Creative Industries Carmarthen UWTSD
DRAMA
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DESIGN
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MEDIA
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1ST IN THE UK for ‘Course & Lecturers’ Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2020
8TH IN ENGLAND & WALES for Social Inclusion 13TH IN THE UK for student satisfaction with teaching quality The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022
ESSENTIAL INFO Getting in touch is easy, we’d love to hear from you. We are more than happy to answer any questions you may have via any of the following: Send us an email at: info@uwtsd.ac.uk Check out our website: www.uwtsd.ac.uk Look us up on social media: Film & Media Facebook - @Filmandmediacarmarthen Instagram - @uwtsd_filmandmedia Youtube - UWTSD Filmmaking & Adventure Filmmaking 02
Performing Arts Facebook @UwtsdPerformingarts Twitter @UWTSD_Perf_Arts Instagram UWTSD_Perf_Arts Applied Drama Facebook @UWTSDAppliedDrama Instagram @uwtsd_applieddrama Twitter @UWTSD_AppliedDrama Set Design & Production Instagram @basetdesignandproduction
A Different Kind of Classroom UWTSD
CARMARTHEN
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ABOUT THIS BOOK This book sets you on a journey of exploration. It moves you through our immersive campus experience, takes in the uniquely focused courses on offer and arrives at a place where your creativity will flourish and where you, as an individual are valued.
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CONTENTS
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A Different Kind of Classroom Venturing Out • Touring Theatre • A Different Environment • The Scenic Workshop • Directing
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Collaboration Plugged In • Short Film Production • Just like Us
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A Creative Community Crewing the Outdoors • Giant Lantern Parade • People Speak Up
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Our Courses BA Acting • BA Applied Drama: Education, Wellbeing, Community • BA Adventure Filmmaking • BA Set Design & Production • MA Theatre Directing
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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT US Carmarthen offers a rich and vibrant hub of creativity that draws together a unique subject combination of the creative and performance-based arts with hi-tech digital film and media processes, to create a learning community that is dynamic, innovative and exciting. The campus is a creative melting-pot for practitioners and entrepreneurs located within striking and iconic buildings. Camarthen is also home to Welsh broadcaster S4C’s main headquarters as well as a number of companies and organisations working within the creative and digital industries. We provide an environment to nurture the best creative talent in Wales, offering rewarding experiences 4
and work opportunities for talented individuals wishing to work within the creative industries. Creative energy and flair is generated by a blurring of traditional discipline boundaries and barriers and individual passion is both encouraged and developed by an industry-ready approach to learning and study. Whether you are an actor, an artist or designer, you will find yourself working alongside, and with, creative writers, filmmakers, new media producers, puppet-makers and directors.
A Truly Immersive Campus Experience
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CREATIVE CARMARTHEN “Living and learning in Carmarthen as an international student has been an amazing experience, and the chance to live on campus means that students have plenty of access to spaces to work on projects. The staff that work on campus, from faculty members to the day to day staff are friendly and willing to help any way they can to make your experience better. The historic buildings provide a beautiful backdrop to a learning community that will support you in any endeavours you undertake and set you up for a successful career in the field of your choice.“
Jeannette Baxter Set Design and Production Graduate, 2020
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A DIFFERENT KIND OF CLASSROOM We subscribe to the idea that everywhere is a classroom within our creative community. The learning opportunities in workshops, lecture theatres, rehearsal studios and locations are where ideas are formed, discussed and acted upon – these are spaces for reflection, discussion, enquiry and opportunity.
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Course: Adventure Filmmaking Year of Study: All Years
Steven Clarey
VENTURING OUT Expeditions and weekly field excursions are central to our Adventure Filmmaking degree. They allow students to experience filming in a variety of locations and conditions. These expeditions can be part of your assessed degree work, but we encourage students to attend the many additional trips and guest lectures that will be provided throughout the year. Our students are treated as professionals in training. Whilst they gain their degree they also gain a portfolio of experience and CV references. Our graduates are experts at being creative, telling stories, and are redefining the link between higher education and the media industry.
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Dan James Phillips
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Dan James Phillips
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Courses: Acting and Set Design and Production Year of Study: All Years
TOURING THEATRE Working with professional directors and production managers the Actors and Design and Production students collaborate to devise a project around a given theme which they can then tour to local schools and community venues. This project directed by Yvonne Murphy from Omidaze Productions highlighted the importance of environmental issues and sustainability to primary school children. The show “Alice in a Plastic Wonderland” toured many schools in the local area and delighted audiences not only with its vibrant characters and ‘recycled’ set, but also with its message that we can all ‘do our bit’ to help the planet! ...it had a few catchy tunes too!!
