DRAMA AND THEATRE ARTS
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF
DRAMA AND THEATRE ARTS
At Staffordshire University, whether you are looking to gain the skills that will help you make a name for yourself as an actor, a director, a drama teacher, youth theatre director or arts administrator – you’ll find we have a degree course that’s perfect for you. Part of the University’s School of Film, Sound and Vision, we have a superb reputation for the quality of our teaching. In fact we achieved an overall student satisfaction score of 100% in the latest National Student Survey. Study with us and you’ll learn your craft from theatre industry professionals. You’ll get to use our outstanding world of work facilities. While our extensive contacts with professional theatres across the country could lead to exciting work placement opportunities, as well as put you in touch with key employers.
Robert Marsden Award Leader
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If you choose our Drama UK Recognised BA (Hons) Acting and Theatre Arts degree, performance will play a major part in your studies. Plus there will also be lots of opportunities to explore other theatre disciplines, such as directing, applied theatre, theatre history, costume and set design, and marketing. Then again, if you’d like to balance theatre work with screen and radio acting, then our BA (Hons) Acting and Screen Performance course could be for you. Whichever course you choose, you’ll find that our aim is to unlock, develop and deepen your creative and intellectual potential – equipping you with highly transferrable skills that will help ensure you are well equipped for work in the performing arts and related industries.
I WOULD RECOMMEND STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY TO ANYONE CONSIDERING WHERE TO STUDY. THE VARIATION OF THE CURRICULUM AND THE DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE THE UNIVERSITY OFFERS ITS STUDENTS HAVE ENABLED ME TO ACHIEVE A FANTASTIC CAREER PATH. Julie King Theatre Practitioner, New Vic Borderlines
BA (Hons) ACTING AND SCREEN PERFORMANCE UCAS code: W431
BA (Hons) ACTING AND THEATRE ARTS UCAS code: W430
CONTENTS: 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 15
Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate
t: 01782 294400
Introduction Key Facts Why Staffs? Our Brilliant People A Better Campus Choose More Open Days Application Process
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HERE ARE JUST A FEW REASONS WHY WE BELIEVE YOU SHOULD STUDY WITH US. TO REALLY FIND OUT IF WE’RE RIGHT FOR YOU, PLEASE COME ALONG TO ONE OF OUR OPEN DAYS. WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU.
KEY FACTS
CHOOSE YOUR ENTIRE THIRD YEAR
Our entirely optional third year enables you to pick a pathway that suits your strengths, interests and career progression. Choose from over 13 options around acting (Stage and screen), directing, small scale theatre, playwriting. musical theatre, solo performance, dissertation and much more.
FIRST-CLASS SUPPORT
We want you to excel during your time with us. That’s why you’ll benefit from a personal tutor and have access to friendly, helpful staff who will support and guide you. You’ll also get lots of study skills support for the academic parts of your course.
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MAKE A PLACEMENT YOUR STAGE
Our extensive contacts across the world of theatre, film and with local schools mean exciting placement opportunities.
INDUSTRY EXPERIENCED LECTURERS
You’ll learn from lecturers with professional experience as actors, directors and designers. Combined, they have worked at the Derby Playhouse; BBC, National Theatre Studio, Northampton Royal Theatre, Keswick Theatre by the Lake; New Vic Theatre; Royal Exchange, Manchester; Bolton Octagon and Stephen Joseph, Scarborough. Many have also been involved in National Tours.
100% STUDENT SATISFACTION
According to the 2013 National Student Survey data, 100% of our students were satisfied with the overall quality of their course.
LINKS WITH LEADING EMPLOYERS
To give you the best possible introduction to the world of work, we have contacts with theatre industry employers nationwide. We also maintain professional links with the theatre and film industries, including Lime Pictures, BBC, ITV, New Vic Theatre, the Regent Theatre, Lichfield Garrick Theatre, B-Arts and Reveal Theatre Company amongst others.
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL
We know that students learn more when working in small numbers. That’s why for all your practical and seminar activities, you’ll work in a small, well-supported teaching group.
‘RECOGNITION’ STATUS
Our Acting and Theatre Arts degree has been awarded ‘Recognition’ status from Drama UK, the national body for drama training. This status is granted to degrees which can prove, that upon graduation, you are ready for the world of work in the creative industries.
GUEST LECTURERS
We believe there’s no better way to learn than from industry experts. That’s why you’ll benefit from meeting visiting theatre professionals who will share their expertise in essential skills such as acting technique, voice, movement, playwriting, screen acting, lighting, sound and more.
