In this work placement centred course, you’ll learn how to create stage sets, backdrops and props for public performances, television and film.

Course overview

Our industry-led course will give you all the skills you need to create stage sets, backdrops and props for public performances and work on major television and film projects.

Guided by a team of staff who are experienced professionals, you’ll learn all the main workshop practices of the stage and screen industries.

These practices include fundamental painting and texturing techniques, prop making, metalwork and how to use tools and other relevant equipment – such as core computer skill training (specialising in fusion360 and Auto Cad), which will allow you to operate laser cutters, 3D printers and computer numerical control (CNC) equipment.

You’ll then put your newfound knowledge into practice, where you’ll have several work placements – both in College productions and with our industry partners, who create sets and props for some of the country’s biggest productions.

The only course of its kind outside London, it provides a welcoming, safe environment where you can experiment and really push your creative boundaries. You’ll emerge as a specialist in your discipline, ready to flourish in this ever-changing, demanding industry.

Why study this course?

  • You’ll gain an understanding of the techniques, crafts, structures and working methods used in today’s industry. This includes both metal fabrication and carpentry.
  • You’ll train with a team of staff who are highly skilled industry professionals. They offer you not only first-rate teaching, but mentorship and networking opportunities as well.
  • Most of this two-year course focuses on using your skills in a variety of different settings – both in College productions and in placements with our industry partners.
  • These industry partners are companies who work with some of the largest and most prestigious theatres in the UK and abroad. Our partners and supporters include Theatr Clwyd, The Bakehouse Factory, Welsh National Opera, Cardiff Theatrical Services, Bay Productions, Wild Creations, and Bad Wolf.
  • You’ll work alongside other students from our design and stage management departments and interact with those from across our performing arts courses.
  • In at least one of your work placements, you’ll take on the role of scenic arts leader for a production performed here at the College. This role will see you following the design process, working with the designer to produce the necessary costings and paint samples, as well as overseeing and guiding BA and MA Design students on their production placements.
  • Our strong ties with industry also means that your training reflects the latest best practice in TV, film and stage. These partnerships also allow you to easily build a network of contacts, which is crucial to laying the groundwork for a successful career in the arts sector.
  • Our workshop facilities are the largest and best equipped of any competitive conservatoire – and you’ll be working on the same equipment as those specialists in the industry.
  • We keep the cohort numbers small so you’ll get lots of individual support throughout your course.
  • You’ll also develop your leadership and management abilities, giving you the confidence to thrive in a professional environment after you graduate.
  • After you complete your course, you'll have the option ‘top up’ your qualification. You can do this by completing an additional year of study to gain a level 6 qualification as part of our BA (Hons) Design for Performance degree.

Join established stage and literary agent Alan Brodie, whose clients include the estates of writers including Bertolt Brecht, Noël Coward, Terence Rattigan, Patrick Hamilton and Thornton Wilder, to demystify the world of theatrical estates and rights.

Aimed at mid-career directors, this mid-career masterclass will explore how you might approach an estate, theatre or licensor, what makes an artistic proposal compelling, how decisions around rights are made and where the boundaries of artistic freedom lie. The session will discuss the relationship between protecting a writer's legacy and giving the next generation of artists the freedom to make classic work their own.

This session will culminate in a Q&A.

Essential Information:

For more information and to register your interest, click the Opportunity Info link below!

What is it that makes you as a performer uniquely funny? How do you share that brilliant, special ridiculousness with an audience so that they are helpless with laughter? 

In this 5-day introduction to Spymonkey Clown we will focus on how to identify and develop that particular quality of Funny that is special to you, and only you. 

You will be supported to develop these comedic skills in a safe, fun and laughter-filled environment. This positive group dynamic will allow you focus on identifying and trusting your best impulses, taking risks, being adventurous, generous and honest as a performer. In this highly enjoyable workshop we will play games and exercises, developing trust and complicity with the group. You will find the pleasure in your own ridiculousness, stay optimistic, discover your comedy gold, and get ready to laugh until your face hurts. 

