Mountview produces around 26 plays and musicals in theatres across London, the UK and internationally each year, giving Stage Management students a vast array of learning experiences.
We offer three training levels: a two-year Foundation Degree (FdA) which provides a fast-track training and a three-year BA (Hons) with greater experience. For students with previous experience who are looking to formalise their skills and develop industry contacts we also offers a one-year Diploma specialising in stage management.
Our vocational, hands-on course has seen graduates go on to work with many diverse companies including National Theatre,
London Olympics/Paralympics and Matilda The Musical.
Our practical training runs with a minimum of 30 hours per week, 36 weeks per year. It begins with workshops covering core skills in all areas of production arts with training from experienced industry professionals. Students then move quickly on to practical show roles in stage management.
Stage Management training covers:
Prompt book and show calling
Creative research including period-specific work
Working with pyrotechnics and blank firing weapons
Co-ordination and project management
Cueing to music
Prop making and sourcing
Stage managing musicals, classics and new writing
Working at some of London’s leading theatres
Mountview’s vocational, hands-on courses in sound have seen graduates go on to be production sound engineers and sound designers in the West End, across the UK and internationally.
What sets Mountview apart from other drama schools is that you get vast experience working on musicals, mixing sound for West End-size casts.
We offer three training levels: a two-year Foundation Degree (FdA) which provides a fast-track training and a three-year BA (Hons) with greater experience and the possibility of design roles. For students with previous experience who are looking to formalise their skills and develop industry contacts we also offers a one-year Diploma specialising in sound.
Our practical training runs over 30 hours per week, 36 weeks per year. You’ll begin with workshops covering core skills in all areas of production arts before moving quickly on to practical show roles.
Strong emphasis is placed on learning through practice. There is continuous assessment of coursework and practical show roles throughout. All modules are compulsory.
Students gain first-hand experience of working alongside industry professionals including sound designers, engineers, radio mic fitters and programmers.
SOUND TRAINING COVERS:
Hands-on training with contemporary sound equipment
Studio skills including recording and editing technology and techniques
Understanding and designing sound systems
Rigging and balancing sound systems
Prepping, fitting and monitoring radio mic systems
Programming and mixing industry standard sound desks on plays and musicals
Networking, soldering and other skills needed by the modern production professional
Sound design for plays and musicals (BA only)
There is an ever-increasing demand for performers who combine first-rate acting ability with a high level of musicianship.
Mountview’s Actor Musician course develops these dual skills to the highest level, creating graduates who combine skills in acting and music in their professional lives.
Whilst a high level of prior musical experience is a pre-requisite, it is not necessary to have achieved formal music qualifications.
There are limited places available each year and students are taught in small groups. Teaching mirrors Mountview’s actor training but with specialised music elements and you’ll receive over 30 hours of direct teaching time each week including one-to-one singing and instrumental lessons.
The course develops technical skills through workshops and performance opportunities. During the course you’ll engage in a range of actor musician projects, working on Shakespeare, contemporary plays, and musicals as well as devising original work. Students engage with a range of classic and contemporary texts for example If You Don’t Let Us Dram, We Won’t Let You Sleep by Anders Lustgarten, Colder Than Here by Laura Wade, His Dark Materials adaptation by Nicholas Wright, Flora the Red Menace by George Abbott, Kander and Ebb, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris by Mort Shuman and Eric Blau.
Study takes place over three 12-week terms a year.
The first half of each term is devoted to skills classes whilst in the second half of each term you will work on performance projects which are presented in-house to fellow students and staff.
In the second year you apply your skills in collaboration classes which include peer integration and team teaching to enhance your creativity and help you to make connections between subjects. Additionally, there is time given to tailored ‘surgeries’ to focus on detail and help you to develop your independence and confidence in your practice.
You’ll also work closely with Mountview’s Industry Liaison Manager to understand and prepare for life as a working actor.
