Central’s BA Acting (Collaborative and Devised Theatre) is in creative partnership with international touring theatre company Complicite.
An innovative and rigorous actor training, emphasising the creation of new theatre. The course embraces a multicultural and multidisciplinary methodology with diverse student groups. It celebrates the creative potential of collaborative processes alongside development of the individual actor. It is a 3 years full-time course, and students are entitled to full Equity status upon graduation.
You will graduate with the skills to work in classical and contemporary theatre, film, radio and screen, as well as being an accomplished maker of your own work. The core actor training includes the psychophysical techniques of Jacques Lecoq, Michael Chekhov, Konstantin Stanislavski, Kristin Linklater and Moshe Feldenkrais and emphasises an embodied and experiential approach.
As well as developing rehearsal techniques for script-based work, the course will encourage you to explore the most up-to-date forms of theatre and filmmaking and to have a full creative and political engagement with your work.
The BA (Hons) Acting at Central:
A comprehensive classical and contemporary actor training that prepares actors who aim to become world-leading artists in theatre, film and television. The course focuses on new thinking in response to the rapidly evolving world of the arts and culture. It is a 3 year full-time degree, and students are entitled to full Equity status upon graduation.
The course has four key principles:
Self-discovery – we encourage you to investigate and interrogate your world, challenging your own habits and preconceptions and opening yourself to the journey of the training, while learning to accept uncertainty and failure as part of the process of change and growth, and making curiosity, originality and artistic courage the cornerstones of your professional and artistic life.
Artistry – we offer you the skills you need to build your craft as an actor, so that your imagination and creativity can find expression in truthful characterisation and in the telling of complex and profound stories that offer insights into our world and the human condition.
Empowerment – within the safety of the creative space and the integrity of the acting ensemble, we promote the honest exchange of thoughts and ideas, the sharing of creative inspiration and the generosity of spirit which should always characterise a true actor.
Tradition and innovation – intrinsic to this course is a commitment to studying longstanding theories and practices while welcoming innovation and new vision.
University Centre Rotherham (UCR) creates opportunities and prepares you with the required knowledge, skills, and behaviours to effectively enter the music industry.
The course offers an educational experience where the key focus is on students own career path and progression route.
The course will assist you in nurturing your passion for popular music and stimulate academic curiosity in the subject. Our students are given access to a range of industry connections through experienced lecturers who continually work in the world of music performance and technology.
Our students specialise on their own chosen area of study including, singing, guitar, bass, recording, production etc. by working both an individual and as part of a team.
UCR students continue to turn their passion into careers. We have an incredible alumni working in a large range of employment areas including; performing musicians, composers, producers, live sound engineers, freelance practitioners, event’s organisers, artist management, agents, major and indie record label representatives, venue management and Educators.
Students will gain experience of working in a wide range of materials, surfaces, textures and effects, enabling them to interpret designs to the level of finish expected by contemporary audiences. They will develop skills in research, analysis and interpretation, and a high level of technical competence in drawing, painting, colour theories and working on both large and small scale elements.
Techniques such as marbling, wood graining, lettering, spray gun and texturing will be taught, and students will gain a good understanding of art history, period styles and architecture. There is the opportunity to develop comprehensive skills as part of a team by delivering realised public productions, and to take on increased levels of responsibility as the course progresses.
Studying on the Design for Performance pathway of the BA (Hons) Theatre Practice course, you will:
- Be prepared to work creatively and professionally as a set and costume designer
- Receive intensive design training with industry-wide interaction
- Develop skills through speculative and realised performances at Central
- Collaborate with performers, directors, other designers and production team.
The course develops practitioners with a strong sense of direction and identity, and an ability to think conceptually. From the first year you undertake speculative design projects that will challenge and test ideas in a broad range of performance contexts, from text-based drama to opera, dance, site-specific performance and installations, under the guidance of professional directors, designers and choreographers.
The work of the costume constructor is to interpret the given costume designs, whether period or modern, abstract or representational. Students on this course will learn to be sensitive to the stylistic intentions of the designer and director, and how to research and understand the time, place and narrative of the production through analysis of the scripts or creative concepts.
Alongside training in high level and diverse making skills, students will also learn and develop skills in time management, resource management, budgeting and scheduling, working closely with students of all other theatre disciplines to realise productions.
