Our two-year, vocational acting training is full time but structured mainly over weekday evenings and at weekends thus enabling students to work and earn whilst they train. There is no upper age limit on those who audition. Students need to be 18 years old by the time they begin their training.
There are currently a number of small bursaries available for talented students in lower paid work. These can be applied for once an offer of a place has been made.
The two-year course is a robust and rigorous acting training covering classical and contemporary theatre and acting-based musical theatre. Our graduating students are automatically eligible to join Spotlight and apply for student/graduate membership of Equity.
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.
Engage with cutting edge, contemporary performance practices in The House, our stunning new performing arts building. You'll experience an innovative and inclusive approach to dance training, and develop as a skilled, expressive dance practitioner able to work in different contexts and professional dance environments. We’ll nurture your creativity in performance and choreography and help you to develop a strong career portfolio as you study.
• Study with Plymouth Conservatoire and benefit from the very best, up-to-date industry expertise, research and teaching practice as well as unrivalled access to professional opportunities.
• Experience our award winning, purpose-built performing arts facility, The House.
• Theatre Royal Plymouth's production centre, TR2, provides yet more training and rehearsal space.
• Develop a strong career portfolio with work-based learning and professional development opportunities that will boost your skills and expertise, and enhance your employability.
• Advance your creative practice with talks, master classes and workshops with visiting companies and internationally recognised teachers; in the past these have included Alvin Ailey Company, Russell Maliphant, Hofesh Shechter, Jordi Cortés (DV 8), Yael Flexer, Leila McMillan, Candoco and StopGap.
• Benefit from free texts provided in year one, an intensive residency with a nationally acclaimed company in year two, and a production budget available for your final degree performance.
• Gain professional experience through intensive patterns of teaching delivery, production and technical rehearsals, giving you the same experience you’d gain with a professional dance company.
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.
On the Drama and Theatre degree at Aberystwyth University, you will study what theatre has been in the past, examine what it is the present, and begin to imagine what it might be in the future. Innovatively combining theory and practice and teaching a range of transferable skills, this course will prepare you for work in the creative industries and beyond.
Rooted in Aberystwyth’s celebrated history of innovative and radical performance-making and taught by internationally recognised staff, this degree will help grow your skills as a creative thinker and an articulate practitioner.
Focusing on contemporary performance practice with a global outlook, through this degree you will encounter a range of performance styles and theatrical forms, from scripted stage plays to devised site-specific work, from Shakespearean drama to musical theatre and experiments in new media.
This is an exciting and mainly practical course combining practical exploration of styles and techniques in acting with related written assignments.
Key Units include:
- Introduction to Performance
- Communicating With an Audience
- Staging a Performance
- Production Skills and Practice, and more!
Students often continue to develop their skills and knowledge of drama at university or drama school. This can lead to careers in the performing arts industry (both on and off stage), but also in a wide range of other areas where artistic understanding and communication skills are important.
Surround yourself with internationally acclaimed artists, world class music practitioners, a skilled technical team and expert teachers
The course is a two year, full-time vocational course, equivalent to 3 A Levels.
You will work on the following practical projects:
This course is free to those aged under 19 years old.
Most people aged 19 years and over can qualify for free course fees and there are grants and bursaries you can apply for to help cover the costs of coming to college, depending on your circumstances.
