Masters Degrees in Acting

Introduction

MA Acting is an intensive 45 week conservatoire Actor training course. Eight weeks of the course are spent studying in Moscow. Skills classes in Voice, Movement, Neutral Mask, Ballet, Period Dance, Speech and Acting underpin a programme embracing the Greeks to Contemporary drama, with particular emphasis on Shakespeare and Chekhov.

Content

MA Acting is primarily a stage acting course which focuses on the techniques developed to address the demands posed by the great European classics.

MA Acting is a rewarding route to the general training of actors, offering a solid grounding in acting technique, rooted in the long-established traditions of England and Russia, which are widely considered to be the foremost exponents of the art of the actor.

Throughout, the postgraduate course emphasises theatrical approaches, in particular those relating to narrative structures, movement expression and the conveyance of complex texts by means of a rich, well-trained voice. Questions of text and subtext are explored in detail.

MA Acting approaches performance in ways specifically addressing the needs of the Jacobean stage: focusing on vocal accuracy with speed, expressivity on a large scale, engagement with the audience. In addition, the postgraduate course encourages you to develop skills required by the realist style: multi-layered characterisation, recognising the subtle rapport between text and sub-text, being ‘private in public’.

Structure

MA Acting is structured in 2 units over 45 weeks:

Unit 1 (weeks 1-15) "Skills and techniques of Acting"

Unit 2 (weeks 16-45) "The practice of Acting".

8 weeks are spent at the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute, known as the Vakhtangov Institute, in Moscow - one of the foremost conservatoire Drama schools in Russia.

A typical week for MA Acting students will be:

3 hours Voice
3 hours Movement
1.5 hours Ballet
1.5 hours Speech
1.5 hours Period Dance
3 hours Neutral Mask
7 hours Acting Technique
12 hours Rehearsal.

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Why Surrey?

Our new and innovative MFA Acting will train future generations of internationally renowned performers and teachers.

Delivered by Guildford School of Acting (GSA), one of the most highly regarded theatre schools in the UK, this programme provides world-class training alongside a sterling reputation and excellent industry links.

Programme Overview

Our new and innovative MFA Acting builds on the success of GSA’s current postgraduate programme by extending the high-quality, intensive training currently offered on our one year MA Acting programme. The MFA Acting programme is highly selective and intensive: students train for four semesters over two years, taking classes in acting, voice, movement and professional development, exploring a wide range of theatre traditions and performance styles in rehearsal projects and public productions.

This unique programme is delivered by expert teachers with extensive first-hand experience in the professional theatre sector in both the UK and the US.

Our beautiful campus boasts strong transport links to London, meaning our students can easily benefit from GSA’s proximity to the heart of UK theatre; London’s West End. This means our students not only receive world-class training, but are also heavily exposed to London theatre, cultural activities and highly beneficial industry networks.

Programme Structure

This programme is studied full-time over four consecutive semesters and two academic years.

Example module listing

The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.

• Industry Practice 1
• The Integrated Body 1
• Acting
• Contextual Practice 1
• Industry Practice 2
• The Integrated Body 2
• Contextual Practice 2
• Public Production
• Advanced Practice

Educational Aims of the Programme

Our MFA in Acting will provide graduates with:

• The ability to employ a broad range of acting knowledge and skills in the creation and presentation of roles
• The ability to perform in plays of various types and from various periods
• The acquisition of advanced understanding and capabilities in voice and speech, movement, and play analysis
• A working knowledge of historical, critical, and theoretical content and the ways they inform playwriting and dramatic writing, the creation of roles, and other aspects of production

Program Learning Outcomes

The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:

Knowledge and understanding

• An experiential and theoretical knowledge of key practical acting methodologies
• An advanced understanding, which will inform ongoing skill attainment, of the physical and vocal techniques required to maintain an expressive body and the optimum functionality of the voice
• A critical understanding of key theoretical and methodological developments in the practice of acting
• An advanced understanding, which will inform ongoing skill attainment, of the application of technique to differing theatrical forms, styles, genres and historical contexts
• A comprehensive understanding of current industry practice

