Theatre Studies and Technical Stage Production

• 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 Theatre Studies and Technical Stage Production course information (PDF, file size: 313.94KB)

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time studying Theatre and Technical Stage Production. The course gave me a really good grounding in many aspects of theatre and theatre production.

The production modules on the course are run as closely as possible to professional production methods, from rehearsals through to opening night. This makes it really easy to walk into a professional theatre and know who’s who, what’s going on and why. Also, the studios are equipped with industry standard technology, so you are familiar with the type of kit that you come across again and again in professional venues.

The teaching on the course is excellent. Tutors and guest lecturers are industry professionals as well as teachers, so what you are learning is what is really going on in the real world. The lecturers gave me really personalised support whenever I felt I needed it."
 
Nathan Clamp 2011 graduate - now the Drama and Theatre Technician for Rugby School

These two integrated awards* 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.

*Drama, Performance and Theatre Arts

The course will consist of 50% academic theatre studies and 50% practice-based work. (Although, because of the nature of lecture-room subjects and practical subjects, more hours will be spent undertaking the practical work.) The several Drama awards share many modules so that Technical and Stage management students can collaborate with the performing students to create several theatre productions and performance events during the three academic years. We will 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.

The course is intended to equip you with a broader knowledge of theatre and drama than the more narrowly traditional "nuts and bolts and gaffer tape" technical theatre or stage management course. You will, of course, be taught professional stage management techniques, lighting and sound design and how to rig and operate lighting, sound and other stage effects - but you will also have the opportunity to study theatre and radio drama, plays, playwrights, theatre practitioners and the history and nature of playhouses and the theatre industry itself. You can also choose to learn something about other aspects of theatre production such as directing and stage design - or creating posters and programmes. (You will have the opportunity to try your hand at those disciplines - but the course does not offer specialist training in graphics, stage design, set construction or costume-making.)

Level 4

In the first year, in addition to studying the history of drama, theatre and the nature of the professional theatre industry you will receive a practical and theoretical training in the creative techniques, methodologies and technologies of theatre lighting and sound and stage management which you will apply to an assessed project and public performances of student work. You will also have the opportunity to work collaboratively and devise your own theatre work with student performers and other creative practitioners. You will also receive Health and Safety Training and help to develop your academic writing and study skills.

Level 5

In the second year you will continue your studies of plays, playwrights, practitioners, theatre history and the theatre profession and will gain practical experience and further expertise by applying your technical and creative and/or stage management skills to two major theatre productions, both of which will culminate in public performances. You will also have the opportunity to broaden your experience and technical skills by undertaking studies and practical work in Radio Drama. Other Drama options will allow you to investigate areas of applied theatre, critical theory, modern drama, comedy, etc.

Level 6

In the third year you will work on your own academic or practical projects with other fellow students on modules and projects of your own choosing. You will work independently of your tutors, but will be able to rely on support or supervision if and when you need it. You can apply to have the opportunity to form your own theatre company, create your own piece of theatre, undertake a professional work placement, write a play, or undertake more academic work in areas such as Post-modern theatre. There will also be an opportunity to stage-manage or design the lighting or the sound for a major professional-standard, final-year theatre production. You could, if you wish, request an alternative production role in Marketing or Settings, or Costume. Throughout your three years on the course you will have the opportunity to stage-manage and/or make a creative technical contribution to theatre productions and events within several different genres of live performance and in differing performance spaces and theatre forms. You will also be encouraged to explore the concept of lighting and sound as scenography.

This Arts 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. It specifically aims to produce practitioners (potential stage managers, technicians, sound and lighting designers) with a wider understanding of theatre than just their own technical or stage specialism. It is intended to produce well-read and creative university graduates with a wide background knowledge of drama and the theatre industry and the potential to be able to progress in the theatre profession and become, eventually, senior arts practitioners and, ultimately, industry leaders.

• BA(Hons) Theatre Studies and Technical Stage Production Programme Specification (PDF, file size: 78.54KB)

For more information about Theatre Studies and Technical Stage Production (W441) please contact: