Course summary

You will have the opportunity to learn from our experienced creative practitioners, some who have worked as theatre directors, movement directors, educational programme developers, freelance actors, designers, mask-makers and applied theatre specialists for organisations ranging from Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), The Globe, Théâtre Sans Frontières, Trestle, Spike Theatre, Tinderbox Theatre, The Lion’s Part and The Fabularium. The teaching staff have significant experience in major project events, such as Liverpool Capital of Culture 2008 programme, international touring with the British Council, co-productions with the National Theatre and performances at the Sydney Opera House. A number of staff members are also founders and directors of organisations that have been within the Arts Council of England National Portfolio. The teaching team has a vast array of international research expertise with exciting collaborations including examples, such as a site-specific project on the use of Pico pocket projectors during field trips with Das Institut für Alles Mögliche, Berlin, as well as long-form improvisation research with alumni of Chicago’s Second City and teachers from The Hothouse Los Angeles. You may have the opportunity to participate in the Telepresence in Theatre initiative which is an ongoing project between Coventry and the actor training degree at the Tampere University, Finland. Using repurposed technologies such as videoconferencing, rear projection, directional sound, Adobe Connect and Facebook an immersive rehearsal space is created in both locations to enable students to rehearse and explore a variety of classic plays. The project, which has now received multiple international awards (Gold in Arts and Humanities Reimagine education 2016, Gold in Arts and Humanities and Hybrid Learning Reimagine Education 2018 and Highly Commended at the Times Higher Education Awards 2018) is now in its fifth year and is continuing to develop new ways of teaching and learning at a distance. The project has conducted performances in Hong Kong, Finland and Miami and in 2019 collaborated with Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan and Purdue University in the US. The degree combines devising, scripted and experimental work with opportunities for live and mediated performances emphasising the development of acting as an art form. Teaching and learning methods selected for this course are designed to facilitate your ability to develop and reflect on your own skills and understanding, and to foster links between this, the practice of others, and theoretical knowledge and concepts. The course is predominantly practice-based with workshops and classes exploring a wide range of different styles and forms from character building methodologies, chorus and ensemble work, and approaches to intermediality (the integration of digital elements within the live performance space), voice and movement studies and working within a technological framework such as film or voiceover.

Course details