Through in-house productions, industry based placements and hands-on training, you’ll learn all relevant skills relating to the work of the production technician in theatre, events, and other areas of the entertainment industry.

Course overview

With technology at its core, this course offers practical, hands-on training in a variety of high-end lighting, sound, and video systems – skills that are in high demand for the theatre, events, film and television industries in Wales and across the rest of the UK.

You’ll have classes given by leading professionals operating at the top of their field, alongside several production placements, both based at the College and with our industry partners here in Wales.

With your placements, developing your expertise for a technical career in the creative industries is only one part of it. These experiences will also help you to build communication and team working skills that are essential to thriving in collaborative environments.

After graduation, you could take on roles such as a production electrician, lighting technician or programmer, sound and system engineer, video operator or programmer, among many more.

Why study this course?

  • All but two of the modules are designed to replicate the experience of work-based learning. You’ll work with state-of-the-art entertainment industry technology such as, but not limited to, automated lighting and consoles, digital sound systems, video projection and production electrics.
  • You’ll train with a team of staff who are highly skilled industry professionals. They offer you not only first-rate teaching in current best practices, but mentorship and networking opportunities as well.
  • For your placements within the second year at the College, you’ll have a lead production role, under the supervision and guidance of a senior technician, working with the various technical teams (video, lighting, sound) during the fit up of Richard Burton Theatre Company productions.
  • Throughout your training, you’ll work alongside staff from the design and stage-management departments and interact with students from across the College’s performing arts courses. These collaborations will help you to develop an understanding of and empathy of the other fields of practice within the creative arts.
  • Your external placement will take place with one of our leading industry partners, such as the Welsh National Opera, Stage Sound Services, Figure of Eight Events or Sherman Theatre. This opportunity not only gives you practical, real-world experience, but it also allows you to meet and create a network of contacts within the industry.
  • For up to three years after you complete your course, you have the option to ‘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) Stage Management and Technical Theatre.
  • You’ll have talks from, and get to meet, industry professionals from a range of different disciplines, who are regularly invited to speak here at the College – giving you a chance to widen your professional network in readiness for your life after graduation.
  • You’ll take part in visits to local theatre companies, giving you a feel for what the industry is really like. On occasion, when major productions visit Cardiff, we’ll try to arrange visits to the production and organise a tour or talk for your cohort.

Through work experience and hands-on training, you’ll learn how to plan, draught, construct and install sets to a professional standard whilst working on our numerous public productions.

Course overview

Work placements and hands-on training in our workshops are at the centre of this specialist course that focuses on building sets for theatrical productions.

From day one in our state-of-the-art workshops at Llanishen Studios, you’ll learn fundamental construction techniques in carpentry, metalwork and welding. But you’ll also delve into using digital tools that are essential in set construction, such as SketchUp and Auto Cad, and computer numerical control (CNC) equipment.

Following your workshop training, you’ll then become more familiar with the theatre environment, learning basic skills in access equipment, rigging and flying systems. You’ll also gain greater insight into the roles and duties of relevant team members and become involved in the load-in and fit-up of productions here at the College.

The bulk of this course, which is the only one of its kind in the UK, consists of work placements – some of which will be held at the College. The others will take place externally with our professional partners, which are some of the largest and most prestigious companies from the TV, film and theatrical industries in Wales and the UK.

In our welcoming creative environment, you’ll build all the professional, practical and technical skills you need to secure a construction technician role after graduation – a position that’s highly in demand.

Why study this course?

  • Your skills will be in demand – there’s currently a shortage of suitably qualified entry-level technicians in the stage and screen industries.
  • You’ll be guided by expert practitioners who are currently working in today’s industry. They offer you not only first-rate teaching, but mentorship and networking opportunities as well.
  • Your cohort is small – so you’ll receive a very high level of individual support and attention during your course.
  • We’ve partnered with some of the largest companies in the UK, who offer our students professional work placements, these include Welsh National Opera, Cardiff Theatrical Services, Bay Productions, Wild Creations, and Bad Wolf.
  • You’ll take on increasingly high levels of responsibility for creating and installing stage sets for our in-house productions, including opera and musical theatre. You’ll take on the role of construction leader in at least one of your placements. As part of this work, you’ll follow the design process, work with the designer to produce the required construction drawings, lead the construction and the final fit-up of the set.
  • You’ll be based at our large and superbly equipped workshops at Llanishen Studios, which are the largest and best equipped of any competitive conservatoire.
  • At the end of the two-year course, you'll have the option to ‘top-up’ your qualification and receive a BA (Hons) in Design for Performance by completing an additional year of study specialising in scenic construction.
  • Alongside your placements, you’ll have evening classes at the College to help you develop commercial and financial awareness, as well as project management communications and leadership skills.
  • Collaboration runs through everything we do here. You’ll train alongside other design and stage-management students, as well as those studying our performing arts courses. This kind of work helps you to develop an understanding and empathy of other creative arts disciplines – but it also helps you to build partnerships that can last long after you graduate.