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Course: Applied Drama: Education, Wellbeing, Community Year of Study: First Year
A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT Students learn to use ecotherapy practice for participatory projects with secondary school pupils. This work will support pupil wellbeing by presenting innovative workshops, blended with arts practice and inspired by natural environments. Schools recognise the value of our projects in supporting pupils who find a return to study post-lockdown to be a challenge. We have visited castles, forests and stately homes to inspire our practice.
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THE SCENIC WORKSHOP The scenic workshop is one of the most alternative classrooms we have. Not only does it host taught sessions about prop making, set building, puppet construction and scenic art but it also is the beating heart of the Set Design & Production course. Students use the space to develop their craft over the three years studying with us and can use the specialist equipment and materials as often as they want. It is a space graduates fondly reminisce about as a place where many adventures began.
Course: Set Design & Production Year of Study: All Years 17
Read more about Steven’s journey by scanning here
During my time as a film student and surfer I was formulating an understanding of the sport and the creative techniques that now allow me to capture world class images for major brands and sporting events. STEVEN CLAREY Graduate
Steven’s journey so far:
Starts filming blogs for Drift Innovation Cameras
Graduates from UWTSD
Tours Europe with Drift Innovation Cameras
Becomes a Panasonic Lumix ambassador
Stars in Panasonic Lumix GH5 camera launch campaign
FIA World Rallycross Cameraperson
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DIRECTING
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The MA Directing course culminates in ‘The Directing Project’. Leading a full team of creatives, which includes set, costume and lighting designers, stage managers and actors, the director will explore, prepare and develop a piece of theatre ready for a public performance run. This process will involve script analysis, creative development and a full practical rehearsal and performance process. Through this project you will collaborate with students and industry professionals in order to deploy the skills learned in previous modules. This project introduces the student to the multifaceted and complex role of the Theatre Director and emulates professional working practices.
Course: MA Theatre Directing
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COLLABORATION The creative industries are built on collaborative relationships. This is the future. Your future, our future. We collaborate with creative colleagues every day, on both professional and creative levels. Collaboration gives voice to individual ideas, respects broad design opinions and embraces differences to build a confident, creative community.
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PLUGGED IN
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Dan James Phillips
With the new headquarters of S4C (Canolfan S4C Yr Egin), the Welsh broadcasting company, as well as independent production companies, next door to our building, it offers a range of media facilities through placement and networking opportunities for our students. The course is well established as the only one of its kind in the UK and has developed professional relationships with companies such as Wanderlust Action Films, Panasonic Lumix, and Olympus. These provide amazing industry connections and opportunities for students and graduates.
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Year of Study:
Collaborating:
Adventure Filmmaking
All Years
Industry
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Watch a behind the scenes video of this year’s Short Film Production here.
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Courses: Acting & Filmmaking Year of Study: Year Two
SHORT FILM PRODUCTION Working alongside filmmaker Lloyd Grayshon from Media to Motion and screen writer and Actor Keiron Self, acting students and filmmaking students will work together in small groups to write, create, film and produce a short-film. This project allows for the sharing of skills and industry focused collaboration whilst creating valuable industry connections by working with freelance professionals. The short film they create becomes a valuable digital business card for the students to build up their portfolio in preparation for entering into the creative industries.
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The course is very practical and hands-on, making it enjoyable and engaging. As well as working alongside your peers, the course also gives you the opportunity to work with actors, directors and other industry professionals. CARYS-HAF WILLIAMS Set Design & Production Graduate
Carys-Haf is now a Studio Trainee with Screen Alliance Wales
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JUST LIKE US
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Aimed at 16-24 year olds, Just Like Us is an exploration of young adulthood, identity and mental wellbeing through performance and participatory workshops. Devised and facilitated by six BA Applied Drama students, the audience stepped into the world of Cody and Rebs as they negotiated a weekend camping trip, whilst exploring the deeper question of how we define ourselves in world of mental health, online quizzes and self-diagnosis. Intended to create dialogue, break taboos and lift the veil on mental health, Just like Us provided a platform to engage, experience and empower.
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Year of Study:
Applied Drama: Education, Wellbeing, Community
Second Year
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A CREATIVE COMMUNITY Our creative community involves place, space and belonging. Whilst it benefits from the exchange of ideas, values and information, it’s more to do with a feeling and a set of connections between students, staff, location and aspiration. These connections form and maintain communities to meet common needs. The players in our creative community have a sense of trust, safety and regard for each other. We have an individual and collective sense that, as part of this creative community, we can contribute positively, influence our environments, engage with the wider creative industries and encourage each person’s ambition.
