Student Profiles & Videos
View our student profiles and videos by selecting some filter options below.
31 to 40 of 2569 items found
After finishing my studies in Theatre, Film and Media Studies and English in Frankfurt/Germany, I received a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service to do the MAPP in Aberystwyth.
The MA allowed me to combine my interests in both performance theory and practice, offering an exciting framework of seminars, workshops and practical projects while also encouraging me to develop and expand my own interests. Furthermore the course helped me to gain an insight into current developments in performance theory and practice on a national as well as international level.
Especially the interrelationship between theory and practice that the course offers is unique. The constant exchange between the two motivated me as an emerging researcher/artist to re-negotiate this relationship as well as to develop a critical awareness of my practices and methodologies. A good example of this interrelationship is the “performed essay” (developed in the second semester): it allowed me to explore my interests in journey, performance and documentation on a theoretical and practical level, and I have since been able to present it in Giessen/Germany where it was shortlisted for the international Performing Science award.
The course has not only encouraged me to articulate and develop my own research interests, but has also enabled me to understand them in relation to current developments in performance practice and to a wider research context. This has provided a valuable basis for the PhD project I have just started.
The MA in Practising Performance for me has been life changing, opening doors to professional practice, teaching, Arts Council of Wales funding and further research. The course has so much to offer combining the expertise of some of the most well known academics and performers in this field with a programme that balances theory and practice in the most sophisticated way. As a result of the continued support that I have received since graduating from the programme, I have recently been awarded a University Scholarship to undertake my PhD here within the Department of Theatre, Film and Television, which will commence in September 2008.
The Department boasts excellent facilities with a dedicated space designed for the exclusive use of MA Practising Performance students. Here you can participate in daily training with fellow students, practical classes, group performances and of course the final practice as research project. The theory and practice work in agreement, continually reinforcing each other as the course progresses. The practical elements culminate in a month long process in May under the direction of a professional performance artist/director, the most recent being Eddie Ladd. This period of experimentation proved to be an excellent step towards my final solo performance which took place in September 2005.
As a result of the skills that I acquired during the MA in Practising Performance I have since found work with a range of professional companies and directors including Blast Theory, Volcano Theatre Company, goodcop/badcop, third angel, Pearson/Brookes, Jill Greenhalgh and Eddie Ladd as well as performing my own work with fellow MA graduate Gareth Llyr at major festivals throughout the U.K.
I shouldn’t forget to mention the idyllic backdrop that you find yourself surrounded by here in Aberstywyth. This really is the perfect location to study; here you will find beautiful scenery on your doorstep, fun around the corner and a safe friendly environment to work and play, in fact there are far more things to do here than I have room to write on this page. But finally, I would recommend this exciting course to anyone with an interest in working with experts in this field who have crafted a course that suits the academic, the performer and the hybrid; I think that’s me.
The MA in Screenwriting for me was a creative journey that led me on a path of discovery about what kinds of creative practice I might want to pursue. Within the course itself the expertise of some of the most well known academics and scriptwriters in this field was combined with a programme that balances theory and practice in the most sophisticated way. The course is structured to give a solid grounding in the different scriptwriting structures and then students get to undertake a research project which enables them to specialize in a chosen genre. I chose to focus on contemporary horror feature films and through the project have developed industry contacts that I would have lacked the confidence to develop on my own.
As a result of this creative journey and the increase in confidence that the course has given me I continue to write horror films of feature length as well as working on a trilogy of novels that combine the fantasy genre with a semi-biographical narrative. I am also working to start my own business creating lifelike baby dolls for doll collectors as well as for use in film and television in place of a real infant. The help that I have received from the department’s spinout programme has been invaluable in this endeavor. I am also hoping to work in conjunction with the horror festival Abertoir in the near future.
I would highly recommend the scriptwriting course at Aberystwyth to anyone who has a passion for creativity and wishes to undertake a course that will give them the tools they need to make a career from those creations. All students on the course emerge with a portfolio of writing which has been crafted to a professional standard closely supervised by academics and professional scriptwriters. Aberystwyth itself is a truly inspiring place, the Castle and Old College are both popular inspiring settings for horror stories, not to mention the wealth of folktales and local legends. This is a course that suits the academic, the creative writer and someone who just loves a challenge. I think this last certainly applies to myself.
31 to 40 of 2569 items found