This compulsory first year acting module provides an initial training in acting theory, method and practice based on the uniqueness of the individual and the ability to change, adapt, extend, perceive, accept and reject. Students move through self-study to look outside themselves, approaching firstly improvised situations and then scripted text in imaginative and collaborative ways. By the end of the course you will know how to start work on a play and will have begun collaborative text work. You will be able to begin to create a character from a text and to start the process of creating the world of the play.
The first part of this first year acting module provides students with the challenge of researching real life events through a dramatic format and through recreating short scenes. With their Director students may work on a piece of already scripted 'verbatim' theatre or my develop their own piece using materials such as transcripts, newspaper articles, testimonials, interviews which are edited, arranged or re-contextualised to form a dramatic presentation, in which actors take on the characters of the real individual whose words are being used.
In the second part of the module students will work in groups to study scenes from a contemporary play, learning how to divide a scene into units of action, how to discover objectives for a character and use the text to discover information – about the play, its themes and characters. You will workshop scenes in your groups, practising your learning from the early part of the course. By the end of this block of work you will be able to find a character's through line and recreate work achieved during the rehearsal process.
In the second part of the module students will work in groups to study scenes from a contemporary play, learning how to divide a scene into units of action, how to discover objectives for a character and use the text to discover information – about the play, its themes and characters. You will workshop scenes in your groups, practising your learning from the early part of the course. By the end of this block of work you will be able to find a character's through line and recreate work achieved during the rehearsal process.
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
- Module Supervisor: Uri Roodner
- Module Supervisor: Philip Weaver
After the Improvised Living History Project, in this module students now explore recreating these deeply felt experiences and intense relationships within the confines of a script. Modern classics, exploring a depth of human psychology, for example the plays of Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Jean Paul Sartre, Arthur Schnitzler, David Mamet among others, will be the material through which you will consolidate your understanding of another person's existence and how to recreate it convincingly. Scenes are chosen that will test and develop your ability to find the means in your methodology to 'live in the moment' and to react spontaneously within the course of action pre-determined by the author, just as in an improvised piece in which you knew neither the outcome of an action or what reaction would be provoked. Through practice-based learning and research you will develop the courage to take risks in your character creations, and expression of emotional life.
1. Introduction to sustaining connection & relationships in the communication of complex ideas through structured text.
2. Introduction to making use of both director and skills to aid performance.
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
- Module Supervisor: Uri Roodner
- Module Supervisor: Philip Weaver
This compulsory first year Acting module takes place in Term Three. It provides students with opportunities to play out the life of a character under simulated rather than 'staged' conditions in order to understand more fully the true meaning of the character's experience and emotional depths.
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
- Module Supervisor: Philip Weaver
Students will begin to understand the separation of the 'developed' or 'habitual' voice from the 'potential' voice. This leads into work on articulation and an examination of the vocal equipment. Phonetics is introduced in the context of a practical environment alongside Received Pronunciation (RP) as both 'neutral' and character-based accent and as the beginnings of dialect exploration. In the second term students will continue to explore dialects and voices. You will develop articulation alongside phonetics and extend the building blocks of Received Pronunciation, using set phrases and sentences as both mnemonics and assessment tools. In Term Three students will move into conversational Received pronunciation practice with the aim of progressing to within a practical RP comfort zone in preparation for the demands of second year.
- Module Supervisor: Christina Gutekunst
This first year module focuses on the investigation and exploration of "the self" to allow access to the body and to achieve progressively a developed physical awareness.
The course content introduces the student to the study and practice of clear guided movement principals. The mutually dependent and reflective relationship between mind, body and space forms the foundation for a process that develops the students' understanding of physical self and of the environment.
The course content introduces the student to the study and practice of clear guided movement principals. The mutually dependent and reflective relationship between mind, body and space forms the foundation for a process that develops the students' understanding of physical self and of the environment.
- Module Supervisor: Marcin Rudy
Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of good voice production and begin to acquire a sense of rhythm and aural awareness. You will be introduced to warm-ups and will develop the technical skills to progress to an increasingly demanding range of repertoire and emotional situations. By the end of the module you will have acquired knowledge of vocal technique and an ability to begin the control of nerves in performance. You will have begun to understand the individual characteristics of your own voice and the appropriate care needed to maintain it. You will also have a basic working knowledge of music theory.
- Module Supervisor: Neil Somerville
Actors spend their entire careers speaking other people's words and trying to imagine how other people think. Contextual Studies is intended to help students to observe, to make rational sense of their observations and to put their own ideas into their own words as part of seminar discussion and in writing.
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
This second year module takes place during the Autumn Term. By the beginning of the second year students are expected to be sufficiently prepared to undertake textual exploration and research as part of their performance preparation work. Through a variety of plays and projects the second year of training aims to develop and extend the methodology learned in first year as well as integrating technical skills into rehearsal and performance with gradually increasing consistency.
After the Improvised Living History Project at the end of first year, in this module students now explore recreating these deeply felt experiences and intense relationships within the confines of a script. Modern classics, exploring a depth of human psychology, for example the plays of Tennessee Williams Arthur Miller, Jean Paul Sartre, Arthur Schnitzler among others, will be the material through which you will consolidate your understanding of another person's existence and how to recreate it convincingly. Scenes are chosen that will test and develop your ability to finds the means in your methodology to 'live in the moment' and to react spontaneously within the course of action pre-determined by the author, just as in an improvised piece in which you knew neither the outcome of an action or what reaction would be provoked. Through practice-based learning and research you will develop the courage to take risks in your character creations, and expression of emotional life.