Intellectual / cognitive skills

• Recognise, interpret and contextualise approaches to performance texts
• Identify and develop an individual methodological approach to rehearsal
• Select vocal and physical techniques appropriate to voice, person and situation
• Recognise and respond appropriately to the demands of different performance media
• Critically analyse and reflect on their own and others’ practice

Professional practical skills

• Successfully apply integrated vocal and psycho-physical techniques to the practice of acting in differing media
• Sustain and develop an effective and creative individual rehearsal process
• Demonstrate creative and imaginative work in performance
• Contribute effective and appropriate practices and concepts to an ensemble process
• Demonstrate evidence of practical research and effective preparation for entry into the current performance industry

Key / transferable skills

• Be disciplined and consistent in a professional context
• Conduct themselves constructively, positively, and sensitively towards others
• Able to lead and collaborate as part of the team on practical and research projects
• Communicate effectively and at an advanced level in both verbal and written form
• Seek out, critique, and employ information appropriately
• Recognise and develop commercial and artistic career opportunities

Global Opportunities

We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.

In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.

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Why Surrey?

This Guildford School of Acting (GSA) programme emphasises practical actor training, delivered via a series of project workshops and rehearsals supported by extensive classes in relevant technical skills.

GSA is one of the UK’s leading accredited drama schools, providing dedicated conservatoire training within a purpose built environment on the University of Surrey campus.

Programme overview

The MA Acting programme is specifically designed for those seeking a career in the performing arts, and who already have an undergraduate degree or have a minimum of five years’ professional experience.

This intensive programme offers practical training which focusses on the acquisition of technical skills in acting, voice and movement.

These support a range of rehearsal projects, screen acting projects and public performances. Students also take professional development workshops and classes in audition technique.

Cohorts are kept small to ensure that students receive the maximum amount of personal attention and contact.

Performance opportunities include a devised project, a final public production led by a production team of industry professionals, and a West End Showcase.

Programme structure

This programme is studied full-time over one academic year. It consists of eight taught modules and a compulsory Advanced Practice module.

Example module listing

The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.

• Industry Practice 1
• The Integrated Body 1
• Acting
• Contextual Practice 1
• Industry Practice 2
• The Integrated Body 2
• Contextual Practice 2
• Public Production
• Advanced Practice

Educational aims of the programme

• To deepen experiential knowledge and critical understanding of the practice of acting
• To develop a comprehensive understanding of the techniques and methodologies that constitute a personally evolved rehearsal process
• To develop an integrated technical approach to the practice of acting in rehearsal and performance
• To provide an ensemble training context for the development of professional acting skills based on practical and theoretical understanding and reflective practice

Programme learning outcomes

The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:

Knowledge and understanding

• An experiential and theoretical knowledge of key practical acting methodologies
• An advanced understanding, which will inform ongoing skill attainment, of the physical and vocal techniques required to maintain an expressive body and the optimum functionality of the voice
• A critical understanding of key theoretical and methodological developments in the practice of acting
• An advanced understanding, which will inform ongoing skill attainment, of the application of technique to differing theatrical forms, styles, genres and historical contexts
• A comprehensive understanding of current industry practice

Intellectual / cognitive skills

• Recognise, interpret and contextualise approaches to performance texts
• Identify and develop an individual methodological approach to rehearsal
• Select vocal and physical techniques appropriate to voice, person and situation
• Recognise and respond appropriately to the demands of different performance media
• Critically analyse and reflect on their own and others’ practice

Professional practical skills

• Successfully apply integrated vocal and psycho-physical techniques to the practice of acting in differing media
• Sustain and develop an effective and creative individual rehearsal process
• Demonstrate creative and imaginative work in performance
• Contribute effective and appropriate practices and concepts to an ensemble process
• Demonstrate evidence of practical research and effective preparation for entry into the current performance industry

Key / transferable skills

• Be disciplined and consistent in a professional context
• Conduct themselves constructively, positively, and sensitively towards others
• Able to lead and collaborate as part of the team on practical and research projects
• Communicate effectively and at an advanced level in both verbal and written form
• Seek out, critique, and employ information appropriately
• Recognise and develop commercial and artistic career opportunities

Global opportunities

We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.

In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.

Read less

This is a unique professional course that has been designed specifically for overseas students. MA Acting (International) offers the full spectrum of acting skills, including voice, movement and singing and approaches to rehearsal and public performances. The course focuses on advanced practical acting skills and also takes in the study of Shakespeare and other classical traditions.

Example structure

We offer dynamic and unique course for actors, directors, technical theatre specialists and students of theatre practice. Training at East 15 draws upon 50 years of tradition combined with a keen sense of the world of stage and screen today.

First Term
The first term includes the module Acting Technique based on the Stanislavsky approach, which addresses the key physical and vocal skills for acting, enabling students who are coming from a variety of training traditions to identify and achieve the required level of preparation for the subsequent modules.

It also allows tutors to make a diagnostic assessment of your skills and potential, and identify and implement any additional work in these core areas.

The module on Shakespeare enables you to develop your understanding of the meaning and mechanics of Shakespeare’s text. It introduces you to specific vocal techniques for the performance of Renaissance text and allow you to consider how a range of archaic and contemporary performance settings influence the actor’s and director’s approaches to Shakespeare in performance.

In addition, you study a range of analytical and experimental approaches to script that are useful to the actor and there are opportunities to develop your clarity, accuracy, and expressiveness in speaking Renaissance text. The Shakespeare module normally includes a two-week workshop at Shakespeare’s Globe, where you have an opportunity to perform on the Globe stage.

Second Term
The second term includes the Character and Scene Study module which extends the work begun in Acting Technique. It uses a Realist approach to acting as its base, allowing you to pursue longer and more challenging acting explorations. Scene work is undertaken on scripts by, for example, Ibsen, Strindberg, and Realist texts from the last 50 years. The module extends and applies Realist acting techniques, and includes a study of theories and assumptions underlying Realism.

A module on Contemporary UK Texts introduces you to key contemporary texts from the UK theatre, and to scripts from the twentieth-century that continue to have a place in and to influence contemporary UK theatre. It allows you to extend your vocal, physical, and analytical skills in the creation of roles that reflect a current cultural context and offers an opportunity to create and perform a complete role in the context of a fully staged play.

Third Term
You work on a written dissertation or a practical project. The year usually culminates in a full length production in a London venue.

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This is a unique professional course that has been designed specifically for overseas students. MFA Acting (International) offers the full spectrum of acting skills, including voice, movement and singing and approaches to rehearsal and public performances. The course focuses on advanced practical acting skills and also takes in the study of Shakespeare and other classical traditions.

Example structure

We offer dynamic and unique course for actors, directors, technical theatre specialists and students of theatre practice. Training at East 15 draws upon 50 years of tradition combined with a keen sense of the world of stage and screen today.

First Term
The first term includes the module Acting Technique based on the Stanislavsky approach, which addresses the key physical and vocal skills for acting, enabling students who are coming from a variety of training traditions to identify and achieve the required level of preparation for the subsequent modules.

It also allows tutors to make a diagnostic assessment of your skills and potential, and identify and implement any additional work in these core areas.

The module on Shakespeare enables you to develop your understanding of the meaning and mechanics of Shakespeare’s text. It introduces you to specific vocal techniques for the performance of Renaissance text and allow you to consider how a range of archaic and contemporary performance settings influence the actor’s and director’s approaches to Shakespeare in performance.

In addition, you study a range of analytical and experimental approaches to script that are useful to the actor and there are opportunities to develop your clarity, accuracy, and expressiveness in speaking Renaissance text. The Shakespeare module normally includes a two-week workshop at Shakespeare’s Globe, where you have an opportunity to perform on the Globe stage.

Second Term
The second term includes the Character and Scene Study module which extends the work begun in Acting Technique. It uses a Realist approach to acting as its base, allowing you to pursue longer and more challenging acting explorations. Scene work is undertaken on scripts by, for example, Ibsen, Strindberg, and Realist texts from the last 50 years. The module extends and applies Realist acting techniques, and includes a study of theories and assumptions underlying Realism.

