BA (Hons)

Performing Arts

Teaching & Learning

In this highly practical and heavily taught programme, you will be trained how to become an interdisciplinary maker in the performing arts sector, developing upon your existing theatre, performance and dance skills. You will explore how different disciplines may merge together to create innovative works that challenge how we understand contemporary performance practice.

The tabs below detail what and how you will study in each year of your course. The balance of assessments and overall workload is indicative and may be subject to change.

What you'll learn

This module will introduce you to key artistic movements, artists and performances. You'll explore, through practice, theatre, performance and dance lineages, and how these have impacted on contemporary modes of performance making and thinking.
Explore embodied movement and voice practises across multiple disciplines. You'll take your body as a starting point as you learn about strategies and techniques that might be employed in disciplines such as Lecoq, psychosomatic actor training, and Dance Theatre. You'll also study more general practices such as movement direction, singing technique and choreography. This module will focus on your understanding of how you can use your body and voice to communicate. This means your assessment will centre on the distance between your start and end points, rather than in the accuracy and precision of the moving and singing body. You'll also explore the ways in which the body can be used as a tool for making.
Start to develop the creative skills necessary to generate material for performance, using as a starting point, existing performing arts texts. This practical module is focussed on establishing physical vocabularies, compositional strategies, an understanding of text within performance, and the building of performer confidence within contemporary theatre practice/performance. You'll lay the groundwork for further creative, compositional development and you'll focus on the relationship between theory and practice through continuous assessment. This method of assessment will demonstrate these processes as good professional and academic habits.
This module will introduce the importance of health and wellbeing and its relationship to artistic practice.
Gain an introduction to originating and developing performance projects through the tasks of writing and directing. This module will be taught by tutors and visiting artists who are experienced professional directors and writers for performance. Writing workshops will provide you with writing tasks and briefs, techniques for getting started, for exploring multiple approaches to a scene or a brief, redrafting and editing. Directing workshops give you a range of tools for exploring texts in relation to theme, character, pace, situation; working with actors and performers in a collaborative and creative way; different approaches blocking; leading devising processes. Throughout the module, you'll explore writing and directing as ingredients in collaborative processes of making performance. You'll build up an individual portfolio of written texts and directed scenes, and a selection of these projects will be shared in a ‘showcase’ of readings and performances.
This module will introduce you to key artistic movements, artists and performances. You'll explore, through practice, theatre, performance and dance lineages, and how these have impacted on contemporary modes of performance making and thinking.
Explore embodied movement and voice practises across multiple disciplines. You'll take your body as a starting point as you learn about strategies and techniques that might be employed in disciplines such as Lecoq, psychosomatic actor training, and Dance Theatre. You'll also study more general practices such as movement direction, singing technique and choreography. This module will focus on your understanding of how you can use your body and voice to communicate. This means your assessment will centre on the distance between your start and end points, rather than in the accuracy and precision of the moving and singing body. You'll also explore the ways in which the body can be used as a tool for making.
Start to develop the creative skills necessary to generate material for performance, using as a starting point, existing performing arts texts. This practical module is focussed on establishing physical vocabularies, compositional strategies, an understanding of text within performance, and the building of performer confidence within contemporary theatre practice/performance. You'll lay the groundwork for further creative, compositional development and you'll focus on the relationship between theory and practice through continuous assessment. This method of assessment will demonstrate these processes as good professional and academic habits.
This module will introduce the importance of health and wellbeing and its relationship to artistic practice.
Gain an introduction to originating and developing performance projects through the tasks of writing and directing. This module will be taught by tutors and visiting artists who are experienced professional directors and writers for performance. Writing workshops will provide you with writing tasks and briefs, techniques for getting started, for exploring multiple approaches to a scene or a brief, redrafting and editing. Directing workshops give you a range of tools for exploring texts in relation to theme, character, pace, situation; working with actors and performers in a collaborative and creative way; different approaches blocking; leading devising processes. Throughout the module, you'll explore writing and directing as ingredients in collaborative processes of making performance. You'll build up an individual portfolio of written texts and directed scenes, and a selection of these projects will be shared in a ‘showcase’ of readings and performances.

