Mountview’s MA in Theatre for Community and Education is a creative and challenging ensemble experience in the transformational power of theatre arts.

In a society where access to the arts is at risk of being marginalised, this course develops the next generation of interdisciplinary theatre practitioners who will lead the way in providing meaningful arts experiences for all.

The holistic programme is aimed at practitioners interested in the potential of theatre arts to address social, political and educational issues in a broad range of settings. It invites creative reflection into the power of storytelling for social transformation, considering the role of arts in education, migration and exile, health and building communities.

It is a professional training, vocational experience and a philosophical education, welcoming applicants from all backgrounds, including those practicing in youth, community and/or education settings and performers looking to develop and diversify their career. Throughout the course you will develop critical skills in facilitating, devising, leading, producing, discussing and teaching creatively and imaginatively. Study involves workshops, lectures and seminars as well as independent collaborative and solo practice/research.

Teaching takes place one day a week with one long study weekend per term. The course is taught by a range of highly experienced practitioners and visiting tutors and offers a balance of theory and practice in its learning strategy. Lecturers hold expertise in a variety of areas, such as applied theatre, dramatherapy, diaspora consciousness, marketing and communications, international politics, funding community projects, and theatre in the criminal justice system.

Practical areas of study include collaborative and ensemble techniques, decolonial feminist approaches, forum theatre, arts for wellbeing, ritual theatre, trauma awareness, devised theatre, ecological transformation, and ethics in artistic practice. You will gain experience running theatre workshops in local schools in the Peckham area. You will also learn from a range of world class organisations such as Clean Break, Brixton House, Unicorn Theatre, Turtle Key Arts, Access all Areas and Candoco Dance Company. Assessments are varied and include essays, talks, education packs, presentations, practice and dissertation.

Students engage in a wide range of texts such as Theatre of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks, The Moving Body by Jacques Lecoq, Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa and Theatre for Living: The Art and Science of Community-Based Dialogue by David Diamond.

The dissertation project is defined by your area of interest and can be practice-based or written. Training may involve placements within a variety of world-class arts organisations, such as Springboard Youth Academy, Theatre Peckham, The Migration Museum, Raze Collective, the Tate Modern, Peckham Harris Secondary School, Radio Platfform and Rideout Creative Arts for Rehabilitation.

The course is led by Maria Askew, an award-winning theatre director, performing artist and educator who has worked internationally with groups and individuals from a broad range of sectors, including healthcare professionals, refugee and migrant communities, as well as in the creative/cultural industries, in education with schools, colleges and universities, and with NGOs and charities. Maria’s research explores the intersections between artistic, political, and social transformation.