If you’re passionate about using theatre to help stimulate processes of change in the lives of individuals and communities then this is the course for you.
You’ll gain the skills to become an applied theatre practitioner. Through practice and theory you will explore applied theatre in all of its forms including community theatre, theatre-in-education, theatre and health, prison theatre, theatre for development and the arts therapies.
You’ll gain a broad understanding of some of the wider issues faced by applied theatre practitioners including ethics, boundaries, evaluation, policy and funding and have the opportunity to apply your learning in a placement context.
Core modules will look at practice-based workshop techniques and the development of facilitation skills; concepts and theories underpinning applied theatre and interventionist practice; and research training. You will also choose from optional modules that will allow you to pursue your personal interests.
Our purpose-built landmark building [email protected] houses two professional-standard and publicly licensed theatres that regularly host work by both students and visiting theatre companies – one of which is a technically advanced research facility.
Find out more about [email protected].
Our School includes rehearsal rooms, two black-box studios, costume construction and wardrobe stores, a design studio and scenic workshop, video editing and sound recording suits as well as computer aided design.
Our links with external organisations are among our biggest strengths, giving you the chance to take performance to different environments outside of the university context. We’re always developing new relationships with partners in different contexts to offer you more opportunities to participate.
Opera North, West Yorkshire Playhouse, the National Media Museum, Leeds City Council, Red Ladder Theatre Company, Limehouse Productions, Phoenix Dance Theatre, the National Coal Mining Museum for England, HMP New Hall, Blah Blah Blah Theatre Company, the BBC and HMP Wetherby are all among our partners.
Core modules allow you to develop the skills to facilitate workshops with different groups of people in a variety of contexts, along with an understanding of the historical and philosophical underpinnings of applied theatre practice, the key ideas within this practice and some of the complex issues that can arise.
As you progress through the course you will have the opportunity to apply your practical and theoretical learning within an applied theatre context through a placement. This may be with an established applied theatre organisation or in a setting where applied theatre is practiced such as a hospital, school or young offenders’ institute.
Alongside these modules you will develop research skills through a core module alongside students on other programmes within the school. You’ll explore a range of research methods and consider the roles and responsibilities of the researcher, ethics, data gathering and analysis. You are also able to choose an optional module to further pursue your own personal areas of interest.
In the latter part of the programme you will work closely with your supervisor to undertake a research project on a topic of your choice, allowing you to demonstrate the knowledge and skills you’ve gained. This could be a conventional written dissertation or a piece of practice-led research with a written commentary.
If you choose to study part-time, you will study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
We use a range of teaching and learning methods including practical workshops, group learning, lectures, seminars, tutorials and fieldwork. Independent learning is central to this programme, allowing you to integrate your learning and develop your understanding and skills.
You’ll be assessed using a range of methods including practical assessments, written work, presentations and reflective logs. This diversity allows you to begin to integrate theory and practice, develop a range of skills and become a reflective practitioner.
Applied theatre is a wide field, which is constantly developing in response to social and economic changes.
This programme will equip you with a range of skills within the area of applied theatre. You’ll have an understanding of applied theatre and its use as an intervention as well as advanced skills in communication, collaboration, presentation, analysis and research. You’ll be able to set up, lead and facilitate workshops as an applied theatre practitioner with diverse groups of people in a variety of health, social and community contexts.
You may decide to apply your learning in the context of arts administration or arts policy work. You may wish to further your understanding by undertaking specialist professional training in areas like the arts therapies (dramatherapy, dance movement psychotherapy, music therapy or art psychotherapy), play therapy, teaching; or pursue your research interests at PhD level.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
Offered by the Workshop Theatre and Centre for Global Development, this unique degree will give you the skills to become a practical theatre facilitator, as well as an understanding of global development issues and their impact on the social uses of performance.
Core modules will develop your understanding of development studies, theatre and performance in the community. You’ll even get to complete a placement delivering workshops in a community setting such as a school or prison. In addition, you’ll choose from optional modules offered by our School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), allowing you to specialise in aspects of development studies that suit your interests or career plans.
You’ll be taught by leading researchers and experienced theatre practitioners in state-of-the-art facilities, but you’ll also get out of the classroom and into the community. It’s a great opportunity to prepare for a career in development and the arts, in the UK or elsewhere.
From the beginning of the programme, you’ll explore applied arts practice by engaging with the work of thinkers such as Edward Said, Paulo Freire, Dorothy Heathcote and more to consider issues such as empowerment, training and funding, impact and sustainability. You’ll also gain an understanding of key issues and concepts in development studies through a core module that runs all year long.
In your second semester you’ll have the chance to start applying all you’ve learned, when you’ll attend an external placement to plan and deliver a series of workshops for a local community organisation of your choice.
Throughout the year you’ll also study a core module that develops your research skills and introduces you to the different methodologies and approaches in researching theatre and development. This will culminate in your dissertation, an independently researched project on a related topic of your choice which you’ll submit by the end of the year.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
Because this degree is so diverse, we use a range of teaching and learning methods. Theatre modules will include weekly seminars and workshops conducted in small groups, practical sessions with a range of practitioners and your own community theatre placement. Development modules usually combine lectures and seminars, as well as chances to enhance your learning with the research seminars and talks by visiting speakers we arrange throughout the year.
We also use various forms of assessment to help you develop a broad skill set. Most MA modules are assessed with a single essay, and you may be expected to submit an unassessed essay to gain feedback on your work. Other modules are likely to assess you based on your placement, portfolio, practical work and assignments.
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