Masters Degrees in Performance & Live Arts

Designed by performance makers for performance makers, this innovative course will give you the opportunity to make new theatre, dance, digital and live performance work under the guidance of our team of research active, internationally-acclaimed staff who are committed to making performance matter.

Whether you are a recent theatre or performance graduate, a professional arts worker, an emerging artist, or are working in the education sector, your course will see you work with a diverse range of performance communities.

You will be immersed in an artist-centred learning environment and you will connect with other like-minded people interested in creating performance work. We will give you the skills to expand and reframe your current practices within a supportive community that values practice as research, while giving you the platform to perform your work at national and international festivals.

Take a look at Landing Party 2012 a festival of music, film and performance produced by students from our school.

- Research Excellence Framework 2014: our University demonstrated strength in five emerging areas of research which it entered into the assessment for the first time, including in music, drama, dance and performing arts.

Visit the website http://courses.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/performance_ma

Mature Applicants

Our University welcomes applications from mature applicants who demonstrate academic potential. We usually require some evidence of recent academic study, for example completion of an access course, however recent relevant work experience may also be considered. Please note that for some of our professional courses all applicants will need to meet the specified entry criteria and in these cases work experience cannot be considered in lieu.

If you wish to apply through this route you should refer to our University Recognition of Prior Learning policy that is available on our website (http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/studenthub/recognition-of-prior-learning.htm).

Please note that all applicants to our University are required to meet our standard English language requirement of GCSE grade C or equivalent, variations to this will be listed on the individual course entry requirements.

Careers

Your course can be designed to suit your interests and specific needs. Bespoke learning contracts form an important cornerstone of the course, enabling you to develop as a fully rounded, multi-skilled, creative and reflective artist. Your course will enhance your ability to work successfully in a range of artistic and professional contexts and it will also prepare you for further study should you wish to pursue a career in academia.

- Stage Performer
- Screen Performer
- Stage Manager
- Drama Teacher

Careers advice: the dedicated Jobs and Careers team offers expert advice and a host of resources to help you choose and gain employment. Whether you're in your first or final year, you can speak to members of staff from our Careers Office who can offer you advice from writing a CV to searching for jobs.

Visit the careers site - https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/employability/jobs-careers-support.htm

Course Benefits

The main benefit to studying this course is access to the expert teaching staff and their network of contacts which stretch beyond Europe.

In recent years our students have performed at festivals around the world - these include Sibiu International Theatre Festival (Romania), Dyonisus Theatre Festival (Croatia), Edinburgh Festival, Latitude Festival (Suffolk), Gift Festival (Gateshead) and also locally at Leeds Festival.

Our students have undertaken professional placements with among others: Guillermo Gomez Pena, Robert Pacitti, Red Ladder Theatre, Third Angel, Leeds and Latitude Music Festivals, Bilbao Bai Theatre School, Kate Craddock (Mouth to Mouth), and The Kantor Archive (Noel Witts).

Core Modules

Performance Matters 1
At a weekly evening seminar, address the issues of what we know, what we should know and how we can learn more about performance. You'll look at performance research, developing different writing registers, epistemic and expert practices, and consider what really matters in performance.

Performance Matters 2
Examine specific research areas proposed by yourself and your course mates,leading to the creation and presentation of a conference paper or presentation in a professional context.

Artist Project Major
Undertake a project in a specific area of performance, such as dance, theatre, live art, or stand up comedy. You will work under the supervision of one or more members of our performing arts staff who will arrange regular observation of your work throughout the rehearsal/making/conceptual process.

Artist Project Minor
Immerse yourself in a project which will result in the creation of one or a series of new performance works. You will have the option to work independently or collaboratively.

Option Modules

The Festival Project
Visit a national or international performance festival with and take the opportunity to collaborate in talk-back sessions with artists, directors, critics and academics. You will submit a written report on your experience.

Embodied Knowledges
We will lead you through a series of classes in voice and body-based training including Feldenkrais, Yoga, Tai Chi, Clean Language, Kalaripyatthu, Hart and Polyphonic singing.

The Artist Mentor
Develop your artistic practice under the mentorship and guidance of an established professional artist who operates in your area of interest. You will be encouraged to critically reflect on your work and identify areas where you can enhance your skills.

Choreographing in Wider Contexts
Explore contemporary global choreographic practices. We will provide you with the space to reconsider and develop your own making practices as a process of choreographing performance.

The Placement Project
Gain hands-on experience with a placement opportunity linked to your career aspirations. Placements might include working in administration in an arts organisation, engaging in undergraduate teaching or contributing to in-house artist projects, either in a supportive role or in a performance context.This is an opportunity to undertake an undergraduate teaching placement through shadowing and collaborating with staff; residencies with established artists and companies; event, project and festival management opportunities with university partners; international platform opportunities.

Facilities

- Library
Our libraries are two of the only university libraries in the UK open 24/7 every day of the year. However you like to study, the libraries have got you covered with group study, silent study, extensive e-learning resources and PC suites.

- Dance Studios
If live performance is your calling, our black box and dance studios are the perfect creative spaces.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/postgraduate/how-to-apply/

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Explore the potential of performance design with this wide-ranging programme.