A module on Contemporary UK Texts introduces you to key contemporary texts from the UK theatre, and to scripts from the twentieth-century that continue to have a place in and to influence contemporary UK theatre. It allows you to extend your vocal, physical, and analytical skills in the creation of roles that reflect a current cultural context and offers an opportunity to create and perform a complete role in the context of a fully staged play.

Third Term
You work on a written dissertation or a practical project. The year usually culminates in a full length production in a London venue.

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MA Acting is a challenging course that gives you a personal methodology based upon East 15’s unique practices. On one level it is a thoroughly practical, highly intensive, vocational course. On another level, it is a thought-provoking, life-changing reflection on the function and art of the actor – exploring techniques from some of Europe’s most influential practitioners as well as innovative professional practice from the UK and internationally.

Example structure

We offer dynamic and unique course for actors, directors, technical theatre specialists and students of theatre practice. Training at East 15 draws upon 50 years of tradition combined with a keen sense of the world of stage and screen today.

First Term
In the first term, there are classes in movement, voice and singing, as well as contextual studies. The entire programme of teaching across the course coheres to lead the actor from an exploration of personal self to that of the body in time and space and from there to the creation of character and the realisation of text.

Acting classes promote the development of intuitive, creative responses which are then framed by the introduction of techniques to build character and play actions. Showings of short naturalistic scenes give opportunity to integrate and apply technical voice and movement work in the context of an acting exercise.

Second Term
In the second term, skills classes continue. The acting work begins with an intensive Shakespeare module which develops and strengthens the integration of technical skills with acting technique. This is followed by the Research Performance Project in which you engage with specific time in history and experience East 15’s distinctive Living History Project.

This signature project is a non-performed improvisation in which the actor can, through rigorous ‘actor-centric’ research and a residential period away from the campus environment, experience and identify with the practical and visceral realities, as well as the psychological and emotional attributes of the character.

Subsequent to this you devise a studio performance based on your intellectual, emotional and sensory experience. You are also given responsibilities in stage management and production to enhance your overall understanding of what it is to make theatre and to prepare you for the realities of the industry.

Towards the end of term two participants begin to research and develop their MA project.

Third Term
The first part of Term Three focuses on media. The film project teaches skills of acting for the camera and provides material for the actor’s show reel. The radio drama project teaches radio skills and microphone technique and provides material usable in a voice reel. At the same time, you begin work on your MA Projects. The MA Projects involve working in small groups on self-generated projects, in which participants are given independence and autonomy as company members. These are performed in East 15’s Corbett Theatre or in other venues as appropriate.

The second half of term 3 sees a full production of a text-based play usually in our on-campus Corbett Theatre.

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ABOUT MA ACTING FOR SCREEN

MA Acting for Screen is a training that focuses on acting in film, television and other screen-related media. Students will explore the expressive potential of performance and enhance their understanding of the relationship between performers and camera. The course is primarily for those who have had previous training or professional experience in theatre, film or television. It will build on the existing
skills of students and focus on the specific needs of the year group. Drawing on the expertise of Central’s permanent staff team and specialist professionals from the industry, the programme aims to encourage the development of creative artists with the flexibility to work across performance mediums.

Across the first two terms, students will follow rigorous training in acting, which will concentrate on core skills: voice, body and creative interpretation. The principles of the study derive from psychophysical methods, particularly the techniques of Michael Chekhov and Stanislavski. The emphasis of the training is on producing actors who have a high level of creative skills and have developed flexible
and adaptable bodies and voices, with the necessary technique to apply to a screen context.

The range of classes across these terms will include screen technique; this will essentially examine the distinction between screen and live performance. It will also cover visual storytelling, working in, and adapting to, shot size, cheating, hitting the mark, shooting contemporary scenes from television and film, and the preparation of different styles of work, including soap, drama and comedy.

Acting classes will interrogate the body and provide students with a toolbox of exercises. There is a specific focus on relaxing the body and working with ease, developing the imagination, unpicking habits, creating character, and investigating the inner life. Voice and dialect classes will encourage an understanding of the voice as an instrument and will work with a variety of text including poetry, verbatim,
classical and contemporary material. In the area of movement, there is exposure to forms, which may include jazz and historical forms of dance, physical acting approaches including Suzuki, Lecoq, yoga, and chi kung. Other classes include sight-reading, textual analysis, casting, and mock auditions led by casting directors, actors and directors. Professional preparation will involve guidance on selecting photographs, writing CVs, self-marketing and online promotion.

ASSESSMENT

Modes of assessment include practical assignments, reflective writing, presentation, written and practice-based research. For the
independent project there is an option to make a film, write a dissertation or compile a portfolio, which would include a case study
of a filmmaker and an extended research enquiry.

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Introduction

MA Screen Acting course specializes in giving the actor a rigorous and intense conservatoire training focused on delivering performance for the screen. Whether on film or television or other recorded media such radio. The student will be involved in many filmed projects including a final short film professionally produced as well as professionally shot show reel material. The course also gives the student a full programme of professional preparation with current industry professionals, including casting directors, agents, producers.

Content

MA Screen: Acting prepares you for work in film and television and related fields by bringing together the key artistic knowledge and skills that are needed to give a truthful and exciting performance on screen. MA Screen: Acting is delivered in close collaboration with MA Screen: Directing, Writing.

At the heart of the postgraduate course is the growth of individual creativity, achieved through constant opportunities for working on camera-based projects with colleagues from other pathways. Course components include acting skills and practice, the creation and production of filmed dramas (shot in the studio and on location), and in-depth preparation for the profession (including interview and audition techniques).

Distinctive features of MA Screen: Acting are:

An intense conservatoire training for the screen

A performance-led approach to recorded drama

A company operating model

The acquisition of a deep understanding of the processes leading to the creation and communication of recorded drama

A professional learning model that prepares you for direct entry into the world of work

A focus on creative solutions to the technical aspects of production

A mentoring scheme connecting students with experienced professionals

Concentration on professional preparation with leading industry professionals

Structure

MA Screen: Acting lasts 60 weeks over 15 months and is structured as units - class-based to begin with, but becoming increasingly project-geared over time. This postgraduate course is intensive. You'll be expected to commit 30 hours per week to classes, rehearsals and shoots, and to your own independent preparation and learning.

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ABOUT MA ACTING

The MA Acting is an intensive one-year, advanced level conservatoire acting course. In keeping with Central’s tradition of innovation in actor training, it offers two specialist strands taught over an extended 42 weeks, with up to 35 hours per week of classes, rehearsals, seminars and tutorials. Successful applicants will be offered a place on one of the two strands.

CLASSICAL STRAND

The Classical strand follows the development of the theatrical art from its earliest ritual roots to the birth of naturalism:

> Greek Tragedy, Chorus and the Neutral Mask

> Clowning and Commedia dell’arte

> Shakespeare and the English Renaissance

> Stanislavski, the Method and ‘Realist’ Theatre.

The Classical strand draws on the hugely influential theories and techniques of the great French acting teacher Michel Saint-Denis, training the expressive body, voice and imagination. Working with some of the greatest dramatic texts ever written, students are asked to consider what they mean now, and how their 21st century reinterpretation and re-imagining still holds a ‘mirror up to nature’. Students are encouraged to understand the demands of both art and craft, as participants in, and practitioners of, the western theatrical tradition, through a course structure that examines, in chronological order, four key periods of innovation and transition.

INDUSTRY LINKS / COLLABORATIONS

All staff are well connected to industry. In the past few years, students have participated in a research symposium and worked on the stage

of Shakespeare’s Globe, performed at the Brighton Festival, made a film with Sir Donald Sinden at the Garrick Club, taken part in workshops with Hannah Miller (Head of Casting, Royal Shakespeare Company) and attended public lectures by Judi Dench, Vanessa

Redgrave, Michael Boyd and Declan Donnellan. Students from Canada and the USA have participated in the Conference of Drama Schools

Showcase in New York and LA, and all students participate in Central’s MA Acting showcase.

ASSESSMENT

Through a combination of practical and written assessments, including a Sustained Independent Project and research presentation.