The focus of the third year is film, recorded voice, public performances and reflecting on acting practice. You’ll work with professional directors to present a range of productions and an industry showcase and create a voice and film showreel. Audiences include agents, casting directors and other industry figures as well as the general public.
MOUNTVIEW’S PART TIME FOUNDATION IN MUSICAL THEATRE COVERS THE CORE ELEMENTS OF TRIPLE THREAT TRAINING: ACTING, SINGING AND DANCE.
With classes taking place three evenings per week students are able to work alongside their studies to support themselves financially. This ability to work combined with competitive course fees makes this one of the most accessible Musical Theatre Foundation courses in the UK.
The course promises a rigorous introduction to the performance skills required in the musical theatre discipline. The training is equally focussed on acting, singing and dance with a balance of 40% skills, 35% audition preparation and 25% performance-based work.
Demands on the students are high and the course will develop core technique and creativity and prepare students for further training and auditions.
The training includes a focused audition preparation module allowing students to develop technique and repertoire for future drama school auditions.
The course is taught from September to April, with 9 hours each week over three evenings.
The Millennium Performing Arts Diploma is a private training course that may lead to the Level 4 ATCL Diploma through enrolment onto The Performance Course ToTheCore at the end of the year, or to an internally awarded professional qualification following the successful completion of the full three year course.
The level 4 ATCL is a separate enrolment and adds a further course fee to your costs.
Students elect to follow either musical theatre or dance pathways.
The diploma course focuses on professional-level, work-based, practice designed to ensure graduates are fully prepared for their chosen career. The key subject elements are taught by highly-experienced industry professionals who are also experts in teaching and learning.
Students who wish to pursue an educational qualification may join, in their final year and if their assessment results allow for this pathway, the Trinity College London Level 6 Professional Diploma.
Tailor your studies to suit your musical interests on our four-year Bachelor of Music (BMus) degree course.
THIS COURSE IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF…
You’re passionate about music and your specialism (or instrument). The BMus provides a solid foundation for a career in music, whether you’d like to be a performer, composer, teacher or to work in another related field.
CORE ELEMENTS OF THE BMUS
1. Principal study
This is the focal point of your musical development and includes individual lessons as well as a combination of masterclasses, performance classes, chamber music, concerts and everything else you do in your specialism. The focus for performers is on gaining experience in public concerts.
2. Artist development
We offer a wide range of activities, events and modules for you to hone your skills in studio recording and editing techniques, self-promotion and marketing, writing CVs, making funding applications, understanding the music business and working in arts management.
You can also get involved in Open Academy, which has an active programme aimed at helping people in the community. If you want to develop your teaching skills, you can study for the Academy’s teaching licence (LRAM), too.
3. Academic study
Academic study is essential to your creative and intellectual development. Core modules in Aural, Analysis and History reinforce your awareness as a listener, develop your interpretative abilities and extend your knowledge and imagination.
ONE YEAR COURSES – THE OPTIONS
The BMus is our main undergraduate course, but it isn’t the only one. We also offer three one-year options, which let you study at the Academy as an enrolled member of the student body without committing to a full degree course with us.
This means you’ll benefit from all the facilities offered to our degree students, including the library, computers and practice rooms, as well as enjoying a variety of performance opportunities.
1. Gap year course
This course is right for you if you love music but know you want to study something else for your main degree in future. It’s the ideal fit if you’re finishing secondary school (high school) and are looking for a gap-year opportunity, enabling you to reach a high level of achievement in music, while also allowing you to pursue another career path.
2. Organ foundation course
This is for gap-year students preparing for an organ scholarship at Oxford or Cambridge, or for those who want to develop organ and choral direction skills before starting formal university or conservatoire training.
3. Exchanges and study abroad schemes
The Academy has exchange and study-abroad agreements with conservatoires across the world. Placements are normally for a full academic year, although shorter times may be possible. This allows non-UK students studying for a music degree elsewhere to benefit from a conservatoire education as part of their degree studies at their ‘home’ institution.