After the Improvised Living History Project at the end of first year, in this module students now explore recreating these deeply felt experiences and intense relationships within the confines of a script. Modern classics, exploring a depth of human psychology, for example the plays of Tennessee Williams Arthur Miller, Jean Paul Sartre, Arthur Schnitzler among others, will be the material through which you will consolidate your understanding of another person's existence and how to recreate it convincingly. Scenes are chosen that will test and develop your ability to finds the means in your methodology to 'live in the moment' and to react spontaneously within the course of action pre-determined by the author, just as in an improvised piece in which you knew neither the outcome of an action or what reaction would be provoked. Through practice-based learning and research you will develop the courage to take risks in your character creations, and expression of emotional life.
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
- Module Supervisor: Philip Weaver
This second year module takes place in Term Two. Students will extend the work of EA211 to develop their performance technique and heighten awareness of the importance of relationships between characters. Texts chosen for this module will be based on the repertoire of Classic Naturalism and will include the work of Chekhov, Gorky, Gogal and other great dramatic studies of human behaviour such as Ibsen or Strindberg. An important theme of the module is the conflict of old ideologies with the emerging new world.
Module Content
In this module you will deepen your absorption in the world of the character, examining the minutiae of human behaviour, which leads towards specificity and transformation. Working on longer scenes or full length plays you will experience the importance of charting the 'through line of action' for your characters, and on communicating increasingly complex emotional life through integration of technique. You will begin to demonstrate development of subtlety in your character creation through working on naturalistic texts, in which so much of a play's content is unspoken or left unsaid. Relationships will be explored in detail to further develop your insight and analytical skills, and to enlarge the possibilities on which you can draw, outside your own experience. Technical terminology is introduced, as is the beginning of awareness of communication with an audience.
Module Content
In this module you will deepen your absorption in the world of the character, examining the minutiae of human behaviour, which leads towards specificity and transformation. Working on longer scenes or full length plays you will experience the importance of charting the 'through line of action' for your characters, and on communicating increasingly complex emotional life through integration of technique. You will begin to demonstrate development of subtlety in your character creation through working on naturalistic texts, in which so much of a play's content is unspoken or left unsaid. Relationships will be explored in detail to further develop your insight and analytical skills, and to enlarge the possibilities on which you can draw, outside your own experience. Technical terminology is introduced, as is the beginning of awareness of communication with an audience.
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
- Module Supervisor: Philip Weaver
This second year module is compulsory for students on the BA Hons Acting programme. Students will gain experience of a range of acting techniques and styles through a number of structured projects spread over three terms. Typically you will work on each project in intensive rehearsal periods of 3-4 weeks culminating in a practical project or performance. You will be given opportunities to experience the demands of working in close proximity to the audience as well as to understand the differences in technical scale required to fill a larger space.
Emphasis is placed on establishing a firm base for the 'company' or ensemble over the course of the year. Students are encouraged to contribute to the work of the ensemble beyond the limits of their own performance. You will gain an understanding of the different roles and responsibilities involved in creating performance.
Term One: Joint Acting/Voice Project
From the ease and conversational dialogue of the American project, you move to the more formal and stylised 19th & early 20th century British plays, involving complex ideas and structure. You will work on short scenes, initially with a director, exploring the context of period, location, character and action. You will then work with voice tutors recording the scenes in the Radio Studio, to aid awareness of the sound you make, and increase fluency, range, and expressive connection in R.P.
Term Two: Music Hall
The Music Hall project is the BA Hons Acting students' first public performance. In addition to songs students will work on melodrama and dramatic monologues.
Term Three: Brecht Cabaret
Radio Project
Commedia dell'Arte
The Brecht Cabaret is a week long project, taking the songs worked on in singing classes, and combining them with a selection of Brecht's poems and small extracts of text to create an ensemble presentation. You will be required to use your initiative, and to contribute fully to the group work.
The Radio Project introduces the basics of radio and microphone technique, leading students to understand the specific demands of the medium, and helping them relate acting and vocal skills to these demands.
You will work with specialist Commedia dell'Arte tutors experienced in creating original scenarios from historical mask characters eg Panteloni, Harlequino, Dottore.
Emphasis is placed on establishing a firm base for the 'company' or ensemble over the course of the year. Students are encouraged to contribute to the work of the ensemble beyond the limits of their own performance. You will gain an understanding of the different roles and responsibilities involved in creating performance.
Term One: Joint Acting/Voice Project
From the ease and conversational dialogue of the American project, you move to the more formal and stylised 19th & early 20th century British plays, involving complex ideas and structure. You will work on short scenes, initially with a director, exploring the context of period, location, character and action. You will then work with voice tutors recording the scenes in the Radio Studio, to aid awareness of the sound you make, and increase fluency, range, and expressive connection in R.P.
Term Two: Music Hall
The Music Hall project is the BA Hons Acting students' first public performance. In addition to songs students will work on melodrama and dramatic monologues.
Term Three: Brecht Cabaret
Radio Project
Commedia dell'Arte
The Brecht Cabaret is a week long project, taking the songs worked on in singing classes, and combining them with a selection of Brecht's poems and small extracts of text to create an ensemble presentation. You will be required to use your initiative, and to contribute fully to the group work.