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ABOUT MA ACTING

The MA Acting is an intensive one-year, advanced level conservatoire acting course. In keeping with Central’s tradition of innovation in actor training, it offers two specialist strands taught over an extended 42 weeks, with up to 35 hours per week of classes, rehearsals, seminars and tutorials. Successful applicants will be offered a place on one of the two strands.

CONTEMPORARY STRAND

The Contemporary strand addresses the actor’s relationship with the writer, from Early Modern times to the present day through the exploration of:
> Shakespeare and his legacy
> Chekhov, Stanislavski and the birth of naturalism
> the actor and 20th century playwriting
> new writing and the development of new work.

The Contemporary strand combines teaching in practical voice, movement and acting techniques with an exploration of some of the key playwrights that have helped forge the canon of Western theatre, from the Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists to Chekhov and from Beckett to Kane. Uniquely, it explores the relationship between the two artists at the core of much Western theatre: the actor and the writer.
From Shakespeare and the King’s Men to the work of modern day producing houses, plays are frequently developed in collaboration between actors and writers, sometimes directly and sometimes mediated by a director. Students are encouraged to explore their role as creative artists in relation to writers and the written word. Throughout the course you will have the chance to work with, and alongside, writers on plays in development, both the next generation of playwrights on the MA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media, and established playwrights with a track record of produced plays.

INDUSTRY LINKS / COLLABORATIONS

All staff are well connected to industry. In the past few years, students have participated in a research symposium and worked on the stage
of Shakespeare’s Globe, performed at the Brighton Festival, made a film with Sir Donald Sinden at the Garrick Club, taken part in workshops with Hannah Miller (Head of Casting, Royal Shakespeare Company) and attended public lectures by Judi Dench, Vanessa
Redgrave, Michael Boyd and Declan Donnellan. Students from Canada and the USA have participated in the Conference of Drama Schools
Showcase in New York and LA, and all students participate in Central’s MA Acting showcase.

ASSESSMENT

Through a combination of practical and written assessments, including a Sustained Independent Project and research presentation.

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The MA in Classical Acting is a postgraduate acting course for live-performance actors at all stages of their career and is taught by highly regarded specialists in acting and directing.

You’ll gain insight into the classical drama canon (from Ancient Greece to the mid-20th century) and enhance your understanding, creativity and delivery of classical texts. Your skills will be developed through:

• Evaluation and reflection on your own practice
• Expanding your artistic and market awareness
• Gaining insights into innovative artistic practices

You might explore areas such as:

• Greek Comedies and Tragedies
• English Renaissance Plays
• Naturalistic Plays from Germany, Norway, Russia, America and Britain

MODULES

In trimester one, you’ll be immersed in practical training, leading to performances of monologues, duologues, and scenes. You’ll also get a grounding in current research methods, completing practical or scholarly research. This leads to a presentation and an essay.

In trimester two, we’ll give you the opportunity to train at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. You’ll develop your training into a professional portfolio. Alongside this you’ll develop a theatre company with fellow students for public performances of classical plays of your choice.

In trimester three, you can choose to undertake a more traditional written dissertation, a performance based dissertation or a mixture of the two. You might direct a production, lead workshops, or research into areas relating to directing as part of your dissertation.

TEACHING METHODS

The degree is delivered through a variety of workshops, lectures, seminars, master classes, off-site visits, performance and production work, and through the Virtual Learning Environment, Minerva. We get professional actors and directors in to work with you; we have an ever-expanding list of lecturers, specialists, artists and guest scholars.

ASSESSMENT

Assessments could include performances, essays, literature reviews, written documentation of work, presentations, portfolios, leading workshops, written evaluations, rehearsal and practice blogs, written dissertations, practical dissertation projects, and critical play reviews.

For more information on teaching and assessment methods, please go to our website: https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/pg-classical-acting/

OPPORTUNITIES

We currently give all students the opportunity to take part in a two week residency at Shakespeare's Globe. You’ll benefit from intensive, full-time training, leading to a production on the Globe’s stage.

You’ll have the opportunity to see a lot of theatre, as well as visit museums and theatres. Previous destinations have included Bath, Bristol, Stratford upon Avon and London. Other field trips may give you the chance to work with professional theatre groups and actors; we’ve previously rented studios in London for this purpose. Some trips are subsidised, however, you may have to contribute to fund travel and tickets.