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.

Mountview produces over 25 in-house productions each year in our state-of-the-art theatres, giving students on the FdA Stage Management course a vast array of learning experiences.

Stage managers are the glue that holds a production together. Their many responsibilities include running communication across all creative and technical departments, acting as a right hand to the director, overseeing sets, props, lights, and sound, and calling all technical cues during performances.

Mountview is internationally recognised for the quality of its Musical Theatre training and produces at least 8 large-scale musicals in-house every year, providing Stage Management students with extensive experience of the musical format.

Mountview also offers a 1-year BA (Hons) Top-Up in Stage Management, which offers a greater depth of study to those with previous experience.

COURSE CONTENT AND DELIVERY

The Stage Management Foundation Degree is a full-time, two-year course designed to equip students with the core skills and professional experience needed to launch a successful career.

With 30 contact hours per week over 36 weeks each year, the course offers a blend of practical training, real-world experience, and industry engagement. Students are taught by Mountview’s resident team of tutors, alongside visiting professionals. Previous guest tutors have included professionals from Punchdrunk, Hamilton, The Globe, the Royal Opera House and the National Theatre.

From the second term of the first year, students begin working on Mountview’s public productions in our main theatre spaces. These productions are delivered to professional standards, providing students with the opportunity to collaborate closely with professional directors, choreographers, designers and technical teams from across the industry.

Throughout the course, students receive in-depth skills training and take part in practical projects and specialist masterclasses designed to consolidate their learning. Career guidance and individual support are embedded in the programme to ensure that graduates are well-prepared to enter the industry with confidence.

In addition to in-house productions, students will undertake work placements with external organisations, gaining valuable hands-on experience and building a strong network of professional contacts. Previous placements have included Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Shakespeare’s Globe, Wilton’s Music Hall, the National Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, Cabaret and the Barbican.

Please note that involvement in Mountview’s productions includes evening and weekend work, reflecting the schedule and demands of a professional theatre environment.

Mountview produces over 25 in-house productions each year in our state-of-the-art theatres, giving students on the FdA Technical Production course a vast array of learning experiences.

Our Technical Production training is primarily focussed on sound and lighting, incorporating video and technical stagecraft. Course content includes lighting and sound studio skills, the preparation and management of technical equipment, lighting and sound system design, how to programme and operate desks, video mapping and design, as well as core technical and maintenance skills.

Training includes:

Mountview is internationally recognised for the quality of its Musical Theatre training and produces at least 8 large-scale musicals in-house every year, providing Technical Production students with extensive experience of the musical format.

Mountview also offers a one-year BA (Hons) Top-Up in Technical Production, in which students with previous experience can select a specialism and develop a greater depth of understanding.

COURSE CONTENT AND DELIVERY

Covering the areas of lighting, sound and video, the Technical Production Foundation Degree is a full-time, two-year course designed to equip students with the core skills and professional experience needed to launch a successful career.

With 30 contact hours per week over 36 weeks each year, the course offers a blend of practical training, real-world experience, and industry engagement. Students are taught by Mountview’s resident team of tutors, alongside visiting professionals. Previous guest tutors have included professionals from Robe, DPA, Vectorworks, Operation Mincemeat and the National Theatre.

From the first term, students begin working on Mountview’s public productions in our main theatre spaces. These productions are delivered to professional standards, providing students with the opportunity to collaborate closely with professional directors, designers and technical practitioners from across the industry.

