy can be practised or encouraged. She has developed a workable, dynamic framework for teaching skills to encourage this performance quality. Her SASS Toolkit — Strategies for Acting Singing Synergy — draws upon a variety of tried and tested singing, acting, movement and psychological methodologies, as well as her original material.
Jacqui has taught musical theatre to all ages and demographics and is passionate about using music as a tool for growth in people’s lives. She is particularly dedicated to developing MT actors as they launch and further their performance careers. Currently, Jacqui is writing her findings and toolkit into a book, due to be published in 2025. Her desire is that all who long to fully and authentically interact with others can learn to unlock and enhance their personal presence and experience the freedom and fun of living and operating in their own brand of X-Factor.