WORK-READY WORLD-READY
Study with us and we’ll equip you to become ‘The Staffordshire Graduate’ – a world-ready professional, with the knowledge, attributes and expertise that employers look for.
Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate
t: 01782 294400
WORLD OF WORK FACILITIES
Our Performance Centre has three rehearsal studios, two workshops, props, costume stores and a green room. As well as extensive use of our own on-campus space, Studio One, we also occasionally use external venues for presentations including the 250 seater Stoke Repertory Theatre.
YOUR CHANCE TO SPECIALISE
Actor, teacher, youth theatre director, lighting specialist, playwright, sound technician… wherever you see your future, we’ll do our very best to tailor your studies.
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WHY STAFFS? Choosing to study either Acting and Theatre Arts or Acting and Screen Performance at Staffordshire University will equip you with a variety of performance, theatre arts and technical skills. Both courses also allow you to engage with drama from a practical and theoretical perspective. Perhaps most important of all, however, whichever course you study, you will often share learning with students from the other subject group. By working together in this way, you will develop sound academic knowledge and a thorough understanding of drama and the professional theatre or screen industry. This combined approach to study includes learning about theatre and dramatic history from the Ancient Greeks to the present day, as well as studying the form and content of today’s theatre and film industry.
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LEARN FROM THEATRE PROFESSIONALS We want to ensure that you graduate with the knowledge, skills and practical experience necessary for a successful future. That’s why you will be taught by experienced theatre professionals and academics. By employing practitioners and lecturers who know what the cultural industries really need, we know how to make you attractive to employers and confident in your professional abilities.
WORLD OF WORK FACILITIES You’ll hone your practical skills in Studio One, our main performance space, and in The Performance Centre, where through workshops, rehearsals and staged productions you will explore plays, ideas and methodologies in performance and production. The Centre includes
three purpose-built studios. Studio One holds up to 70 seats and has professional stage management equipment, lighting and sound facilities. Two of the studios provide dedicated rehearsal spaces with sprung floors. We also have workshops dedicated to painting and costume making.
INSPIRED WAYS OF TEACHING Although performance will form a fundamental part of your studies, these are not vocational acting courses. Modules are taught through an exciting and cutting edge blend of strategies, combining theory and practice to develop your critical and creative capacities. To broaden your knowledge of the world of performance, we also arrange theatre visits to destinations such as London, Stratford-upon-Avon and New York.
ASSESSED, NOT EXAMINED Our courses are all about developing and nurturing your theatre and/or screen skills. For that reason, you will be assessed through presentations, productions, coursework and ‘take away’ papers. You will not be required to sit formal exams.
LINKS WITH LEADING EMPLOYERS To give you a real insight into the world of employment, we have extensive links with many professional theatres and with theatre industry employers nationwide. We also maintain strong links with several highly acclaimed local theatres. As proof of the strength of our relationships with industry, several former students have gone on to work for the theatres and schools where they completed their final year work placements.
CAREER CHOICES Both courses produce graduates with the skills, knowledge and potential to progress in the creative industries. The Acting and Theatre Arts degree will help prepare you for many theatre and arts-related jobs. With a further year’s postgraduate study, the course will also serve as an exceptionally good foundation for a teaching or acting career. Many of our graduates have become successful arts professionals and teachers. Others have gone on to become industry leaders. The Acting and Screen Performance degree will help prepare you for many theatre, arts and recorded media careers. You can consider further vocational training at a drama school, set up your own company, train to teach or become an arts professional. Both courses also set you up in readiness for our own MA in Theatre Practice by Negotiated Learning. Either course will also give you the skills necessary to be both enterprising and entrepreneurial – qualities that have enabled past students to set up their own businesses and small-scale theatre companies.
Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate
t: 01782 294400
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OUR BRILLIANT PEOPLE ...INSIGHTFUL, WORTHWHILE AND REWARDING.
“The reason I chose Staffordshire University was because the course jumped out at me. There didn’t seem to be any other course that was as practical or as interesting. It drew me in straight away. I was pleasantly surprised on my first day when I met the other students on my course, as there didn’t seem as many as I had expected. This meant we all got a lot of attention from the tutors and there was plenty of one-on-one time available whenever we needed it. I learnt the most from the practical modules, where we would produce our own shows. The strict professionalism that was enforced throughout this process helped me into the professional world. Strong links with local theatres The course’s greatest asset is the fact that it has strong links with local producing theatres, which offer placements to enable students to experience real, professional theatre. This is how I made the leap into my career in stage management, with immense support from the New Vic Theatre.” Natalie Hainon, BA (Hons) Drama, Performance and Theatre Arts Now Assistant Stage Manager, New Vic Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent
Studying as a mature student at Staffordshire University has been an incredibly insightful, worthwhile and rewarding experience. The course offered me a broad and balanced curriculum of core and optional modules from which I could tailor a degree to meet my individual career requirements. One of Staffordshire’s many benefits is that the excellent departmental staff are complemented by high quality specialist visiting lecturers and industry professionals, which ensures training remains current and relevant.