On the Costume Construction pathway of BA (Hons) Theatre Practice, you will:
- Develop skills in costume interpretation and creative
- Learn pattern drafting, women’s and men’s costume making, hat making and accessories
- Undertake costume supervision and placements with professional companies and designers
- Work closely with students of all other theatre disciplines to contribute to the overall understanding of performance and theatre production.
Technically skilled and creatively inventive ‘makers’ are an essential part of any production team, sensitive to the stylistic intentions of the designer and director. The training will principally be in theatre, but these skills are widely transferable to different environments, including television, film and major live events.
Experimental Arts and Performance is a course for exploring and creating new forms of performance and spaces for culture.
As a student on the Experimental Arts and Performance course, you will:
- Develop your creative work by exploring a wide range of experimental performance from across art forms and cultures
- Develop performance-making and critical skills to investigate, theorise and develop new theatre and performance
- Use performance to critically reflect on the world
- Develop knowledge and skills to change how culture is made, and who gets access to culture
- Develop producing and cultural leadership skills that foster social change and sustainability
- Undertake projects with national and international arts organisations and leading artists
- Explore the futures of performance in a range of cultures and communities
- Become part of an international community of artists, cultural leaders, facilitators and activists, through workshops with guest artists, talks, professional collaborations and our growing alumnae community
Experimental Arts and Performance is for everyone who wants to shape the future of performance.
This course is for creative people interested in making, developing and supporting innovative contemporary performance. The course brings together aspiring artists, producers, thinkers, activists and cultural leaders committed to exploring the futures, forms and politics of experimental performance.
On the Writing for Performance course, you can:
- Develop skills for writing for performance practices
- Create new performance work and explore innovative forms of writing for solo performance, verbatim theatre and devised theatre
- Work with award-winning playwrights, arts practitioners and directors
- Position yourself as a writer within the performance process
- Explore a broad curriculum that is centred around socially engaged performance practices and the dramaturgical skills of writing
- Develop your writing skills in different community contexts in the UK and abroad
- Study alongside students on the BA DATE and BA Performance Arts programmes, offering a vibrant meshing of writing and live performance art at undergraduate level at Central.
You will work with a variety of high profile writers, arts practitioners and directors, encountering a diverse range of innovative performance practices that use writing for performance in different ways.
University of Plymouth and Theatre Royal Plymouth have joined forces to launch Plymouth Conservatoire. Here, performing arts students – actors, dancers, and theatre-makers - will have the very best, up-to-date industry expertise, research and teaching practice as well as unrivalled access to professional opportunities.
It is the only Conservatoire in the UK where students can benefit from the unique mix of expertise on offer when a theatre and a university combine.
Creative edge
Enjoying training in the theatre with performing arts practitioners hand-in-hand with top quality teaching from higher education specialists in a university, Plymouth Conservatoire students get the best of both worlds.
It is this winning combination that drives innovation, the exchange of ideas and best practice and that helps students to gain that all-important creative edge.
Building career portfolios while studying
Plymouth Conservatoire’s performing arts students are encouraged to have the highest aspirations. The University of Plymouth has well established partnerships in the city, and with schools and colleges, as well as with experienced mentors at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
These partners provide students with work opportunities so that, as new graduates, they have career portfolios that facilitate their entry into the workplace.
Take centre stage - break the boundaries in a vibrant and creative environment that encourages interdisciplinary and multimedia approaches to performance. Become a skilled practitioner with a focus on physical performance, confident use of your voice, collaboration and critical awareness. You’ll develop a spirit of curiosity that extends beyond the traditional, embracing alternative approaches to performance making. Professional development throughout will open up exciting career possibilities.
• In the 2018 National Student Survey 100 per cent of students agreed that staff have made the subject interesting and 100 per cent agreed that they have been able to access specialised equipment, facilities, or rooms when needed. According to the 2018 DLHE survey, 100 per cent of students were in work/study six months after finishing the course*.
• Develop a strong career portfolio with work-based learning and professional development opportunities that will boost your skills and expertise, and enhance your employability.
• Benefit from the breadth of the course which explores different aspects of theatre and performance, embracing contemporary, alternative, interdisciplinary and multimedia approaches. You can also try your hand at devising your own performances - work with professional practitioners and explore your own style.
• Advance your creative practice with talks, master classes and workshops with visiting companies and internationally recognised performers; in the past these have included Action Hero, Low Profile, John Nettles, Wildworks, Lone Twin, Earthfall and Robert Lyons.