Throughout the course, students receive in-depth skills training and take part in practical projects and specialist masterclasses designed to consolidate their learning. Career guidance and individual support are embedded in the programme to ensure that graduates are well-prepared to enter the industry with confidence.

In addition to in-house productions, students will undertake work placements with external organisations, gaining valuable hands-on experience and building a strong network of professional contacts. Previous placements have included Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Palladium, the National Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, Cabaret and the Barbican.

Through in-house productions, industry based placements and hands-on training, you’ll learn all relevant skills relating to the work of the production technician in theatre, events, film and TV.

With technology at its core, this course offers practical, hands-on training in a variety of high-end lighting, sound, and video systems – skills that are in high demand for the theatre, events, film and television industries in Wales and across the rest of the UK.

You’ll have classes given by leading professionals operating at the top of their field, alongside several production placements, both based at the College and with our industry partners here in Wales.

With your placements, developing your expertise for a technical career in the creative industries is only one part of it. These experiences will also help you to build communication and team working skills that are essential to thriving in collaborative environments.

After graduation, you could take on roles such as a production electrician, lighting technician or programmer, sound and system engineer, video operator or programmer, among many more.

FdA Musical Theatre at Italia Conti is a two-year, full time vocational course for anyone aged 16+ wishing to start their training to become a professional performer in Musical Theatre. Musical Theatre training is truly triple threat and encourages all performers to find versatility and adaptability in their skillset to nourish their future careers with a world of opportunity.

Italia Conti’s FdA Musical Theatre course is designed to nurture and develop innovative and individual musical theatre performers, who embody and apply specialist skills and techniques supported by grounded knowledge of industry practices, contexts, and the emerging requirements that empower graduates for a sustainable career in musical theatre.

The course is validated by University of Chichester. Full government funding is available through Student Finance England for Home students. 16 year old students can also access student finance for this programme.

Students that undertake the FdA at 16, are able to complete three years of training and graduate with a degree at the age of 19, extremely valuable for extraordinarily talented young performers who have already undertaken considerable vocational training.

Our full-time Foundation Acting course offers a student-centered approach to learning with a strong focus on the individual and their formative journey into training and beyond.

Led by Sam Gibbs, a Theatre Maker and Actor Trainer, the course, based in specialist studios at the Lyric Hammersmith, provides rigorous training that prepares students for the next step in their professional career.

Regular sessions with industry professionals ensure that the intensive actor training is blended with invaluable insights into the demands and opportunities in the performing arts sector. Recent visiting tutors have included Mike Bartlett (Earthquakes in London, King Charles III), Noma Dumezweni (Disney’s The Little Mermaid Live, The Undoing, Harry Potter & the Cursed Child), Sean Kempton (Cirque du Soleil), Matthew Xia (Artistic Director of Actors Touring Company) and Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Emelia, The Wasp).

The variety of the material used in classes and projects initiates discussions on relevant topics in today’s world, that promote students’ personal development and understanding. Tutors cultivate a safe, but challenging, environment to encourage students to experiment, explore and embrace their training journey, its failures, and successes. Students are supported in choosing, and discovering, a path that is right for them at the conclusion of the course.

Our full time foundation course in Musical Theatre develops your skill and confidence in all three of the essential disciplines required for this demanding training. Delivered by tutors from our BA course, this is an excellent foundation for progression into a full-time training course.

Ensuring that you excel in all three disciplines our Full Time Foundation includes intensive one-to-one singing tuition, ensemble dance training in jazz and ballet and bespoke audition preparation. Throughout the course you will be working with our highly experienced ArtsEd tutors, who have a very thorough understanding of what drama schools are looking for in auditions.

This programme is validated by City, University of London and you will receive a City, University of London award on successful completion.

A practical, performance-based programme that helps students who have the potential for full time vocational training but not yet the necessary technical standard required for entry. Students participate in daily classes for ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, singing, acting and musical theatre, in order to equip the individual with the wide range of skills they will need.

Students will also be coached for their vocational auditions, covering topics such as suitability of song, dance and monologue, interview techniques, photographs and application forms. A lecture programme will address issues concerning the healthy dancer/performer.

On successful completion of the course, graduates will automatically be given a free audition for Bird College’s vocational courses through either the FE or the HE route. Developmental advice is provided throughout the course, together with guidance on suitability of other vocational colleges.

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