“After working as a drama practitioner within the community arts and education sectors for over 15 years, I decided to enhance my vocational experience and existing training by undertaking an academic qualification.
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I am in no doubt that my time at Staffordshire University will prove invaluable. I am currently a Creative Director of Fusion Performance Arts, operating a studio performance facility and theatre school in North Staffordshire, which engages young people within the arts. I also continue to work as a community arts practitioner, actor and director.” Justine Cope, BA (Hons) Drama, Performance and Theatre Arts (First Class)
One member of our dynamic lecturing team you will be working with is Paul Christie. Trained as a director at RADA and as an actor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Paul brings a wealth of practical, real world experience to the curriculum. His main teaching passion is that of creating genuine connections between actors in a rehearsal room. Paul is currently researching ‘The Method of Analysis through Action’, a little known Stanislavskian rehearsal technique whereby the text is analysed through a series of improvisations involving the actors mind, body and spirit allowing actors to work from a genuine experienced connection to one another as they find their way to the playwrights words through their own experience. “Working with the next generation of theatre makers on great plays is immensely rewarding and rich in discoveries about the nature of human beings. The lessons learnt in the rehearsal studio are often as valuable in real life as they are on the stage.”
Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate
Since joining the department in 2011, Paul has directed productions of Hamlet, The Oresteia (picture above), Roberto Zucco, Vassa Zheleznova, Dying For It and Antigone. Paul Christie, Lecturer
t: 01782 294400
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A BETTER CAMPUS
AT STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY, WE’RE COMMITTED TO INVESTING IN YOUR FUTURE – LITERALLY. OVER A PERIOD OF 18 MONTHS, WE’RE SPENDING MILLIONS OF POUNDS ON OUR UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES, SO WHEN YOU JOIN US, YOU’LL BE COMING TO A PLACE WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO START OPENING DOORS AND BREAKING BOUNDARIES.
In recent years, our Stoke-on-Trent campus has undergone a massive transformation, with the students at the heart of our plans. From the amazing Science Centre to environmental improvements, we’re focused on building the best campus for our students. But whilst it’s all well and good a university saying they care what students think, we’re putting our money where our mouth is. This all stems from a decision to make Stoke-on-Trent the main campus of Staffordshire University. In 2016 the majority of students from our Stafford Computing and Technology courses will be
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moving to the Stoke-on-Trent campus. So we’re making sure that when you arrive, you enter a university that is fit for purpose. One with a great mix of study and social spaces. One that feels safe and thrives on the friendly reputation we’ve built. What we found was that a modern edge-of-city campus is ideal. Close enough to the city for the social life, but far enough away to focus on studying. Great transport links around the city, but also great spaces around the campus. The best of both worlds. So, starting in Summer 2015, we’ll be working on the College Road and Leek Road sites of our Stoke Campus. We’ll be creating great social spaces and easy access between the Students’ Union, venues and teaching rooms. Bringing the best teaching facilities together with fantastic student areas – making it feel safe and easy to jump between your lectures and your life outside University. As well as that, we’re also investing £12m in a new Computing and Games facility. This project, called Digital Kiln, will merge beautiful learning space with state-of-theart technology to support all sorts of courses from Cyber Security to Games Design.
This investment is continuing the work we’ve already started to create great social spaces and easy access between the Students’ Union, halls of residence, and other facilities. We’ve committed to doubling the investment that’s already started to create enhanced facilities. Come 2016, it’s going to have the buzz and the feel of the edge-of-city campus that students want. Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Gunn Healthcare Centres of Excellence This redevelopment work isn’t just happening in Stoke-on-Trent though. Healthcare and Midwifery students won’t miss out with significant further investment in our Centres of Excellence in Stafford and Shrewsbury – adding new student spaces and learning resources to make these campuses totally self-contained and right up to date. So, with all this to come, maybe it’s time you joined us at Staffordshire University?
Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate
t: 01782 294400
KEY FACTS WORK STARTS: SUMMER 2015 ADDITIONAL £40M INVESTMENT IN STOKE-ON-TRENT CAMPUS MULTI-MILLION POUND INVESTMENT IN STAFFORD CENTRE OF HEALTHCARE EXCELLENCE AND SHREWSBURY CENTRE OF HEALTHCARE EXCELLENCE COMPLETION DATE: AUTUMN 2016.