You’ll develop an awareness of the performance events and experiences that can be created with the aid of lighting, projection, settings and objects, puppetry, props, costume, sound as well as newer technologies such as digital and pervasive media. You’ll have space to experiment and come up with innovative and creative ideas for performance, while learning more about the theories and concepts that are shaping emergent forms of theatre, art and performance practice.

As you build up your MA portfolio you’ll engage with contemporary performance and arts practices – including immersive and participatory forms of performance, as well as those outside of the theatre – while considering the role they play in their wider social, cultural and economic landscape. This is the only research-orientated programme in the UK tailored towards academic and practical engagement with performance design.

You’ll be based in our purpose-built landmark building [email protected], with two professional-standard and publicly licensed theatres that regularly host works by students and visiting theatre companies. One of these is a technically advanced research facility, and both are fully equipped with the latest technology. A dance studio, dressing rooms and box office are also in the building, and 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.

But our biggest strength is our links with external organisations, which give you the chance to get outside the theatre and explore performance in different environments. Our partners include 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 BlahBlah Theatre Company, the BBC and HMP Wetherby.

Course content

Throughout the programme, you’ll develop an awareness of research methods and approaches in performance and the cultural industries. In Semester One, you’ll also take a core module which introduces you to key concepts, theories and ideas in performance design, exploring ideas such as visuality and the theatre, spectacle, audience experience and multi-sensorial performance.

This foundation will inform the rest of your studies, including your practice. In Semester One you’ll also work with a range of scenographic materials to develop your own creative practice, spending time in practical workshops alongside lectures where you’ll consider current issues and debates in performance design and the role of practice-led research.

In Semester Two you’ll apply all the knowledge and skills you’ve gained to an independent research project, which could be practice-led or a written dissertation on a topic of your choice. You’ll also be able to spend more time on your practice – you’ll have the chance to complete an individual project, or to collaborate with fellow students from across the School, or work on another small-scale research project based on a two-week placement in an external organisation. Alternatively you could choose from optional modules on topics such as audience engagement or debates on culture and place.

If you choose to study part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.

Course structure

Compulsory modules

• Research Project 60 credits
• Performance Design Praxis 30 credits
• Critical Concepts in Performance Design 30 credits
• Research Perspectives (Performance Design) 30 credits

Optional modules

• Individual Project 30 credits
• Creative Work 30 credits
• Performance and Collaborative Enterprise 30 credits
• Critical Debates in Culture and Place 30 credits
• Enterprise and Consultancy Practice 30 credits
• Audience Engagement and Impact 30 credits

For more information on typical modules, read Performance Design MA Full Time in the course catalogue

For more information on typical modules, read Performance Design MA Part Time in the course catalogue

Learning and teaching

We use different teaching and learning methods to help you develop your skills and make the most of our tutors’ expertise, including, practicals, seminars, tutorials, lectures and group learning. Independent study is also integral to the programme, since it helps you to form your own ideas and build skills in research and analysis.

Assessment

The assessment methods you experience will vary depending on the module. However, to allow you to develop skills in a range of areas they will include essays, performances, visual documentation, verbal presentations, critical evaluations and reports.

Career opportunities

This programme will give you the knowledge and skills to become an articulate and creative performance design practitioner. This could include; working as a designer or director in theatre, live performance, festivals or the events industry (either within a company or freelance), creating your own performance events or performance company, or working in community arts.

You’ll also gain a range of transferable skills in research, analysis, interpretation and communication, as well as imagination, independence and cultural awareness. This will equip you to work for a variety of roles across the cultural and creative industries, for example, in administration, marketing and management.

Because of the emphasis on research, it’s also good preparation for PhD-level study and teaching.

Careers support

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.

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Are you an emergent theatre and performance maker wishing to advance your career as a practitioner, instructor or critic? Hone your performance skills and enhance your knowledge of performance training processes. You’ll develop the confidence and ability to understand and analyse the nature of performance within a thriving artistic and research community. You’ll also undertake a major placement with a theatre/performance company or arts organisation to enhance your professional development.

Key features

-Take advantage of our stunning, new, multi-million pound, purpose-built performing arts facility, The House.
-Work in a vibrant interdisciplinary arts and research community where you’ll mix with staff and students from across the arts faculty creating opportunities for collaborative performance and practice-based research. This includes colleagues from areas such as theatre and performance, dance, music and creative writing.
-Benefit from mentorship and teaching by highly skilled practitioners and scholars.
-Undertake a major placement with a theatre/performance company or arts organisation that will enhance your professional development and inform your studies and creative practice.
-Engage with Plymouth’s vibrant theatre and performance scene with Peninsula Arts, Theatre Royal Plymouth and Barbican Theatre Plymouth, alongside events and workshops arranged by the department itself. In the past visitors have included included Action Hero, Low Profile, John Nettles, Wildworks, Lone Twin, Earthfall and Robert Lyons.

Course details

You’ll take a series of modules taught through lectures, workshops and seminars. You’ll explore the larger implications of training in/for performance and specialise in a specific training of your choice (such as acting, live art or performance-making training). You’ll be offered support and mentorship from experienced staff and visiting practitioners. You’ll acquire a more sophisticated ability to reflect critically on performance practice, allowing you to realise your potential as a practical scholar. You’ll also work, with the guidance of your supervisor, to produce an artistic and/or academic thesis on a subject of your choice, underpinned by relevant research, analysis and critical reflection. This programme includes a major placement with a theatre/performance company or arts organisation where you’ll advance your professional development and gain valuable experience that will enrich your studies and creative practice.

Core modules
-MAPR700 Researching Performance
-MAPT704 Training Processes: Doing
-MAPT705 Training Processes:Making

Optional modules
-MAPT703 Philosophies of Training
-MACH703 Choreography Lab 2: Choreographic Process and Development

Final year
Core modules
-MAPR702 Final Major Project

Optional modules
-MAPR701 Placement: Workplace Cultures and Environments
-MAPR703 R&D: Engagement with the Cultural Industries
-MAPR704 Documentation, Dissemination and Critical Reception

Every postgraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the programme aims, the programme structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

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The course offers students the opportunity to study theatre and performance studies in a dynamic research environment in the heart of London. From avant-garde drama to political action, queer performance, live art, dance, cultural tourism, and the spectacles of the West End, you will be introduced to a range of theatre and performance theories and practices.

Ideal for students who have recently completed an undergraduate degree in Theatre, English or related fields, or spent time engaging in performance practice or work in related industries.

Key benefits

- Unrivalled location at the heart of London allows students regular access to a wide range of theatre and performance events, including performances, seminars, and research centres.

- Dynamic intellectual community offered by King’s College London and surrounding institutions, supplemented by regular invited artist and academic speakers or artist residents.

- Core modules providing a strong foundation in theatre and performance studies, plus the opportunity to create an individualised course of study through selected options.

Visit the website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught-courses/theatre-and-performance-studies-ma.aspx

Course detail

- Description -

The programme offers students the opportunity to study theatre and performance studies in a dynamic research environment in the heart of London. From avant-garde drama to political action, queer performance, live art, dance, cultural tourism, and the spectacles of the West End, students will be introduced to a range of theatre and performance theories and practices in an expanded field.

Students will take a core module in Theatre and Performance Theory, which will provide them with systematic understanding and critical awareness of current problems and new insights in the field, and the ability to critically evaluate current research and advanced scholarship in the discipline. Students will also take a core module in Theatre and Performance Research Methods in the second semester, which will provide them with the research skills and techniques needed to undertake advanced research and scholarship in the field, and enable them to evaluate and critique various methodological approaches to practice-based and scholarly research.

- Course purpose -

Ideal for prospective students who have recently completed an undergraduate degree in Theatre, English or related fields, or spent time engaging in performance practice or work in related industries. The programme invites considered reflection on performance and performativity, emphasising close reading, research, and interdisciplinary approaches to theatre and the arts.

- Course format and assessment -

Lectures, seminars, and optional workshops; essays; dissertation; lab-based research projects (as relevant); independent study; tutorials.

Career Prospects:

Graduates may go on to work in arts practice and related industries, including museum, curatorial, and archival work; production; dramaturgy; journalism; performance; and theatre and performance-related arts management and administration. Graduates may also pursue further research in the field at doctoral level.

How to apply: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply/taught-courses.aspx

About Postgraduate Study at King’s College London:

To study for a postgraduate degree at King’s College London is to study at the city’s most central university and at one of the top 21 universities worldwide (2016/17 QS World University Rankings). Graduates will benefit from close connections with the UK’s professional, political, legal, commercial, scientific and cultural life, while the excellent reputation of our MA and MRes programmes ensures our postgraduate alumni are highly sought after by some of the world’s most prestigious employers. We provide graduates with skills that are highly valued in business, government, academia and the professions.

Scholarships & Funding:

All current PGT offer-holders and new PGT applicants are welcome to apply for the scholarships. For more information and to learn how to apply visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources

Free language tuition with the Modern Language Centre:

If you are studying for any postgraduate taught degree at King’s you can take a module from a choice of over 25 languages without any additional cost. Visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/mlc

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The MA Making Performance is an exciting opportunity to discuss, explore and create performance in high standard professional facilities. The course examines practice as research, the development of creative projects, the creation of major work and the ways in which evaluation and analysis of performance can be undertaken.

The programme is ideal for graduates, teachers, professional and semi-professional artists and individuals with suitable levels of performance experience and academic skill.

What will I study?

You will study how performance can examine ideas and advance understanding whilst considering examples of contemporary performance and the major critical ideas and perspectives. You will have the chance to develop a chosen performance skill, and stage a major piece of work. The programme will be organised around the sharing of ideas and practice, and collaborative approaches.

The course comprises five modules. Three 20 credit modules are studied in the spring term. These are in the area of practice as research, an examination of contemporary performance through the development of a creative proposal, and development of a performance and practice portfolio. In the summer (May to September) you will use the departmental facilities for the development and presentation of a major piece of performance. This fourth module is followed in the autumn by a final module which is a dissertation analysing the summer practice project.

How will I study?

The course starts with seminars, workshops and master classes in the spring with a weekly performance laboratory where peer led experimentation and performance development is encouraged. In the summer you will move onto intensive rehearsal and performance development supported with tutorials. In the autumn the focus is upon one- to-one tutorials for the development of the dissertation. The whole programme is designed around a series of practitioner seminars where you are encouraged to discuss and share your approaches and ideas on performance.

How will I be assessed?

You will be assessed through essay writing, creation of performance, and oral examination. You will also be encouraged to consider ways of presenting academic argument and analysis through media suitable for performance analysis including video, drawing and live events.

Who will be teaching me?

You will be taught by staff in the department in the area of their professional or research expertise. The programme is also designed to include master classes and lectures from a wide range of professional artists.

What are my career prospects?

The programme will equip you with skills in research, analysis and complex and creative problem solving. You will also develop performance and practice skills. This will provide a number of possible future routes for employment including teaching, professional performance and research.

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This unique international laboratory programme brings diverse individuals into collaborative research, acknowledging the challenges of creating original, performer-driven theatre in today's complex, globalised culture- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-performance-making/

In over 3 decades there has been a creative surge in hybrid live performance worldwide. This has been the work of solo artists, ensembles, auteurs and performer-directors across creative fields, who have redefined boundaries and stretched the artistic and social imagination into new spaces, both literally and figuratively.

Within the vibrant environment of Goldsmiths, and with all the stimulus that London offers culturally, practising or emerging practitioners develop compositional, critical, technical and management skills and strategies for forging independent and self-motivated careers. Our graduates work as practitioners, teachers and cultural leaders worldwide.

On the programme you will conceive, research, construct and deliver your ideas and articulate what motivates these. Teaching is rigorous and interdisciplinary. You study with distinguished international artists as well as scholars within a praxis ethos where theory informs creativity and vice versa. The emphasis throughout is on encouraging collaboration across disciplines and cultures, and on contextualising practice within its social, political and architectural environment.

Physical training, scenographic/environmental exploration and hands-on introduction to technologies (lighting, video and sound) support composition and artistic experimentation. You identify your own practice within the historical and contemporary field, and write critically and creatively. You archive your practice digitally, and on graduation will have developed a portfolio of projects. You are guided on professional development by the Live Art Development Agency (LADA) and the Institute for Cultural and Creative Entrepreneurship (ICCE) at Goldsmiths.

The programme enjoys a wide international professional network of organisations, commissions, venues and festivals of benefit to students. You study both at Goldsmiths and ArtsAdmin. Click here for a full list of artists associated with the programme as permanent and guest tutors.

"The MA in Performance Making at Goldsmiths attracts artists from all over the world seeking to develop their skills, creativity, pragmatics and independence. Taught by distinguished professionals, it encourages original, collaborative research into new forms, new imperatives and new contexts for live performance. As such it makes an invaluable contribution to the culture of performance."

Lois Keidan, Director: Live Art Development Agency, London

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact the Department of Theatre and Performance Office.

Modules & Structure

This is a praxis programme on which you gain 180 CATS (credits).

Practical Study- 30 credits
Performance Making A and B- 60 credits
MA in Performance Making Dissertation- 60 credits
Contextual Theory- 30 credits

Skills

You will become conversant, confident and skilled in a range of methodological practices as well as compositional strategies for independent theatrical, dance theatre and live art creation.

Your critical and analytical skills in interpreting artistic practice will be tested in a range of verbal, written and oral ways. Your study of your own body as a creative instrument will be complemented by learning the principles of scenography and film narrative.

You will research intellectually and produce theoretically informed writing. You will learn to contextualise your own practice and interests in the contemporary field of performance both in the UK and internationally, and to articulate such practice.

Overall you will learn how to research, construct and deliver your ideas performatively and how to advocate your own projects to producers, venues, funders and other agencies.

Careers

Graduates work in a wide variety of professional contexts globally as commissioned performance makers, directors, project leaders, programmers, teachers and academic researchers.

The programme has launched international production companies and collaborations whilst the many organisations employing them include:

Dreamthinkspeak
Station House Opera
Marie Gabrielle Rotie Productions
The Clod Ensemble
Corridor
Lift
The Royal Court Theatre
The Gate Theatre
The Globe Theatre
Goossun Art-Illery
Northern Stage
The Royal National Theatre
The Beijing Academy
BAC
Bernie Grant Arts Centre
Artsadmin
Shunt
Hackney Empire
Greenwich Dance Agency
The Convenor’s Company
Athletes of the Heart

And a range of international commissions and festivals including Edinburgh Festival and Brighton Fringe.

What some of our alumni are doing now

http://www.taniaelkhoury.com
http://www.niabarge.com
http://www.liveartgardeninitiative.org.uk/mariallanderas.html
http://www.2divide.weebly.com
http://www.palimpsest.weebly.com
hekayet.com/chirin.htm
http://www.zoukak.org

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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This innovative MA programme combines a range of diverse approaches to making performance, drawing on devising, physical theatre, directing, socially engaged practice, solo work and live art.

The MA will be delivered in partnership with major London cultural institutions, including the Lyric Hammersmith, where you'll take part in a low-residency intensive program of work at their impressive facilities.

The course is offered through a low residency model that makes it unique in the country, and particularly attractive if you wish to further your studies and enhance your career opportunities but cannot commit to a traditional full-time offering.

The course entails:

• Intensive practical modules, masterclasses and workshops led by industry professionals and delivered during residency weeks, when all the cohort comes together as a community
• Theoretical and critical e-learning and blended learning modules that run throughout the year, and which can be completed at a time to suit your particular needs.

Course content

The MA is made up of...