The Radio Project introduces the basics of radio and microphone technique, leading students to understand the specific demands of the medium, and helping them relate acting and vocal skills to these demands.
You will work with specialist Commedia dell'Arte tutors experienced in creating original scenarios from historical mask characters eg Panteloni, Harlequino, Dottore.
- Module Supervisor: Philip Weaver
The content of the second year will allow you to build and deepen the methodology of movement techniques studied in Year One. The study of "self" in Year One enables Year Two students to be more expansive in their physical choices. The module encourages students to be more specific and refined whilst developing an increased physical awareness and expressive potential.
You will learn to expand your range of physical choices in various theatrical styles. The content of the course focuses on the self within the ensemble and for the transformation of character. You will gain an understanding of the ways in which inner psychological and emotional impulses can be outwardly concealed or revealed. Study of character movement and transformative techniques continues alongside the study of the body's structure and the interactive relationship of mind, body and space.
The module is designed to develop appropriate levels of physical, emotional and imaginative fitness in students. Alignment work is re-emphasised and applied to both acting challenges and movement improvisations. By the end of the module students will have committed the practice of a personal warm-up to body memory and identified a working technique for physical characterisation. Laban method is used practically and verbally throughout Year Two.
Module Content
Deeper understanding and knowledge of the expressive qualities of the body
Movement vocabulary in relation to character choices
Physical expression of inner psychological and emotional states
Individual and ensemble work with risk-taking and self-reliance
Identification of blocks and challenges of physical weakness in the body
Personal body warm-ups to address individual physical challenges
Integration of movement vocabulary with set theatrical styles
Demonstration of dynamically aligned, spontaneously free body in a safe and flexible environment.
The course content is studied throughout the year and applied to a range of theatrical and movement styles e.g. acrobatics, commedia dell'arte, music hall. You will consolidate your knowledge and understanding of the course content into the presentation and performance of projects. The main focus of the module is on the students' ability to communicate physically in performance.
You will learn to expand your range of physical choices in various theatrical styles. The content of the course focuses on the self within the ensemble and for the transformation of character. You will gain an understanding of the ways in which inner psychological and emotional impulses can be outwardly concealed or revealed. Study of character movement and transformative techniques continues alongside the study of the body's structure and the interactive relationship of mind, body and space.
The module is designed to develop appropriate levels of physical, emotional and imaginative fitness in students. Alignment work is re-emphasised and applied to both acting challenges and movement improvisations. By the end of the module students will have committed the practice of a personal warm-up to body memory and identified a working technique for physical characterisation. Laban method is used practically and verbally throughout Year Two.
Module Content
Deeper understanding and knowledge of the expressive qualities of the body
Movement vocabulary in relation to character choices
Physical expression of inner psychological and emotional states
Individual and ensemble work with risk-taking and self-reliance
Identification of blocks and challenges of physical weakness in the body
Personal body warm-ups to address individual physical challenges
Integration of movement vocabulary with set theatrical styles
Demonstration of dynamically aligned, spontaneously free body in a safe and flexible environment.
The course content is studied throughout the year and applied to a range of theatrical and movement styles e.g. acrobatics, commedia dell'arte, music hall. You will consolidate your knowledge and understanding of the course content into the presentation and performance of projects. The main focus of the module is on the students' ability to communicate physically in performance.
- Module Supervisor: Marcin Rudy
Students will expand their ability interact musically and dramatically in small ensemble pieces usually sourced from musicals and popular styles. In the second term you will progress to the interpretation of more complex and demanding material and performance situations, including public performance and in the third term you will work on expanding your singing range and vocal agility. By the end of the module you will have a substantial knowledge of vocal technique and will have acquired an automatically present technique both to support the singing and safeguard the voice. You will have at your disposal a repertoire of songs of different tempi and styles that fall within your acting and singing range in preparation for your work in final year. Students are encouraged to continue to develop personal warm-up exercise routines.
Module Content
Term One
1. Tessitura
2. Dynamic range
3. Vocal agility
4. Improving audience communication
5. Sustaining character through accent, sound, musicality and lyrics
6. Interactions within the medium of song
Term Two
7. Introduction to 'direct-contact' songs
8. Breaking down the 'fourth wall'
9. Brecht songs
10. British Music Hall
11. Conveying clearly delineated character in song
12. Maintaining technique whilst performing sung material
Term Three
13. Brecht songs in context and in performance
14. Sourcing suitable vocal material
15. Understanding personal voice characteristics
16. Performance of songs from different historical periods
17. Safeguarding the singing voice
18. Portraying emotion through singing
19. Performance of songs in different theatrical contexts.
Module Content
Term One
1. Tessitura
2. Dynamic range
3. Vocal agility
4. Improving audience communication
5. Sustaining character through accent, sound, musicality and lyrics
6. Interactions within the medium of song
Term Two
7. Introduction to 'direct-contact' songs
8. Breaking down the 'fourth wall'
9. Brecht songs
10. British Music Hall
11. Conveying clearly delineated character in song
12. Maintaining technique whilst performing sung material
Term Three
13. Brecht songs in context and in performance
14. Sourcing suitable vocal material
15. Understanding personal voice characteristics
16. Performance of songs from different historical periods
17. Safeguarding the singing voice
18. Portraying emotion through singing
19. Performance of songs in different theatrical contexts.
- Module Supervisor: Neil Somerville
This is a compulsory second year course for students on the BA Hons Acting programme. The module examines how changes in society are reflected in theatre.
