Drama Performance and Theatre Arts

• Academic study integrated with practical work and staged productions in the Drama Studio
• Teaching by experienced practitioners and theatre professionals and placements in local theatres
• Students can explore technical roles as well as performance, playwriting and directing

• Read Drama, Performance and Theatre Arts course information (PDF, file size: 306.04KB)

"The tuition is tailored to your needs and the teaching is first class. The tutors are always willing to help and spend that extra time with you, just so that you can grow within the course. Without this continuing knowledge and support of the tutors I would not be a drama practitioner today.

Finding a job is not an easy task, but through this course it allows you to delve into other job roles within the Theatre, opening more doors and opportunities to success"

Sarah Nicholson, 2010 Graduate (Drama, Performance & Theatre Arts)

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These two integrated awards (this award and Theatre Studies and Technical Stage Production) give students the opportunity to engage with Theatre, Plays, Documentary Drama, Live Art, Technical Theatre, Stage Management and other theatre crafts in the context of professional theatre and contemporary performance. If you undertake the “Drama, Performance and Theatre Arts” course, then acting will be fundamental to your studies and you will also have opportunities to explore other theatre production disciplines, such as costume, settings, marketing and so-on. Students who undertake the “Technical Stage Production” course will specialise in stage management, lighting and sound but will not be required to perform as actors unless they opt to do so. It is important to stress that, whilst they are intensively practical, these are not vocational training courses.

Both awards use workshops, rehearsals and staged productions to explore plays, ideas and methodologies in performance and production, while academic modules are taught via lectures and seminars. You will be assessed by presentations, coursework or take-away papers and will not be required to sit formal exams. A joint degree can be taken in Theatre Studies (academic modules only) or Theatre Arts (practical modules only) or Contemporary Performance, in combination with another subject. 

The two awards are integrated and share many modules. Students from the two courses will collaborate to create several theatre productions and performance events during the three academic years.

Level 4: Practical work will focus on the development of your overall acting, communication and theatre production skills. Academic modules will develop your study and writing skills and widen your understanding of theatres, practitioners, plays and staging techniques from different historical periods. There will be at least two staged presentations balanced with core seminar-based studies in the history of British and European drama and case studies of local theatres.

Level 5: You will have opportunities to further develop your experience and understanding in areas such as acting, directing, devising, D 105 documentary research, scripting, lighting design, theatre sound, stage-management and other production disciplines, culminating in two separate public performances. This work will be complemented by core study of the theatre industry, key twentieth century playwrights and theatre practitioners.

Level 6: There are no compulsory modules in the third year. Practical theatre projects for your final year will give you the opportunity to create two or more original pieces of Theatre or Live Art – to specialise in acting, directing and performance or stage management and technical theatre. Academic options include Post-modern and contemporary drama and theory. Other options in your final year range from writing a dissertation, or a play, to a professional theatre or teaching placement, or the independent creation of your own small-scale theatre company.

This degree will provide you with the knowledge, understanding and background that will prepare you for a variety of professions connected to the cultural industries, education and the performing arts.

• BA(Hons) Drama Performance and Theatre Arts Programme Specification (PDF, file size: 78.68KB)

For more information about Drama Performance and Theatre Arts (W430) please contact: