Course details

Principal study options

During the application and audition process, you must select which instrument(s) you wish to specialise in for the duration of your course. On this course, you can choose from the following options:

Single specialism

Only one instrument is studied. It may be possible to study a further instrument formatively, but this will not contribute towards the qualification.

Instrument/specialisms

For all courses, you must select at least one specialism from the 'primary' list. For those studying primary/secondary pathways, two instruments may be selected – one from the 'primary' list and one from the 'secondary' list. Joint pathway students may select any two instruments from either list.

Modules

Creative and Collaborative Thinking Students will explore various methods of creative thinking and problem-solving, which will become the initial starting points for later development of new work. Weekly sessions will focus on case studies of performers, work or artists to critically analyse how research is used in the development of new work and in the telling of personal narratives or stories. Case studies may include practitioners such as Kate Tempest, Frantic Assembly, Pablo Helguera, Javaad Alipoor, debbie tucker green, Lin-Manuel Miranda or other contemporaries. This work will be student-led, tailored to the student’s area of interest. Students will interrogate the actor's role in the creation of new work, through collaborative work with the other MA’s. Skills for the Musical Theatre Performer In this module, students will embark on intense training in each discipline of Musical Theatre; ensemble singing (acting through song is covered in Applied Musical Theatre Context), acting, and dance. These skills will develop students into fully-rounded professional musical theatre performers who can hold their own in this highly-competitive industry. In dance, there will be core training in ballet, jazz and commercial dance to develop secure techniques that are required musical theatre performers. Alongside this emphasis on technique, students will explore who they are as individual artists throughout these disciplines, allowing them both to fit into an ensemble and develop characters themselves. Performance Project Working with Acting and Actor Musicians alongside the Musical Theatre Creatives, this module gives the students opportunities in small companies, to develop early performance material as part of a short non-décor festival. These pieces will be semi-directed/tutor-led but will be developed from stimuli founded within the group. By developing original material (or reproducing existing material) in a collective setting, students will develop the all-important collaboration skills necessary in the creation of new theatre. Within the sessions, students will then work with their assigned tutor/director in developing new performance material which should be appropriate for small-scale touring. In developing these particular skills, students will have, upon graduation, material which they could tour or develop further. Applied Musical Theatre Context The focus for the musical theatre performers is to explore and develop their own performance in audition scenarios, working alongside the Musical Directors and Musical Theatre Creatives. Musical Theatre Company students will take part in weekly acting through song and musical theatre context classes. They will develop audition technique and etiquette, explore repertoire and build a personal song portfolio to take out into the industry for auditions. They will also develop analytical skills on how to approach texts and songs through dissecting the key components of song and lyric in relation to their place and time in the musical theatre landscape. They will study style and genre and use this as a starting point to prepare and perform (and potentially develop) work of their choosing. Major Project The Major Project will be developed over a term and will be a based on the student’s area of interest, culminating in a performance and/or sharing . Major projects can be in collaboration with other MA students from across the Theatre MA’s or something entirely individual. Each student will also choose how they want to present their work for assessment, either as practical performance, theatre-making or written dissertation. Students will also reflect on their work through a spoken viva voce exam and reflective writing.