Module Content
Term One
Small group research and presentations
19th century European Naturalistic Theatre
Chekhov, Ibsen and their contemporaries
Theories of Stanislavsky
Political, social, scientific and philosophical developments of the era
Term Two
Texts of the late Victorian and Edwardian era
Post-Stanislavskian acting theories
Understanding modern practitioners
Meyerhold and Grotowski
Term Three
17th and 18th century theatre and society
commedia dell'arte
modern applications of commedia
Module Content
Term One
Small group research and presentations
19th century European Naturalistic Theatre
Chekhov, Ibsen and their contemporaries
Theories of Stanislavsky
Political, social, scientific and philosophical developments of the era
Term Two
Texts of the late Victorian and Edwardian era
Post-Stanislavskian acting theories
Understanding modern practitioners
Meyerhold and Grotowski
Term Three
17th and 18th century theatre and society
commedia dell'arte
modern applications of commedia
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
The work of this compulsory BA Acting module is to integrate student skills and techniques learned in first and second year into the first production that they will perform in their final professional preparation year.
The choice of plays will normally be guided by what is deemed suitable for the specific needs of the year cohort as a whole, thus helping to develop areas of work and professional growth which need to be addressed and consolidated specifically within the company of actors. The plays will be chosen from established quality texts that are likely to be story and character-driven; for example, students could be cast in a Christmas show (using an established quality text not a pantomime script) or in a touring production for schools of a Shakespeare text.
Alongside performances students will develop a series of related practical schools workshops.
Plays and workshops are directed either by East 15 staff or visiting directors.
The choice of plays will normally be guided by what is deemed suitable for the specific needs of the year cohort as a whole, thus helping to develop areas of work and professional growth which need to be addressed and consolidated specifically within the company of actors. The plays will be chosen from established quality texts that are likely to be story and character-driven; for example, students could be cast in a Christmas show (using an established quality text not a pantomime script) or in a touring production for schools of a Shakespeare text.
Alongside performances students will develop a series of related practical schools workshops.
Plays and workshops are directed either by East 15 staff or visiting directors.
By the final year of the BA Acting/BA Hons Acting course students are considered to be performers and actors. The work of skills classes in Terms One and Two of the final year in this compulsory module focuses on students' professional development. Classes will involve the preparation of your shows, audition pieces, preparation for the final Showcase performance and weekly classes to deal with any on-going problems and issues arising. Students continue to develop and practice warm-ups and preparation for rehearsal and performance. The final year work allows you to establish patterns and pathways for creative well-being to follow throughout your working life.
Voice
You will learn how to make sensible use of the voice coach through the support you receive for your roles in production work. You will be given opportunities to practice changing vocal quality for the purpose of dramatic characterisation. You will work on a variety of accents and vocal requirements for different performance spaces and for your audition pieces. You will lead vocal warm-up workshops and exercises prior to performances. The module content is deliberately flexible to allow for individual students' progress and needs.
Movement
Classes will focus on movement for the performing actor, building on students' previously acquired absorption and internalisation of the principles and practice of the actor's movement work. The format of physical warm-up becomes integral to students' performance preparation. In the final year you will extend and further develop movement techniques in the challenge of character transformation and be encouraged to explore your artistic creativity in an independent environment. Independent choices are encouraged to prepare students to meet a range of theatrical challenges and styles in rehearsal and performance with confidence and ease. You will acquire an experienced understanding of your body as expressive instrument and will be able to use that understanding in your work as an actor. The module encourages students to integrate their personal movement work into rehearsal and performance. You will apply learnt movement vocabulary to production challenges and learn to work with clear intention in performance. You will work on maintaining stamina in specific movement tasks and over longer periods of work.
Music & Singing
With guidance from your tutors you will continue to source suitable material for the accumulation of appropriate repertoire. You will use your expanded sense of vocal identity to apply self-regulated and purpose-designed warm-ups. You will be given opportunities throughout the module to perform songs and/or to sing in shows and performances. The module contains opportunities for you to attend master classes to prepare you for professional auditions. Classes are based on students' participation in musical productions and the application of technique in performance. You will be given opportunities to perform songs in front of an audience of East 15 Acting School staff and students as well as performing in acting projects and performances. Individual tuition will focus on ensuring that students are confident in the material offered at professional audition and have confidence in their own vocal, emotional and stylistic parameters. Particular emphasis at this level is placed on the dramatic context of material and students will receive individual tutorials to support this.
Voice
You will learn how to make sensible use of the voice coach through the support you receive for your roles in production work. You will be given opportunities to practice changing vocal quality for the purpose of dramatic characterisation. You will work on a variety of accents and vocal requirements for different performance spaces and for your audition pieces. You will lead vocal warm-up workshops and exercises prior to performances. The module content is deliberately flexible to allow for individual students' progress and needs.
Movement
Classes will focus on movement for the performing actor, building on students' previously acquired absorption and internalisation of the principles and practice of the actor's movement work. The format of physical warm-up becomes integral to students' performance preparation. In the final year you will extend and further develop movement techniques in the challenge of character transformation and be encouraged to explore your artistic creativity in an independent environment. Independent choices are encouraged to prepare students to meet a range of theatrical challenges and styles in rehearsal and performance with confidence and ease. You will acquire an experienced understanding of your body as expressive instrument and will be able to use that understanding in your work as an actor. The module encourages students to integrate their personal movement work into rehearsal and performance. You will apply learnt movement vocabulary to production challenges and learn to work with clear intention in performance. You will work on maintaining stamina in specific movement tasks and over longer periods of work.