2 x 40 credit practical modules/intensive residencies
Residencies are delivered collaboratively with partner organisations

2 x 20 credit practical modules/intensive residencies
Residencies delivered collaboratively with a well known and respected industry professional from the UK or abroad, such as: Reckless Theatre, Little Bulb Theatre. Each practical residency module will be focusing on one specific area of contemporary performance practice as follows:

• Directing
• Devising and /or physical theatre
• Socially-engaged arts and/or collaborative practice
• Solo work and/or live art

2 x 20 credit theoretical modules
Creative research methodologies: an e-learning module where you'll be introduced to both traditional and non-traditional approaches to research including practice as research in performance
Research Project: you'll be supported to develop a 4,000-5,000 word written essay on a subject of your interest.

2 x 10 credit professional practice modules
Enterprise and new business models in the creative industries
The survivor’s guide to the creative industries: including sessions on skills in areas such as: fundraising, copyright, IP, developing and monetising cross/multi-platform work.

Modules:

Collaborative residency 1: Directing (20 credits)
Collaborative residency 2: Socially Engaged Arts (40 credits)
Creative performance making (40 credits)
Creative Research Methodologies (20 credits)
Research Project (20 credits)
Enterprise and New Business Models in the Creative Industries (10 credits)
The Survivor’s Guide to the Creative Industries (10 credits)

Plus a choice of either:

Creative Practice as Research Project (40 credits)
Creative Placement (40 credits)

Assessment

Methods of assessment are both practical and written. They reflect professional working methods (e.g. a professional performance outcomes) as well as critical responses to the course content (e.g. through essays, reflective journals and research projects).

Teaching and learning

The low residency MA in Contemporary Performance Making is following the model based on the Visitors and Residents theory by David White (2015), which describes a continuum of modes of online engagement and learning. This has proven to be a useful way towards understanding individuals’ motivations when they use the web in differing contexts. We are proposing that no mode of engagement is better than another, so we offer a blended approach that includes intensive face to face residencies, alongside online meetings and content delivery. We want to acknowledge that in today’s fast-changing world it is important to employ different modes of learning that allow for flexibility and can support individual learners’ context, circumstances and preferences.

The innovative low residency model, which is currently unlike any other offerings in the UK within the field of Drama and Performance, entails short intensive practical modules, masterclasses and workshops led by industry professionals during the residency weeks, alongside theoretical and critical e-learning and blended learning modules that run throughout the year.

The collaborative aspect of this programme makes it unique in the market and particularly attractive to those who wish to expand their professional networks and diversify their techniques.

Between the intensive residencies you'll maintain contact with the University through monthly supervisory meetings with your personal adviser (either face to face or online), and through completing the online and blended learning modules.

Facilities

• Edric Theatre

A dedicated performance and rehearsal space with a 90-seat capacity that can be set up in numerous configurations. The main auditorium, 30-seat studio and backstage facilities are used by drama, performance and technical theatre students. Facilities are available for commercial hire.

• Borough Road Gallery

The gallery is a home for visual art and a unique part of the University's heritage. Opened in 2012, the Borough Road Gallery contains valuable and significant works of Post War British Art in a public collection, produced by the celebrated artist and teacher David Bomberg (1890-1957).

• Arts, music and cultural events in London

The University couldn't be better located being only a 10-15 minute walk from the Southbank Centre, National Theatre, BFI IMAX, Tate Modern, Royal Festival Hall, The Old Vic Theatre, The Young Vic and therefore the best of London's plays, performances, exhibitions and screenings.

Employability

You'll have the opportunity to develop your practice in a rich environment of practices and discourses, in an environment that exposes you to diverse feedback sources, and a genuine immersion in professional practice of an international standing.

You'll be presented with opportunities to develop skills not only in the areas of directing, socially engaged arts and so on, but also in your professional practice, including current areas such as creative methodologies, copyright, use of multi-platform content, and resilience in the creative industries market.

The part-time offering is suitable for mature students and professionals who wish to return to education in order to enhance their skills and career prospects.

LSBU Employability Services

LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including:

• Direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students
• Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search
• Mentoring and work shadowing schemes.

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This highly distinctive MA course, run as a partnership between Birkbeck and RADA, brings together cutting-edge practice and scholarship in theatre and performance. Join us and you will work with both Birkbeck's experts in theatre and performance studies and RADA's faculty and visiting theatre practitioners to experience both making and studying theatre. This course does not offer actor training, but will deepen your critical and practical understanding of theatre and performance practices in context and leads to a prestigious postgraduate qualification from the University of London.

What our students say

'Since finishing the MA course, I have worked on projects as a writer, director, and teacher - this is largely thanks to the way this course nurtures you as both artist and academic and helps you develop a diverse skill set.'

'Perhaps the best 2 years of my life.'

'The MA course allowed me to change my career path and gave me the skills and confidence to launch myself into an arts career.'

'The course helped to refine my approach as a theatre practitioner, while widening my scope for theatrical discourse and inspiration to create work. It encourages the intertwining of the creative and the academic, resulting in thought provoking and unique theatre. Most importantly, the course taught me to risk, to dare to create something new, to have an opinion and express it through my art.'

'Mature students can give at least as much and get as much out of this course as young people and taking the risk to do it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.'

Why study this course at Birkbeck?

