The three year D&B Diploma in Musical Theatre is the perfect start for professional performers, providing a strong grounding in practical technique and performance skills. We boast an incredible number of contact teaching hours and students can expect to have at least 33hours per week of in-person tuition from our incredible faculty.
Accredited by the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre (CDMT), our three year course is balanced equally between singing, dancing and acting. Our goal is to develop our students to be triple threats, equally as confident to tackle lead roles in TV, Film and Theatre and finding their passion on stage, on set or in the studio.
The course is entirely practical with no academic pre-requisites. Students are all expected to take an external examination with either the London College of Music or the UDO in order to qualify as teachers of Acting, Singing or Street Dance before they graduate.
This highly practical two-year course is perfect for any training performer looking for solid foundational skills and technique to transition into higher education.
In our first graduating class alone, we saw 94% of our student cohort move on to study at higher education in accredited drama and musical theatre schools, universities and our own industry-led ICTheatre degree.
Throughout the course, you will have plenty of opportunities to follow your passion and develop your performance skills. You’ll also explore and improve on the techniques required for success in the creative industries. You’ll then direct your study focus into one of three pathways:
Musical Theatre – Triple Threat
Acting & Theatre Making
Dance Artistry & Performance
One Diploma: Three Pathways
With each pathway, you’ll receive a minimum of 18.5 contact hours, training across various disciplines specific to your route of study. You’ll also have a range of optional modules to choose from. These allow you to home in on the career-specific skills and techniques that interest you most.
As a performing arts student, you’ll have the chance to expand your creative and networking skills with an array of unrivalled opportunities. These include classes with visiting industry professionals, exclusive Masterclasses and panels, theatre trips and the chance to get involved in our full-scale productions (such as plays, cabarets and concerts). We also help our students gain work experience both on and off the stage and set with esteemed local film and theatre companies.
So, what are you waiting for? To start your future as a successful performing arts practitioner, join the movement!. Join ICTheatre.
BA (Hons) Performing Arts consists of three pathways: Musical Theatre, Acting and Hip-Hop Artistry; each providing in-depth training shaped by current industry trends.
Technique, work ethic, confidence, self-awareness and imagination are key tools for any performer looking to build a sustainable and fulfilling career in the arts.
During the first two years of your training, you will develop and embed technique, explore new ideas and ways of working, discover yourself as a creative artist, and learn how to promote yourself and your work in a competitive market.
In the third year the training becomes industry focused with professional preparation, public shows, a filmed show reel, self-taping tuition as well as an independent project of your choosing.
Uniquely during your final year, you also select from a range of options, all created to meet the demands of the industry. This allows you to drill down into a specific area of performance and enhance your skill set further.
Our pathways encourage independence, entrepreneurialism and innovation because these qualities will be required of any performer entering the contemporary performing arts industry. We don’t want you just to get work, we want you to make work.
All learning is underpinned by personal development classes, enabling you to find strategies in time management, organisational skills and control of performance related anxiety. These are life skills that you can apply far beyond your three years with us, and within a variety of contexts.
This course encourages independence, entrepreneurialism and innovation because these qualities will be required of any performer entering the contemporary performing arts industry. We don’t want you just to get work, we want you to make work.
All learning is underpinned by regular mental and physical resilience classes; another key element of your training.
You will need to be resilient on entering this notoriously hard profession. You should also be equipped with life skills, which you can apply within a variety of contexts far beyond your three years of training.
Strings, Wind, Brass, Percussion, Keyboard, Vocal Studies, Composition, Electronic Music, Jazz.
The BMus programme is centred around world-leading one-to-one tuition for performers, composers and electronic musicians. Its principal aim is to develop your ability as a practical musician. At least two-thirds of the programme is focused on your Principal Study.
A minimum of 30 individual lessons a year with our renowned professorial staff are combined with over 100 hours a year of departmental classes, workshops, coaching, and projects with high profile artists, as well as opportunities to perform in some of the country’s finest venues.
From the start, you will be treated like a professional, and given the support and encouragement you need to prepare for the industry. You will establish contacts and gain exposure through our partnership organisations such as the Barbican, London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. A Joint Principal Study pathway is also available.
On our Musical Theatre MFA course, you will gain a broad range of musical theatre knowledge and skills while performing in a variety of outstanding productions.
Supported by first-class teaching, your learning will involve a working knowledge of historical, critical and theoretical content, and the creation of performances that will be presented to agents and professionals for maximum industry exposure. You will also have the opportunity to participate in a professional placement, giving you invaluable experience of the UK musical theatre industry.
A high percentage of GSA alumni appear in the cast lists of West End shows and national tours. Last year, over 95 per cent of GSA graduates gained professional representation or professional contracts within the first year of graduating.
As a musical theatre performer you must be passionate, creative, and able to form a deep connection with your story, character and audience.
Guildford School of Acting (GSA) is one of the UK’s leading accredited drama schools, providing dedicated conservatoire training within a purpose-built environment.
Successful entry on to GSA’s MA Musical Theatre means you will be part of a carefully selected and committed ensemble of performers-in-training, equipped with the self-discipline and motivation to master new skills and refine existing capabilities. Building on our international reputation in musical theatre, this course will enhance your skills with opportunities to launch your career.
On our BA Theatre Production course, you‘ll work on a variety of productions including plays, musicals, devised projects and events.
Beginning with a comprehensive introduction to all core subjects relating to professional theatre production, you’ll build experience in a range of skills including sound, lighting, stage management and construction and Scenic Arts. You will also get an overview introduction to video and theatre design. We are proud to have strong industry links, and teaching current industry standards linked and integrated with key organisations is at the heart of our vocational training.
As you progress through the course, you’ll be able to select one dedicated area for specialist development, eventually taking senior Head of Department production-critical responsibility across a range of public performances. Industry placement and professional development modules are also a core part of this course and you’ll have the opportunity to present your work at a final year showcase.
Our BA Musical Theatre course will develop your professional and collaborative sensibilities through a rigorous programme of training. You’ll gain individual technical, critical and evaluative skills, with practical classes in a range of core disciplines.
On this course, your skills are continually developed through integration exercises, scene work, project rehearsals and productions of classic and contemporary musicals. Classes in dance and singing are highly-prioritised alongside acting classes and projects, which will enable you to become multi-skilled and highly versatile, ensuring your appeal to the industry and a flying start to your career.
On our BA Actor-Musician course, you’ll develop performance skills in acting, musicianship, dance and singing, alongside essential critical and evaluative skills.
In your first year, you’ll strengthen core skills in acting, dance, singing and music. In your second year, you’ll work on texts as diverse as Shakespeare, Lloyd Webber, Sondheim, Chekhov and Ibsen, with musicianship skills integrated within your studies. In your third year, you’ll work on three main projects: a play, a musical and a devised piece, alongside a showcase for industry, performed in London.
By developing your skills as an actor-musician, you’ll be able to take advantage of the ever-growing demand for versatile professional performers who can combine superb acting ability with a high standard of musicianship.
The University operates a credit framework for all taught programmes based on a 15-credit tariff. Modules can be either 15, 30, 45 or 60 credits.
The Guildford School of Acting (GSA) delivers its provision across three teaching blocks, within the University of Surrey’s existing semester structure.
