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Collaborative Performance Making at Guildhall School of Music & Drama - UCAS

Course summary

This one-year Masters programme aims to bring together early-career theatre practitioners to develop series of new performance works. These practitioners include:

  • Stage Managers
  • Production Managers
  • Set Designers & Scenographers
  • Lighting Designers
  • Costume Designers
  • Sound Designers
  • Video Designers
  • Directors & Choreographers
  • Writers & Dramaturgs
  • Puppeteers
  • All-round Performance-Makers
Students form an ensemble at the beginning of the year and work together to devise, design and produce a series of new performances. The programme aims to offer a laboratory-style environment, which values, first and foremost, collaboration and process-based learning. Follow the MA Collaborative Performance Making Instagram to see recent work and projects.

Assessment method

This 180-credit Masters programme is comprised of four modules and runs from September to September. It is open to all early-career practitioners interested in making performance collaboratively. Building on your existing experience and skill set, you will work as a collective to create four shows over the year in different contexts and venues. You will discover how you work best in a group, what drives you and inspires you as a practitioner, and where your creative and practical strengths lie. You will also complete an individual research project, develop a professional portfolio and be assigned a mentor from a pool of professional practitioners with whom the School has strong working relationships. Collaborative Practice As well as making two performances in different theatre venues within Guildhall School, you will embark on a project in collaboration with the Little Angel Puppet Theatre in London, and also spend a month at the Centre de Creation in Bergerac, France, where you will create a circus show. When possible, the programme also includes a three- to four-week residential project, intended to take you into an unfamiliar area of work. The idea is to offer an opportunity for creative collaboration, unconstrained by preconceptions or prejudices. Final assessment Final assessment will include a folio which will illustrate the individual’s contribution to the various projects they have engaged with over the year. Research Students will be required to complete a specialist research paper. This allows students to independently develop a specialist area of research under the guidance of the module tutor and in consultation with staff who have expertise in the student's area of interest. Integration A final substantial self-reflective component will be submitted at the end of the programme followed by a Viva Voce.


Entry requirements

The minimum entry requirement for applicants for the programme is an upper second class honours degree in a subject relevant to the applicant’s area of professional interest (or equivalent). All applicants’ skills and abilities will be considered with a view to building coherent and viable creative teams. Applicants to the programme will be expected to submit a portfolio demonstrating their previous work in relation to their area of professional interest. The portfolio will be expected to evidence a good general level of creative engagement with theatre making.


English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)7Non-native speakers of English must achieve prior to entry a minimum IELTS Academic Training Band Score of 7 with a minimum of 6.0 in all components (or equivalent).

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Fees are variable depending on the mode of study. Please consult the School website for more information: https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/study-with-guildhall/fees-and-funding

Sponsorship information

The School does its best to ensure that no student who is offered a place on merit is prevented from taking up that place on grounds of financial hardship and so a range of financial support is offered. The School offers a wide range of scholarships to students regardless of domicile. A scholarship award may be made to cover either the full cost of tuition fees or a fraction of them, and may include an element for maintenance. Awards are made by academic staff to individuals on the basis of their talent, their potential and their personal financial need. Applicants may be considered for a scholarship at audition and a scholarship may be given along with an offer of a place at the School. All students who accept a place at the School can also apply for scholarship support.

Collaborative Performance Making at Guildhall School of Music & Drama - UCAS