Arts and humanities courses at Birkbeck are ranked third best in London and 11th in the UK in the Times Higher Education 2015-16 World University Subject Rankings.
Taking the dramatic text as a critical starting point, our course encompasses drama from the early modern period to the contemporary.
In the rehearsal room, you will create new theatre and performance work responding to set texts and themes. You will also engage with performance techniques to develop your skills as a playwright, director and dramaturg.
In academic lectures and seminars, you will encounter theoretical, historical, critical and philosophical writings. You will theorise live performance and write about the ways in which new performance work is informed by both contemporary concerns and older theatrical traditions and legacies.
In the final dissertation project, you will exercise your own creative voice as a director, dramaturg, playwright or scholar.
Student projects are tutored by a combination of faculty and visiting artists. In 2015-16, visiting artist tutors included A.C. Smith, David Slater, Karen Christopher, Peader Kirk and Rachel Mars.
We also offer informal, unassessed creative enhancement opportunities: RADA’s TheatreVision initiative, which brings together students from the MA Text and Performance and the MA Theatre Lab to explore writing for theatre; Birkbeck’s Centre for Contemporary Theatre runs a postgraduate reading group and offers opportunities to show work in progress as part of the School of Arts summer festival Arts Week.
RADA and Birkbeck are just 3 minutes' walk apart so you will study in a campus-style environment. Our close proximity also allows us to draw on the rich range of resources available across both institutions, including: studio space; technical support for group and individual presentations; RADA’s excellent library of playtexts and theatre and performance literature; and Birkbeck’s world-class research resources in the arts and humanities.
The course incorporates visits to London theatre and both institutions are well placed for you to access the extraordinary array of theatre available in London.
The renowned British Library is also located nearby.

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Refine your existing skills and knowledge on a programme built to foster innovative, confident and well-prepared researchers. You’ll benefit from close guidance while researching 20th century or contemporary theatre, live art, popular or interdisciplinary performance - whether through creative practice, textual or archival study. Your work will be grounded in current debates, approaches and theories, equipping you with the advanced skills and methodologies to excel in performance research.

Key features

-Become an independent, forward-looking, creative theatre and performance researcher, able to engage in, and respond to, the challenges of the contemporary world.
-Advance on a well-supported route that enables you to progress from undergraduate studies to doctoral level research in an environment that tests the boundaries, definitions and potential of performance and theatre.
-Acquire a sophisticated range of subject specific and transferable research skills through seminars and workshops.
-Focus on a specific research project in theatre and performance under the guidance of an individual supervisor.
-Benefit from our £7 million dynamic four-storey production house and specialist teaching and learning environment, The House.
-Work in a department that places equal value on practice-led and traditional methods of research and their expression.
-Pursue a masters degree while in employment. The contact hours for the part-time ResM programme make it possible for you to work part time while you study - you don’t even need to live locally.
-Engage with Plymouth’s vibrant theatre and performance scene alongside events arranged by the department itself. Recent visitors include Eugenio Barba, Marina Abramović, Liz Aggiss, Reckless Sleepers, Manuel Vason, Hayley Newman, Wendy Houstoun, Lone Twin and Yukio Ninagawa.

Course details

The MRes is only available to study full time over 12 months. All MRes and ResM students study the modules Researching Performance and Research in the Arts and Humanities. You’ll also attend individual tutorials with your supervisor and regular research seminars. Both programmes lead to either a written thesis or one combining critical writing with creative/professional practice. The ResM can be studied either full or part time. Having completed your taught modules in Year 1 (whether full or part time), your following year will revolve around an agreed tutorial schedule and work plan. You may attend additional training, workshops and research seminars. As a full time ResM student, you’ll submit your thesis after 18 months (part time, after 24 months) or pay a nominal sum for up to six months additional ‘writing up’ time (part time, 12 months). Your viva takes place following submission of your thesis. To discuss which route is best for you, contact Roberta Mock (programme leader).

Core modules
-MARE700 Research in the Arts and Humanities
-MAPR700 Researching Performance
-MARE701 Masters Thesis in the Humanities and/or Performing Arts

Every postgraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the programme aims, the programme structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

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About the course

Explore diverse forms of contemporary theatre with this practical course. You’ll study areas including devised performance and live art, community and applied theatres, new playwriting, classic texts on the contemporary stage, and documentary and verbatim theatre. Our teaching team has strong links with many major venues, theatre companies and practitioners, with Sheffield recently named best theatre city outside London.

Improve both your research and performance skills by working with practising theatre-makers and arts organisations. We have a fully equipped theatre workshop and studio spaces, a publicly licensed drama studio, and excellent editing and recording facilities.

Your career

You’ll examine early modern texts, language and culture. Staff expertise includes palaeography, rhetoric, news writing, the sermon, drama, and issues of political, sectarian and national identity between 1400 and 1700. Modules (including modules from History) can be tailored to suit your interests. You’ll complete one core module, optional modules and a dissertation.

Cultural life

Study eighteenth-century literature to develop a broad range of advanced skills. The focus is on the interface between historical and literary approaches, and you’ll be introduced to current academic debates and research methods in the field. Spanning eighteenth century prose and poetry, Romantic poetry, prose, and drama, and Gothic literature, there’s an incredible range to choose between.

First-rate facilities

We’re based in a brand new building at the heart of the campus. There are computer workstations especially for postgraduates and a DVD library with viewing facilities. Our theatre workshop is a fully equipped teaching/performance area with excellent film-viewing facilities and audio suites.