We will share many of the methods that Spymonkey have found essential over the years in creating Theatre of the Funny: physical games, improvisational games, status exercises, physical comedy routines, chorus exercises and parody.

Essential Information:

Calling all university students! Spymonkey are offering a 50% discount on this workshop with the promocode SPYMONKEY50 and Name of Uni.

For more information and to book, click the Opportunity Info link below!

Young Identity run free workshops every week throughout Manchester and Trafford for young creatives aged 13 - 25. With regular attendance, you’ll get access to specialist workshops, creative projects and performance opportunities.

HOME - Mondays 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Central Library - Tuesdays 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Old Trafford - Wednesdays 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Respect and Dignity - Mondays 6:00 PM - 7:45 PM

Verse and Vibe - Tuesdays 6:00 PM - 7:45 PM

For more information and to sign up, click the Opportunity Info link below!

Join our Artistic Director Nuna Sandy to learn about Affinity Groups at Company Three: spaces for young people to come together with artists who share an identity, and to creatively explore that together.

Nuna will share Company Three's journey and approach to this work, and some tips for setting up your own Affinity Groups and making work about identity, led and owned by the teenagers involved.

Essential Information:

For more information and to sign up, click the Opportunity Info link below!

Practitioners working with teenagers are meeting increasingly complex needs. The Youth Theatre Census 2024 highlighted young people's mental health as one of the sector's biggest challenges, and many youth theatres are now offering far more pastoral support than ever before.

Wellbeing and care is central to Company Three's practice - it's fundamental that young people can feel appreciated, safe and have fun in all our sessions.

This workshop shares practical tools to help adults centre wellbeing and care in creative projects.

Essential Information:

For more information, click the Opportunity Info link below!

16-30?

Get a FREE Barclays Dance Pass and unlock £10 tickets to spectacular entertainment across all Sadler’s Wells venues. The catch? There’s no catch – you just need to be between the ages of 16 and 30!

With your Barclays Dance Pass, you can book up to 2 tickets per production for just £10 each! Bring a friend and get ready for a fabulous night out at Sadler’s Wells Theatre and Lilian Baylis Studio in Angel, Peacock Theatre in the West End, or our brand-new Sadler’s Wells East in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.

Sadler’s Wells is known as THE place for dance. We have something for everyone to enjoy – from ballet, contemporary, flamenco, and musical theatre to alternative circus, hip hop, tango, and everything in between. With some of the world’s best performances taking place on our stages, you can be sure of a dazzling five-star experience without breaking the bank.

Sign up now and start your Barclays Dance Pass adventure today!

For more information and to sign up, click the Opportunity Info link below!

Join our Les Enfants Terribles' creative team for a skill-builder session for theatre makers, producers, designers and writers who want to make Immersive Theatre work.

Half-seminar, half practical workshop, this skill-builder has something for everyone and compliments our Immersive Theatre for Actors workshop for those who both create and perform.

In this workshop you will:

Essential information:

Book into the other workshops to save 20% (£240 for all 3 workshops).

Bursary places are available.

For more information and to sign up, click the Opportunity Info link below!

Join our Les Enfants Terribles' creative team for a skill-builder session for actors who want to perform in Immersive Theatre work.

This workshop is designed to allow you space to learn and explore the skills needed in the immersive rehearsal room.

In this workshop you will:

Essential information:

Book into the other workshops to save 20% (£240 for all 3 workshops).

Bursary places are available.

For more information and to sign up, click the Opportunity Info link below!

Stuck trying to complete your tax return? Is the Self Assessment tax deadline making you lose sleep? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

In our Self Made Online series of bitesize how to’s, we’ll cover everything you need to know about your tax return so you can check it off your to do list.

WHAT YOU'LL GAIN:

ESSENTIAL INFO:

For more information and to sign up, click the Opportunity Info link below!

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