For more information on the various opportunities available on this course, please go to the course webpage: https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/pg-classical-acting/

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MFA Acting (The British Tradition)

This course is rooted in practice, designed with international graduates in mind. Studying here will help you to develop a conceptual understanding of the practice of the British tradition, providing you with a progression route to an acting career or to further study at MPhil or PhD level.

It is delivered through various modes of study, such as research through practice, practice-based learning, workshops, performances, lectures and seminars as well as private study. This provides you with the experience of working in a range of styles and genres.

You will study modules taking you through the British tradition of theatre from the Middle Ages to the modern day exploring a range of acting techniques.

Modules include:

• Acting, Movement, and Voice Skills
• Shakespeare/Jacobean
• Contextual Studies
• Well-made play
• Contemporary Playwrights
• Professional development

There will also be a final research project which may be either practice or dissertation based.
This professionally oriented course has a high number of contact hours and requires students to be highly motivated and committed.

Employability

Graduates of the course will return to careers in the performance industry or in education with additional skills and a clearer understanding of British actor training and style, which will increase employment opportunities and give graduates a competitive edge in a highly competitive field.

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Course summary

On this course you will be taught to maintain a high standard of skill and knowledge and how to transform into an independently-minded performer and practitioner. We will enhance your ability to reflect and analyse, through a range of concepts and ideas. You will enhance your technical skills through practice-based study, learning and developing flexibility to confront issues that you may experience within your profession.

Your classes will mainly be practical studio-based sessions, focusing on the practical application of acting, voice, movement and singing. You will also have time assigned for self-directed study, where you will further develop your work from practical classes. For some modules you will have timetabled rehearsal time, where you will work in groups to produce material.

Course structure

The MA in Acting operates as a one-year, full-time course. As a Master’s student, you will be expected to take a proactive attitude toward study with timetabled classes as well as time for self-directed study.

Throughout the course, you will be taught through a series of modules covering a different aspect of the acting field, teaching you a diverse, yet specialised combination of knowledge and skill. You will formulate a strong understanding of the importance of context to your work, maintaining an awareness of developments within the acting field.

Towards the end of your Master’s you will be expected to devise and present a research project. This project is designed to demonstrate an accumulation of the skills and knowledge you have developed throughout the programme. You will be expected to engage in independent study, researching a specific area of your theatrical interest.

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RWCMD enjoys a very good reputation within the acting profession. Through collaborations with professional organisations, visiting directors, actors and casting agents, we provide our students with experience of real working conditions and enable them to make vital contacts within the industry.

http://www.rwcmd.ac.uk/acting


To apply for entry to the MA Acting for Stage, Screen & Radio programme in September 2017, you will need to use the UCAS Conservatoires at http://www.ucas.com/conservatoires

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The MA Acting offers a unique postgraduate programme to combine academic study in performance with a practice-based approach to performance. In collaboration with the MA Theatre Directing programme, students will produce and perform a range of work during the MA while undergoing a professional programme in actor training. The programme is taught in the evenings and on Saturdays and is available for both full- and part-time study.

Modules include:
Actor Training
Performance Laboratory
Staging Performance
Research Methods
Dissertation/Production

The Acting Master’s programme benefits from the inclusion of a wide range of visiting practitioners – both directors and actors. In addition to giving ‘masterclasses’, these practitioners deliver some of the modules on the programme. Each year, a different theatre company acts as a mentor for the Staging Performance module taking students through the whole process of putting a production together from its inception right up to the performance.

The programme is taught in the evenings and on Saturdays and is available for both full- and part-time study.



Students will study at University Square Stratford (USS), our brand new campus in the heart of Stratford and benefit from facilities including:

State of the art performing arts spaces, with over £750,000 of brand new specialist equipment
3 performance studios, kitted out with advanced lighting rigs and AV equipment
72 person capacity Harvard Lecture Theatre with live lecture capture technology
The Weston Learning Centre, a multi media space open 24/7 in term time, where students can study, engage in group
work and take advantage of the learning facilities USS has to offer

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