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CHOOSE
MORE AT STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY, WE WANT TO GIVE YOU AN EDGE OVER THE COMPETITION. WE WANT YOU TO TAKE AWAY SOMETHING EXTRA. SO WE MAKE SURE YOU’LL GET SOMETHING EXTRA WHEN YOU’RE HERE. A LOT EXTRA ACTUALLY. To help you open doors as well as your mind, we’re spending millions of pounds on our edge-of-city campus. When you’re here, you’ll be able to work with brilliant academics and access a whole load of cutting edge facilities; from animation studios to photography darkrooms to surface decoration workshops. Past students have gone on to exhibit at prestigious galleries, museums and festivals across the world.
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You can also get more back with grants, loans and bursaries to help fund your study whilst enjoying a cost of living ranked the third lowest in the UK.
MAKE MORE OF YOUR TIME HERE • Improve your skills with online training platform Lynda.com and access over 3,000 online tutorial videos • Want to get fit while you study? Take advantage of our special student rate gym memberships • Don’t just learn while you’re with us, earn. Take a job at the Students’ Union, become a paid Student Ambassador with Unitemps or turn working while you study upside down with a seasonal role at Alton Towers Resort • Then spend. We’re a hop, skip and a short walk from shops, boutiques, restaurants, bars and clubs • Catch the latest musicals, opera, drama at the Regent Theatre and Stafford Gatehouse
MORE WAYS TO STUDY YOUR WAY • Grants, loans and bursaries to help fund your study • More hands-on, real world learning, fewer lectures • Hit the books whenever you want - access to our 24- hour library • Get all the software you need including access to the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite and download Microsoft Office 365 on up to five devices for free • Professional guest lecturers - previous presentations included Microsoft, Marvel Comics and Epic Games
At Staffordshire University, you’re in the best place to do more, with City Centre shops, boutiques, restaurants, theatres, bars and clubs all just a short stroll away. Plus, with student rate gym memberships and over 100 sports, clubs and societies to join – including skydiving, snow sports and our very own Beard Society – you can experience more too. So, if you’re looking for a place that gives you exactly what you need to succeed (and more), then open the door and your mind to Staffordshire University.
A CAMPUS WITH MORE TO OFFER • We’ve spent and continue to spend millions of pounds on our edge-of-city campus • We’re a place literally in the middle of things with easy access to Manchester, Birmingham, London • Get your film fix at our on-campus Film Theatre • Take advantage of our brilliant and friendly Student Support team • Stay fit and well with our NHS Healthcare centre with two doctors • Enjoy a cost of living ranked third lowest in the UK
Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate
t: 01782 294400
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There’s only one real way to experience Staffordshire University, and that’s to come and see it for yourself.
University is where you’re due to spend the next few years of your life, so before you decide on somewhere, it makes sense to have a good look around. That’s where an Open Day comes in. This is your opportunity to get to know the place. Test it out. Immerse yourself in every aspect of Staffordshire University and see if it’s right for you. We’ll give you the chance to see everything, from the Students’ Union and the library to the IT suites and our impressive sports facilities. We’ll also show you the halls of residence, so you can start planning exactly where to put your TV and laptop. You’ll then meet our expert lecturers, see live demonstrations of lab and studio sessions, and delve deeper into your chosen subject with an informative talk. Advice is available on managing your student finances and ways to fund your study, as well as tips on writing a strong personal statement to include in your application.
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Best of all, you’ll have time to speak with current students about their experiences of Staffordshire University – which means you can hear exactly what it’s like to be at the heart of things in the centre of the country. It’s the best way to get a real feel for life here. Our Open Days give you an idea of everything Staffordshire University has to offer, so you’ll be ready to make one of the most important – and most exciting – decisions of your life.
LEARN MORE OR BOOK YOUR PLACE AT
www.staffs.ac.uk/opendays GO ONLINE TO WATCH OUR VIRTUAL TOURS
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CLEARING
The UCAS clearing process gives students another opportunity to find a place.
MISSED THE UCAS DEADLINE?
Don’t worry, apply via UCAS until the end of June and if we have vacancies left on your course we’ll consider your application. We accept CLEARING applications from mid July. Visit: www.staffs.ac.uk/clearing
Discover more: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate
t: 01782 294400
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For more detailed information on courses or studying at Staffordshire University, visit: www.staffs.ac.uk/undergraduate
www.staffs.ac.uk/socialmedia The information in this guide is correct at time of publication, but may be subject to change.
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