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CREWING THE OUTDOORS BA Adventure Filmmaking utilises the landscapes of West Wales and the wide range of outdoor pursuits that take place in the region. Our students are professionals in training, and as such collaborate with each other as peers, and with external communities and organisations. Partners such as the National Trust, Woodland Trust, and Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, allow for projects and extra curricular activities to be realistic, rewarding, and forge professional relationships. We also run a Women’s adventure group providing an additional safe and supportive opportunity for female students to develop their outdoor pursuit skills.
Course: Adventure Filmmaking Year of Study: All Years
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Steven35 Clarey
In my final year I specialised in creating drama workshops for girls with ADHD, focusing on creating healthy coping mechanisms and building resilience. As I am a woman with ADHD I felt it was deeply important to share the knowledge which I have gained FFION WESTON Applied Drama: Education, Wellbeing, Community Graduate
Ffion graduated in July 2020. In the short time since then so has been a to freelance community artist with Tanio Cymru working with children with learning disabilities and now works with People Speak Up as an Artist Facilitator and Inclusion Officer.
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GIANT LANTERN PARADE To celebrate the opening of Canolfan S4C Yr Egin, Small World Theatre artists worked with BA Set Design and Production students in the scenic workshop to create giant structures and articulated lanterns to be part of the Giant Lantern Parade. The parade involved both local community and university students and weaved its way from the town centre up to the Yr Egin building.
Course: Set Design & Production Project: Giant Lantern Parade
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Course: Applied Drama: Education, Wellbeing, Community Year of Study: First Year
PEOPLE SPEAK UP BA Applied Drama graduates are making a big social impact with arts and wellbeing charity! Carys Phillips, graduated in 2019, now runs Young People Speak Up (YPSU), a weekly youth arts group aimed at engaging young people across Llanelli. Although Carys leads on this project she is also joined by Ffion Weston (graduate 2020), who works alongside her and the young people. Ffion is also currently developing a project to work more specifically with neurodiverse young people through PSU. PSU is also working with recent graduate Karen Lacey-Freeman, who has been working with PSU to run creative reminiscence workshops with two care homes throughout lockdown. Fellow BA Applied Drama graduates Kris and Haydn have also been a key part in this summer’s Llanelli #streetplay project. Alongside all this great work they all work together on other PSU projects such as the weekly Story Care and Share sessions and earlier this summer all went with PSU and the Pod Siarad to work at the Beyond the Border Storytelling Festival.
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You can find out more about People Speak Up Ltd here
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I fell in love with Trinity in Carmarthen. That’s what’s good about UWTSD, it’s a community. Obviously, the course developed my skills, but the friends and the network developed me as a person. CONNOR ALLEN Acting Graduate
Connor is now the Children’s Laureate Wales 2021-2023.
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OUR COURSES 46
BA Adventure Filmmaking
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BA Acting
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BA Applied Drama: Education, Wellbeing, Community
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BA Set Design & Production
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MA Theatre Directing
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Scan to find out more & apply here.
BA ADVENTURE FILMMAKING The Adventure Filmmaking programme is unique in the UK, utilising the landscapes of West Wales, and the wide range of outdoor pursuits that take place in the region. This exciting new industry brings together the skills of outdoors adventure activities, media production, storytelling, and creative commercial work. There are fantastic opportunities to capture footage of extreme sports, sea life and wildlife, coastal and mountainous terrains, with input throughout the degree from professionals working in these fields. Engagement with industry is embedded in all aspects of our programme. This can take the form of work placements, projects for external clients, working on film projects, or engaging with the many professionals from industry who will be offering their expertise in the delivery of the programmes. This programme is designed to give students the specialised and vocational skills required to work in this dynamic area of the film and photographic industries. Our production
classes are based in a purpose designed suite and studio spaces with views over the beautiful surrounding countryside. We start our adventure activities at the University’s Cynefin activity centre, which includes kits stores, bouldering wall, a pump track, and drone flying zone. BA Adventure Filmmaking utilises the landscapes of West Wales and the wide range of outdoor pursuits that take place in the region. With the new headquarters of S4C (Canolfan S4C Yr Egin), the Welsh broadcasting company, as well as independent production companies, next door to our building, it offers a range of media facilities through placement and networking opportunities for our students. The input from media professionals associated with the centre has been really important to us, in ensuring that our degrees offer exactly what the contemporary industry requires from graduates. Students will be introduced to the core production and postproduction skills required to produce adventure-based film and media content. 47
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Scan to find out more & apply here.