Specialist resources

The University Library subscribes to the major periodicals and full-text electronic archives, including Early English Books Online and Eighteenth-Century Collections Online. Special collections include an outstanding collection of Restoration drama, the Hope Collection of eighteenth-century periodicals, the Jack Rosenthal scripts collection, and papers of contemporary writers such as Anita Brookner, Marina Warner, Fay Weldon and Peter Redgrove.

Funding

There are a number of studentships and fee bursaries available, funded by the University. Deadlines for funding applications are usually in winter/early spring. For details, see our website.

Research training for PhD

If you intend to progress to a PhD, your course can be tailored to include essential research training. The same applies to students on the online course.

Part-time study

Part-time students usually take one taught module in each semester. In the second year, you’ll also take a dissertation module. For most courses, you’ll need to come in for one half-day per week. The MA Creative Writing is taught in the evening. Some modules, such as Theatre and Performance, may require greater time commitment. We try to be as flexible as possible to accommodate the different needs of our students.

Core modules

Text, Politics and Performance; Issues in Contemporary Performance; Theatre Practice 1: practical research projects; Theatre Practice 2: independent practice; Dissertation of 15,000 or 9,000 words plus integrated practice component.

Teaching and assessment

You’ll be taught through practical workshops, productions and seminars. You’ll be assessed on performance practice, written coursework and a dissertation.

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This course engages with performance as an interdisciplinary and connected practice embracing contemporary theatre, live art, and installation, and digital performance, site-specific and interventional artwork. You will have the opportunity to create performance work for a range of environments including ‘black box’ studio theatres and gallery settings. Practice based work is supported by critical and contextual studies in the form of lectures, seminars and screenings. There will also be opportunities to develop your research skills within the wider field of performance studies. The course is aimed at emerging artists and new graduates from a variety of disciplines. It will enable you to further develop your skills as theatre makers and performance practitioners to a professional level.

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Get professional training in dramatherapy: our emphasis on clinical placements and a range of dramatherapy approaches will prepare you for work in the arts therapies. When you graduate, you’ll be qualified to work as a dramatherapist in the UK and overseas, and eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council in the UK.

Overview

Through lectures, practical workshops, case discussions and theoretical studies, our course will introduce you to a range of approaches to dramatherapy. You’ll reflect on your own practice in group discussions, and be supported by an extensive programme of tutorials and supervisions.

Your studies will focus on intercultural practice, attachment/mother-infant observation and the understanding of how past relationships manifest in current client difficulties – and how they can be worked with through the dramatherapeutic relationship. You’ll also work with music therapists in lectures and performance work, such as Playback Theatre.

Our experiential teaching will focus on your own dramatic autobiographical process, dramatherapy theory, links between theory and practice, and bi-weekly experiential dramatherapy groups. In these, you’ll reflect upon your clinical experiences and the process of becoming a dramatherapist.

You’ll take part in clinical placements in two to three fields, under the supervision of qualified dramatherapists. Your placements could be in community settings, schools, hospitals or hospices, giving you valuable experience of working in a multidisciplinary team and great preparation for employment.

Supported by our team of practising and research-active music therapists, you’ll have access to the latest and most effective dramatherapy approaches with both adults and children, as well as to the best advice for your future career.

Careers

As a qualified dramatherapist you’ll be able to work in many different areas, such as the NHS, social services, education, or community projects. You may also choose to work privately or on a freelance basis, with a client base from prisoners to children with learning difficulties.

Successful completion of this course will allow you to register with the Health and Care Professions Council – a legal requirement for practising dramatherapists in the UK.

You’ll also benefit from our links with the British Association of Dramatherapists and other allied health professions and practitioners, such as psychotherapists, arts therapists and psychiatrists.

Modules

Core modules:
Year one:
Clinical Placements and Experiential Development 1
Music Therapy and Dramatherapy Multidisciplinary Theoretical Studies
Dramatherapy Practice and Clinical Skills

Year two:
Clinical Placements and Experiential Development 2
MA Therapies Major Project

Assessment

You’ll demonstrate your learning in a number of ways, including essays, live presentations and practical tasks such as improvisation and performance. You’ll also be asked to undertake some self-analysis and reflection in discussion with your personal tutor.

Half-way through the course, your progress will be assessed by an examiner.

Your final piece of written work will be a Major Project which involves clinical evaluation. In the final oral assessment, you’ll present a piece of clinical work to two examiners, who will assess your overall clinical skills and readiness to practice.

One of our modules includes music therapy, and covers content from our Music Therapy MA course as well as this Dramatherapy MA. On more generic subjects, such as psychoanalytic studies, psychiatry and psychology, you'll work with our music therapy students; where techniques and approaches are specific to each profession you'll be taught separately.

Placements

You’ll spend much of your time on clinical placements in a range of settings.

Specialist facilities

You’ll work in our new purpose-built therapy centre, which includes state-of-the-art therapy rooms and a large hall. The centre is used for all of our teaching and for our professional therapy consultations. You’ll also have access to the extensive range of facilities offered by the Department of Music and Performing Arts, including a fully-equipped drama studio, two other large drama rehearsal spaces, a recital hall, a suite of computer music studios and music practice rooms and a full range of specialised dramatherapy props and equipment.

You’ll work in our new purpose-built therapy centre, which includes state-of-the-art therapy rooms and a large hall. The centre is used for all of our teaching and for our professional therapy consultations. You’ll also have access to the extensive range of facilities offered by the Department of Music and Performing Arts, including a fully-equipped drama studio, two other large drama rehearsal spaces, a recital hall, a suite of computer music studios and music practice rooms and a full range of specialised dramatherapy props and equipment. Our Cambridge campus also houses the Mumford Theatre, a full-size venue for professional touring companies.

Research

Our dramatherapy staff are internationally renowned researchers and consultants and our music, dramatherapy and performing arts research is recognised as ‘world-leading’ (Research Excellence Framework, 2014). We hold regular international conferences and support a vigorous community of research students.

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This taught MA programme offers a unique opportunity to study the theory and practice of stand-up comedy at postgraduate level. The University of Kent has a long history of teaching and research in comic performance, and the Templeman Library houses the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive.

*This course will be taught at the Canterbury campus*

Visit the website: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/345/stand-up-comedy

Course detail

You will learn how to write and perform your own material, reflect on your work, and engage with theories comedy through workshops, seminars and supervision. Stand-up relies on a dynamic interaction between performer and audience, and for this reason live performance is a central part of the teaching strategy. You will perform regularly for audiences of up to 200 people throughout the year, developing your performance skills, honing material and increasing your understanding of this vibrant form of popular theatre. Assessment is through performances, portfolios and essays.

Format and assessment

The theoretical aspects of the programme culminate in a practice-as-research project in which you explore ideas about comedy and comic performance through both traditional academic research and creative practice.

There is a strong emphasis on professional practice, with students performing open mike spots in established comedy clubs in the UK and beyond, as well as organising their own shows. Regular teaching staff include Dr Oliver Double, a former stand-up who has published widely on comedy and popular performance. In addition to this, we have guest lectures, workshops and master classes from professional comedians, including the seminal alternative comedian Tony Allen.

Careers

Arts graduates have gone on to work in a range of professions from museum positions and teaching roles to working as journalists and theatre technicians. Our graduates have found work in Pinewood Studios, The National Theatre and other arts, culture and heritage-related organisations, in roles including editorial assistants and even stunt doubles.

How to apply: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/apply/

Why study at The University of Kent?

- Shortlisted for University of the Year 2015
- Kent has been ranked fifth out of 120 UK universities in a mock Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) exercise modelled by Times Higher Education (THE).
- In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, Kent was ranked 17th* for research output and research intensity, in the Times Higher Education, outperforming 11 of the 24 Russell Group universities
- Over 96% of our postgraduate students who graduated in 2014 found a job or further study opportunity within six months.
Find out more: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/why/

Postgraduate scholarships and funding

We have a scholarship fund of over £9 million to support our taught and research students with their tuition fees and living costs. Find out more: https://www.kent.ac.uk/scholarships/postgraduate/

English language learning

If you need to improve your English before and during your postgraduate studies, Kent offers a range of modules and programmes in English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Find out more here: https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/international/english.html

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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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This pioneering MA offers interdisciplinary perspectives on international performance, and aims to understand performance in relation to the culture to which it contributes- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-performance-culture/

The Masters takes in diverse forms of theatre, including multicultural and street theatre, and such practices as:

performance art
dance
ritual
site-specific performance
a wide range of hybrid forms
It leads you to explore performance as sociocultural process by using analytical principles from sociology, the sociology of culture, cultural theory, anthropology, history, philosophy, politics and theatre and performance.

We have numerous links, locally and internationally, with a wide variety of theatres, companies and performers, all of which enhance your research possibilities.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact the Department of Theatre and Performance Secretary.

There are three compulsory core modules which focus on a range of issues concerning performance as a sociocultural practice. They involve:

conceptual and theoretical material, their interweave and their relationship to performance
historiographical methodologies and textual issues
analysis of live performances
cultural difference, ethnicity and cross-culturalism
questions to do with corporeality, alternative spaces and performance in terms of social inclusivity
A choice of options or independent study constitutes the fourth component, and a dissertation on your individual research completes your programme of study.

Core modules

The three core modules consist of:

Cultural Theory, Performance, Interdisciplinary Perspectives:
This module is an introduction to the whole programme and focuses on the interdisciplinary use of a range of theories from sociology, anthropology, theatre and other areas to understand live performance. As part of this module you are expected to see as many performances as possible.

Historicising Theatre:
This module is concerned with exploring the problems and possibilities of theatre history, and the relationship between theatre, text and cultural context.

Corporeality, Embodiment, Alternative Spaces:
This module includes work on rituals, shamanism, dance, hybrid forms, site-specific, multi-ethnic performance and theatres of exclusion.

Assessment

Each compulsory module and the option module carry equal weight, each representing 15% of the overall mark. The dissertation is worth 40%.

Skills

You will develop writing and oral skills at a high academic level, demonstrating the ability to think and work in an interdisciplinary manner using a range of methodologies. your ability to work collaboratively and to facilitate and participate in group discussions will be enhanced.

You will also develop skills in identifying the socio-cultural, historical and political issues and pressures specific to varied types of performance.

Careers

This programme provides a strong grounding in the principles of research and of learning through independent research. It is particularly suitable if you wish to pursue further academic work in creative, performative fields.

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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