What you'll learn

Examine the dual role of the intelligent performance maker who is able to read performance effectively: both as a spectator (a thinking body) and as a maker of performance (a body that thinks). This module will enable you to develop a questioning and curious approach to performance analysis.
Your first opportunity to embark on a journey of self/group-determined practical study, you will learn how to creatively pool your practices toward the realisation of a creative performance project.
Explore key concepts of production design and technical support through practice in studio spaces and technical workshops on this practical module. This module will be delivered in a range of settings that could include workshops focusing on ‘back stage’ competency, design and the use of technical equipment. You'll learn how to safely set up and use key technical equipment in order to facilitate the development and rehearsals of a theatrical event. This module will culminate in the opportunity to take on design and technical roles for another student's project, under the guidance of the your tutors. On completion of this module, you'll have developed the building blocks you'll need to become an independent, creative and intelligent maker in performing arts.
Examine the dual role of the intelligent performance maker who is able to read performance effectively: both as a spectator (a thinking body) and as a maker of performance (a body that thinks). This module will enable you to develop a questioning and curious approach to performance analysis.
Your first opportunity to embark on a journey of self/group-determined practical study, you will learn how to creatively pool your practices toward the realisation of a creative performance project.
Explore key concepts of production design and technical support through practice in studio spaces and technical workshops on this practical module. This module will be delivered in a range of settings that could include workshops focusing on ‘back stage’ competency, design and the use of technical equipment. You'll learn how to safely set up and use key technical equipment in order to facilitate the development and rehearsals of a theatrical event. This module will culminate in the opportunity to take on design and technical roles for another student's project, under the guidance of the your tutors. On completion of this module, you'll have developed the building blocks you'll need to become an independent, creative and intelligent maker in performing arts.

Option modules may include

Discover the multiple career pathways within the professional creative sector that form a part of the organisational infrastructure that creative and educational practice.
This module will prepare you to work in front of the camera rather than a live audience; this might include performances for television, screen, or even games. As such, a variety of scenarios will be used to test your dexterity. We'll focus on developing your personal process to adjust and apply your acting, vocal and physical skills to the context of the screen. You'll be assessed through one practical component which will include three pieces of work: a solo performance to camera, a small group piece to camera, and a whole ensemble performance to camera directed by your module leader.
Discover the multiple career pathways within the professional creative sector that form a part of the organisational infrastructure that creative and educational practice.
This module will prepare you to work in front of the camera rather than a live audience; this might include performances for television, screen, or even games. As such, a variety of scenarios will be used to test your dexterity. We'll focus on developing your personal process to adjust and apply your acting, vocal and physical skills to the context of the screen. You'll be assessed through one practical component which will include three pieces of work: a solo performance to camera, a small group piece to camera, and a whole ensemble performance to camera directed by your module leader.

What you'll learn

This module will provide the opportunity to pursue an independent research project that engages with the cultural and critical contexts of contemporary performance.
Create high quality performance work in response to a specific festival brief. You will experience the process of applying, creating and producing work for different festivals in a safe and supportive environment, as well as reflecting on the work you have made for particular festivals.
Examine socially engaged arts practices that operate within different social environments with the purpose of engaging communities of people. You will develop the skills needed to facilitate workshops and performance works that can be used as vehicles for social advocacy and gain an understanding of how to respond to the needs to various community groups.
The first of two modules during which you will develop your final performance work of the course. This module will involve an in-depth investigation of your practice, using the knowledge you have gained throughout the course. You will pool your practical experience to develop your final work, which will then be showcased in Lift Off 2.
This module will provide the opportunity to refine your material for final presentation and showing. You'll then contribute to a showcase of your work to an invited audience.
This module will provide the opportunity to pursue an independent research project that engages with the cultural and critical contexts of contemporary performance.
Create high quality performance work in response to a specific festival brief. You will experience the process of applying, creating and producing work for different festivals in a safe and supportive environment, as well as reflecting on the work you have made for particular festivals.
Examine socially engaged arts practices that operate within different social environments with the purpose of engaging communities of people. You will develop the skills needed to facilitate workshops and performance works that can be used as vehicles for social advocacy and gain an understanding of how to respond to the needs to various community groups.
The first of two modules during which you will develop your final performance work of the course. This module will involve an in-depth investigation of your practice, using the knowledge you have gained throughout the course. You will pool your practical experience to develop your final work, which will then be showcased in Lift Off 2.
This module will provide the opportunity to refine your material for final presentation and showing. You'll then contribute to a showcase of your work to an invited audience.