Music & Singing
With guidance from your tutors you will continue to source suitable material for the accumulation of appropriate repertoire. You will use your expanded sense of vocal identity to apply self-regulated and purpose-designed warm-ups. You will be given opportunities throughout the module to perform songs and/or to sing in shows and performances. The module contains opportunities for you to attend master classes to prepare you for professional auditions. Classes are based on students' participation in musical productions and the application of technique in performance. You will be given opportunities to perform songs in front of an audience of East 15 Acting School staff and students as well as performing in acting projects and performances. Individual tuition will focus on ensuring that students are confident in the material offered at professional audition and have confidence in their own vocal, emotional and stylistic parameters. Particular emphasis at this level is placed on the dramatic context of material and students will receive individual tutorials to support this.
- Module Supervisor: Christina Gutekunst
- Module Supervisor: Marcin Rudy
- Module Supervisor: Neil Somerville
This is a compulsory final year course for students on the BA Acting/BA Hons Acting programme. The module concentrates on contemporary theatre. Students are encouraged to reflect on their course experiences and training and to prepare themselves for further professional and cultural challenges after graduation. You will use the research and writing skills you have learned in years one and two to consider new ideas in greater depth and to develop the ability to express arguments through a process supported by relevant research and source materials. This process will culminate in the third term when you will present your Personal Development Journal.
Students will be encouraged to widen their reading to research and discuss new ideas. You will be guided towards theatre issues and practices in which you have a personal interest and encouraged to pursue them in depth. The module explores contemporary theatre theories and practices as well as post-modern performance and performance art. You will use research to develop your understanding of contemporary theatre and will be given opportunities to present your ideas in a coherent manner, using documentary evidence to support your views and standard academic conventions of presentation, for example referencing, quotations and bibliography.
Students will be encouraged to widen their reading to research and discuss new ideas. You will be guided towards theatre issues and practices in which you have a personal interest and encouraged to pursue them in depth. The module explores contemporary theatre theories and practices as well as post-modern performance and performance art. You will use research to develop your understanding of contemporary theatre and will be given opportunities to present your ideas in a coherent manner, using documentary evidence to support your views and standard academic conventions of presentation, for example referencing, quotations and bibliography.
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
Module Outline
This compulsory module for the BA Acting course is aimed at providing students with the necessary skills and preparation to launch their professional careers. Students will receive specific training in audition and interview technique, in marketing skills such as web design, CVs and letters of introduction and legal and financial issues affecting professional actors. Opportunities will be provided for workshops, meetings and lectures by and with industry professionals such as agents and casting directors, as well as with working actors and directors. Throughout the module students will be given practical assignments on which they will receive feedback from guest lecturers and industry professionals.
Module Aim
To provide students with the necessary professional preparation and skills to launch their acting careers.
Module Content
The Working Actor, practical workshops with a range of industry professionals including
A Casting Director
An Agent or Actors Co op Agency
A Working Actor
A Working Director
A Web Designer
A Drama Workshops leader
Related alternative work, eg role play, corporate.
Students will receive direct feedback on practical and written assignments from guest lecturers who are actively working in the industry and are thus able to pass on their up to the minute knowledge of the real world of the working actor.
The Working Environment, meetings with specialist consultants on topics including
Equity , the Actors Union
Spotlight
The Independent Theatre Council (ITC)
Establishing your own company
Legal and tax adviser
Independent financial adviser
Self marketing and promotion specialist
Headshot photography
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to demonstrate the skills necessary to produce
a good CV
effective letters of introduction to theatre agents and directors
professional audition speeches
a good technique for television and film interviews, including sight reading skills
a professional portfolio including one 10 x 8 headshot
This compulsory module for the BA Acting course is aimed at providing students with the necessary skills and preparation to launch their professional careers. Students will receive specific training in audition and interview technique, in marketing skills such as web design, CVs and letters of introduction and legal and financial issues affecting professional actors. Opportunities will be provided for workshops, meetings and lectures by and with industry professionals such as agents and casting directors, as well as with working actors and directors. Throughout the module students will be given practical assignments on which they will receive feedback from guest lecturers and industry professionals.
Module Aim
To provide students with the necessary professional preparation and skills to launch their acting careers.
Module Content
The Working Actor, practical workshops with a range of industry professionals including
A Casting Director
An Agent or Actors Co op Agency
A Working Actor
A Working Director
A Web Designer
A Drama Workshops leader
Related alternative work, eg role play, corporate.
Students will receive direct feedback on practical and written assignments from guest lecturers who are actively working in the industry and are thus able to pass on their up to the minute knowledge of the real world of the working actor.
The Working Environment, meetings with specialist consultants on topics including
Equity , the Actors Union
Spotlight
The Independent Theatre Council (ITC)
Establishing your own company
Legal and tax adviser
Independent financial adviser
Self marketing and promotion specialist
Headshot photography
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to demonstrate the skills necessary to produce
a good CV
effective letters of introduction to theatre agents and directors
professional audition speeches
a good technique for television and film interviews, including sight reading skills
a professional portfolio including one 10 x 8 headshot
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
In this compulsory MA/ Postgraduate Diploma Acting class students are required to assess dispassionately and objectively how they appear and what messages their physicality and vocal patterns communicate to audiences. Strategies are then developed with the acquisition of tools for acting technique, to create an open, ready, energised available physicality and voice, free of unhelpful habits. Likewise, students are encouraged to move to a psychological attitude of open readiness to work, liberating their imagination towards artistic creative development whilst developing an understanding of professional discipline.
The work will focus on will developing skills so that the actor can communicate effectively. Students will be required to be vocally adept and appear physically plausible when working. Students will develop powers of observation and analysis and gain the vocabulary and skill to break down a text. Improvisation tools and exercises to encourage spontaneity and creativity will open minds as the technical work opens the body.
At the end of the first term students will engage with professional development practice working with directors, writers or other theatre practitioners on new endeavours in development to gain understanding of professional project development models and processes.
In the second term further in depth scene study - context, idea, character, relationship and improvisation into the scenes are supported by animal study and movement work into performance of scenes from play texts.
Media (Radio & Camera)
Over two terms students will be given the opportunity to:
Experience the pressures of creating roles for radio and TV/film
Work under close to professional pressure in creating a role for the media
Radio
In Radio, students will create a radio drama under conditions similar to those of the industry. You will be expected to show that:
1. You can put into practice the skill introduced earlier
2. You can produce a professional standard of work under time pressure
Acting For Camera
In this unit, students will be introduced to:
1. audition, casting, and interview situations for TV/Film
2. sight reading for audition purposes
3. basic problems of listening and reacting, hitting the mark, eye lines, continuity
4. the different types of "shots" (close-up, long shot, etc, etc)
5. integration of acting skills applied with the confines and disciplines of the medium
6. the pressures and problems of location shooting
7. the pressures of non-linear approach to film acting
8. the perception of the actor's persona on camera
9. the need to apply "units and objectives" to screen acting
During an intensive week of work with outside directors and technicians, students will be expected to:
create and sustain believable characters on screen
work creatively under pressure
adapt their previous experience to the technology surrounding them on location under professional conditions
The work will focus on will developing skills so that the actor can communicate effectively. Students will be required to be vocally adept and appear physically plausible when working. Students will develop powers of observation and analysis and gain the vocabulary and skill to break down a text. Improvisation tools and exercises to encourage spontaneity and creativity will open minds as the technical work opens the body.
At the end of the first term students will engage with professional development practice working with directors, writers or other theatre practitioners on new endeavours in development to gain understanding of professional project development models and processes.
In the second term further in depth scene study - context, idea, character, relationship and improvisation into the scenes are supported by animal study and movement work into performance of scenes from play texts.
Media (Radio & Camera)
Over two terms students will be given the opportunity to:
Experience the pressures of creating roles for radio and TV/film
Work under close to professional pressure in creating a role for the media
Radio
In Radio, students will create a radio drama under conditions similar to those of the industry. You will be expected to show that:
1. You can put into practice the skill introduced earlier
2. You can produce a professional standard of work under time pressure
Acting For Camera
In this unit, students will be introduced to:
1. audition, casting, and interview situations for TV/Film
2. sight reading for audition purposes
3. basic problems of listening and reacting, hitting the mark, eye lines, continuity
4. the different types of "shots" (close-up, long shot, etc, etc)
5. integration of acting skills applied with the confines and disciplines of the medium
6. the pressures and problems of location shooting
7. the pressures of non-linear approach to film acting
8. the perception of the actor's persona on camera
9. the need to apply "units and objectives" to screen acting
During an intensive week of work with outside directors and technicians, students will be expected to:
create and sustain believable characters on screen
work creatively under pressure
adapt their previous experience to the technology surrounding them on location under professional conditions
This is a compulsory Term Two module for the MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Acting. Students undertake intensive in-depth research which may involve both primary and secondary sources. Such research is absorbed at intellectual, psychological, emotional and sensory levels leading to a performance project in which research, technical skills and acting skills are fully integrated and engaged.
The module provides an opportunity for intense research of context towards performance. Practical and theoretical research will be bought to bear to enrich the ensemble performance and the tools learnt in the course so far in all streams of learning (eg movement, voice, contextual studies etc) will integrate into performance.
The Researched Performance Project integrates research and improvisation tools, into performance in a studio or site-specific setting. The project may be a performance of a play text, a devised project based on other fictional texts with a strong historical element, or a devised project based on texts, documentation and research of a given period/place in history.
Parallel technical classes demand a deeper understanding of the subject as well as more effective application in rehearsal and performance process. The focus is on using the tools of research and improvisation to deliver credible, plausible effective performance as an ensemble, which communicates to an audience.
Students contribute to design, stage-management, costume, stage-lighting, sound marketing, press and publicity. This enables them to have a understanding of the production process. Group responsibilities for the set-up and strike of each production, together with clearly defined areas of responsibility in stage-management further enable the students to work as an ensemble. It is the greater force of the ensemble that can increase the sense of ownership and raise performance level. The aim is to give students the opportunity to experience something of this in their own performance projects as well as begin to equip them for the realities of small scale working practice in the industry at present.
The module provides an opportunity for intense research of context towards performance. Practical and theoretical research will be bought to bear to enrich the ensemble performance and the tools learnt in the course so far in all streams of learning (eg movement, voice, contextual studies etc) will integrate into performance.
The Researched Performance Project integrates research and improvisation tools, into performance in a studio or site-specific setting. The project may be a performance of a play text, a devised project based on other fictional texts with a strong historical element, or a devised project based on texts, documentation and research of a given period/place in history.
Parallel technical classes demand a deeper understanding of the subject as well as more effective application in rehearsal and performance process. The focus is on using the tools of research and improvisation to deliver credible, plausible effective performance as an ensemble, which communicates to an audience.
Students contribute to design, stage-management, costume, stage-lighting, sound marketing, press and publicity. This enables them to have a understanding of the production process. Group responsibilities for the set-up and strike of each production, together with clearly defined areas of responsibility in stage-management further enable the students to work as an ensemble. It is the greater force of the ensemble that can increase the sense of ownership and raise performance level. The aim is to give students the opportunity to experience something of this in their own performance projects as well as begin to equip them for the realities of small scale working practice in the industry at present.
- Module Supervisor: Andrea Brooks
The first section of this MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Acting module requires students to address the demands they will meet in the professional theatre and focuses on public performance of full-length plays. Plays are produced that extend performance repertoire and reflect the needs of the individual year. Under the guidance of the year tutor students will be expected to initiate cast warm-up, care of costume, make-up etc. By the completion of the theatre production, students will be expected to have attained a degree of professionalism, which will fully equip them for the highly competitive career of acting.
The requirements of the Studio Theatre Production expose a range of textual and character demands. These full-length productions are designed to extend and consolidate students' strengths as professional actors. Plays are chosen to show students' abilities to best advantage and to give them the opportunity of full-scale ensemble work in public performance. In each of the Professional Productions students are directed as and by professionals rather than tutored.
Integration of Skill and Research
By the end of the module you should be able to determine your own needs and patterns of preparation for performances. Each production demands both study and developed skills. These are enabled and provided according to each student's particular needs, and individually tutored in all areas: Research, Voice, Movement, Music and Singing as well as through a number of specialist classes given in each term. Flexibility to encourage the individual's progress is built into each term to maximise talent in particular areas.
This is a compulsory technical skills training module for the MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Acting.
The aims of voice work throughout the year are divided into the following four main areas:
Voices and Choices: This element looks at the nature of accents and dialects with specific work on articulation and an examination and development of the equipment at work. Phonetics are introduced in the context of a practical environment alongside Received Pronunciation as both a "neutral" and character-based accent and as the beginnings of dialect exploration. In term two Received Pronunciation receives greater focus in connection with character and text work. Support is given to dialect work required in the Advanced Research Project.
Physical Voice: Aims to explore the relationship between posture, breath and voice with a practical focus on understanding and releasing the accumulation of habitual tensions in the body, moving into developing spine and rib flexibility and discovery of the physically and emotionally centred impulse for breath and support for sound.
Exploratory Voice: Aims to develop the students' experience of their own voice through exploring the inter-relationship between impulse, voice and emotion beyond the limitations of linguistic expression, and by exploring the resonant potential of the voice and the connections between resonance, emotional expression and vocal characterisation. In term two resonant articulation and resonant placement are key areas of development. Students begin to apply Laban to voice work to further stretch the voice beyond the confines of the habitual, and to explore and develop the musicality of expressive language, through pitch range, resonant balance, pace, volume, rhythm and cadence.
Text Work: Shakespearean speeches and sonnets are studied, exploring the writers' use of expressive language, sounds and rhythms in text and developing the student's ability to connect to that language and make it their own. Practical voice work is applied to these texts, developing the students' ability to express passion through the use of released and energised body and voice. Students explore the connections between breath and thought, rhythm and emotion, word energy and articulation and relate these elements to character. In the second term students continue to explore and develop the energy of the breath, articulation and thoughts, the flexibility of resonance and range, and the sheer intellectual and emotional power of linguistic expression through work on the texts of George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde.
The aims of voice work throughout the year are divided into the following four main areas:
Voices and Choices: This element looks at the nature of accents and dialects with specific work on articulation and an examination and development of the equipment at work. Phonetics are introduced in the context of a practical environment alongside Received Pronunciation as both a "neutral" and character-based accent and as the beginnings of dialect exploration. In term two Received Pronunciation receives greater focus in connection with character and text work. Support is given to dialect work required in the Advanced Research Project.
Physical Voice: Aims to explore the relationship between posture, breath and voice with a practical focus on understanding and releasing the accumulation of habitual tensions in the body, moving into developing spine and rib flexibility and discovery of the physically and emotionally centred impulse for breath and support for sound.
Exploratory Voice: Aims to develop the students' experience of their own voice through exploring the inter-relationship between impulse, voice and emotion beyond the limitations of linguistic expression, and by exploring the resonant potential of the voice and the connections between resonance, emotional expression and vocal characterisation. In term two resonant articulation and resonant placement are key areas of development. Students begin to apply Laban to voice work to further stretch the voice beyond the confines of the habitual, and to explore and develop the musicality of expressive language, through pitch range, resonant balance, pace, volume, rhythm and cadence.
Text Work: Shakespearean speeches and sonnets are studied, exploring the writers' use of expressive language, sounds and rhythms in text and developing the student's ability to connect to that language and make it their own. Practical voice work is applied to these texts, developing the students' ability to express passion through the use of released and energised body and voice. Students explore the connections between breath and thought, rhythm and emotion, word energy and articulation and relate these elements to character. In the second term students continue to explore and develop the energy of the breath, articulation and thoughts, the flexibility of resonance and range, and the sheer intellectual and emotional power of linguistic expression through work on the texts of George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde.
- Module Supervisor: Christina Gutekunst
The first term of this compulsory movement module for MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Acting students focuses on the investigation and exploration of the body in space and self as a starting point for characterisation. The term is about opening up physically and emotionally, finding a centred, dynamically aligned and energised body, identifying and inhibiting muscular tensions and poor postural patterns. Various movement theories and techniques are introduced with the aim that the students expand their movement vocabulary in relation to self, then in relation to character.
The second term of the Movement course is about deepening movement vocabulary and potential and expanding individual range of physical choices for characterisation in a variety of theatrical styles. Various techniques are learned including animal study.
By the third term, the Movement course increasingly focuses on the practice of applying the movement techniques learnt in the studio towards performance situations and production challenges. Preparation for the profession and the investigation and exploration of artistic creativity and independence is also encouraged.
Term One
You will understand the structure of a centered, balanced, energised body and be encouraged to create a positive mind/body connection and body confidence. You will learn to identify and develop physical presence of self in the space through a variety of physical warm-ups and explorations. As the term progresses you will develop rhythm, co-ordination, strength, suppleness and a very basic dance/step vocabulary. You will learn to respond honestly to impulses, executing simple, uninhibited physical action and begin to explore thse impulses as a tool for improvisation. You will be introduced to a range of movement techniques and terminology.
Term Two
You will learn how to move economically and expressively with energised, balanced and aligned movement patterns. You will learn to use acquired movement vocabulary (e.g. Laban) to extend the physical and emotional range of the self in improvisation work and performance and to expand movement vocabulary in relation to character choices and discoveries. Animal study will play a key role in character creation techniques this term.
Term Three
In this final term you will learn to select and practise personal warm-up exercises in order to avoid personal injury and to facilitate the fullest use of physical skills in performance. You will acquire the ability to use a dynamically aligned and energised body as a starting point for a character and apply movement characterisation principles to production challenges. In this intensive postgraduate training you will be expected to move rapidly towards taking big physical risks with a bold selection of physical actions as required by the style of theatre performance. By the end of the module you will be able to communicate physically in performance with confidence and assurance. You will have an understanding of your own dominant movement characteristics and those that present problems for the expression of self and problems of proficiency for the stage and you will have developed strategies to address with these shortcomings.
The second term of the Movement course is about deepening movement vocabulary and potential and expanding individual range of physical choices for characterisation in a variety of theatrical styles. Various techniques are learned including animal study.
By the third term, the Movement course increasingly focuses on the practice of applying the movement techniques learnt in the studio towards performance situations and production challenges. Preparation for the profession and the investigation and exploration of artistic creativity and independence is also encouraged.
Term One
You will understand the structure of a centered, balanced, energised body and be encouraged to create a positive mind/body connection and body confidence. You will learn to identify and develop physical presence of self in the space through a variety of physical warm-ups and explorations. As the term progresses you will develop rhythm, co-ordination, strength, suppleness and a very basic dance/step vocabulary. You will learn to respond honestly to impulses, executing simple, uninhibited physical action and begin to explore thse impulses as a tool for improvisation. You will be introduced to a range of movement techniques and terminology.
Term Two
You will learn how to move economically and expressively with energised, balanced and aligned movement patterns. You will learn to use acquired movement vocabulary (e.g. Laban) to extend the physical and emotional range of the self in improvisation work and performance and to expand movement vocabulary in relation to character choices and discoveries. Animal study will play a key role in character creation techniques this term.
Term Three
In this final term you will learn to select and practise personal warm-up exercises in order to avoid personal injury and to facilitate the fullest use of physical skills in performance. You will acquire the ability to use a dynamically aligned and energised body as a starting point for a character and apply movement characterisation principles to production challenges. In this intensive postgraduate training you will be expected to move rapidly towards taking big physical risks with a bold selection of physical actions as required by the style of theatre performance. By the end of the module you will be able to communicate physically in performance with confidence and assurance. You will have an understanding of your own dominant movement characteristics and those that present problems for the expression of self and problems of proficiency for the stage and you will have developed strategies to address with these shortcomings.
- Module Supervisor: Tracy Collier
The work of this term establishes and reinforces the importance of research at the postgraduate level. You will work on establishing appropriate research techniques involving source and secondary material through a practical exercise inspired by an actual text. You will use research to examine the text in relation to Chekov’s life and how his writing was impacted by the societal and cultural influences of the time. Actors will also examine their own experiences and how that impacts their interpretation of the play. They will be given opportunities to experience reading and critically analysing a text and presenting it to a group.
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
Our MA Acting is accredited by the National Council for Drama Training and should interest you if you wish to become a professional actor. You may already have a degree, or you may have established yourself in other professions and now seek to change towards that of a professional actor. If you are a professional actor and want to understand more about your technique, extend your range and gain academic recognition, then our MA Acting would also help.
We conclude this course with a showcase held in a major West End venue, to which we invite agents, casting directors, film, television and theatre directors and other industry professionals. On graduation, you are qualified as an actor and have an understanding of how to create your own work, including how to form companies and gain funding.
- Module Supervisor: Andrea Brooks
- Module Supervisor: Tracy Collier
- Module Supervisor: Christina Gutekunst
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
- Module Supervisor: Zois Pigadas
- Module Supervisor: Uri Roodner
- Module Supervisor: Philip Weaver