BA ACTING Our BA Acting degree in Carmarthen is an industry focused practical course that educates and trains students to enter the creative industries as an actor or creative practitioner. Our students will develop advanced skills and techniques in a challenging, supportive and collaborative environment. The course reflects the diverse needs of the professional practitioner working in the creative industries today and our students experience ‘real world’ rehearsal processes whilst working with industry professionals from many different disciplines. Through this training, students will create invaluable network links which will provide a gateway into the performance industry upon graduation.
Students have access to rehearsal rooms and performance facilities and are encouraged to collaborate on independent projects alongside their studies. These collaborative projects enhance our focus on creating a creative community on our Carmarthen campus which develops the student’s confidence and entrepreneurial skills. Our students work with a diverse range of companies upon graduation and cover many areas of the creative industries such as Theatre, TV and Film as well as producing and directing. Our graduates also engage with community arts projects and the arts sector of education.
Live performance projects and working with professional directors and facilitators is at the heart of our course. 49
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Scan to find out more & apply here.
BA APPLIED DRAMA: EDUCATION, WELLBEING, COMMUNITY
Our BA Applied Drama: Education, Community, Wellbeing degree programme offers a dynamic pathway to working creatively using drama and theatre in wellbeing, education and community settings and spaces. Applied Drama is fast becoming a more well-known area of practice and study where we explore the role of drama and theatre in alternative spaces with the overarching aim of being beneficial to all those who take part. Applied Drama is about positive social and personal change, and our students are not only passionate about the performing arts but are also passionate about people and having a positive impact in an ever-changing world. Applied Drama can happen in a variety of places, from residential homes to schools, from prisons to PRUs, from hostels to hospitals. Our BA in Applied Drama offers students an alternative approach to a wide and varied career in the performing arts. BA Applied Drama at UWTSD reflects the need for creative connection in our lives and for creativity and expression in our communities. We draw inspiration from working with innovative national and local theatre companies, charities and specialist facilitators to explore the stories and voices that need to be heard, encourage creative expression and provide a dynamic space for social change and engagement. Whilst also exploring the impact of applied drama
practices internationally, we consider the role of drama and theatre in social change, identity, globalisation and activism. As a student you will develop your drama skills alongside facilitation practice to bring exciting projects to life in a process of cocreation with the groups and communities you are working with. You will work with like-minded students to make challenging, honest and inclusive theatre that aims to create change; from drama for wellbeing projects to participatory theatre, you will develop real skills in collaboration, project development, communication, and meaningful creative practice. Our campus base provides access to the spaces we need to not only develop and rehearse our workshops and performances, but also to connect with our community of like-minded creative students. Together we innovate and develop new projects based on real life briefs through creative workshops, digital media and a range of performance styles. Our graduates have gone onto to work within a range of arts organisations, theatre companies and charities as practitioners in applied drama, youth arts and participatory arts, set up their own companies or gone on to postgraduate degree programmes in Drama, Youth and Community Work, Teacher Training or Dramatherapy. 51
Scan to find out more & apply here.
BA SET DESIGN & PRODUCTION The Set Design and Production degree in Carmarthen provides a unique offering that focuses on Film, Television, Theatre, and events. It is an industry focused practical course that provides our students with multiple pathways into the industry and develops practitioners who are well-rounded and have a solid knowledge base. Our studetns and graduates are skilled in more than one area and ready to engage with the media and entertainment industries. The degree is aimed at individuals who are fascinated by the processes of imagining, visualising, creating, and constructing. These processes find substance in research, designing techniques, model making, prop making, set dressing, location scouting, fullscale set building, lighting, sound and costume design. The provision also explores digital creativity through LED lighting, Audio Visual design and digital worlds explored through virtual reality. The degree is for creatively inquisitive individuals who want to design and
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make environments; to turn narrative, scripts and screenplays into amazing, reimagined spaces through carefully planned practical modules and expert tuition. A strength of the course is the frequent use of industry professionals to help our students explore, design and create exciting new works. Our students will be exposed to a variety of practitioners, companies and experiences to ensure they are engaging with the industry as early as possible. The collaborative and immersive nature of the Carmarthen campus encourages a variety of additional creative opportunities. Throughout the degree, there is flexibility to allow our students to specialise and explore their own pathway, offering a variety of work placement opportunities, study abroad and practical projects. This ensures that students get the experience they want during their time training with us as well as support into employment and beyond.
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Scan to find out more & apply here.
MA THEATRE DIRECTING Learn the craft of directing for the stage in practical and professionally controlled performance spaces. The aim of our MA in Theatre Directing is to explore and engage with the demands and expectations of the theatre director working in the contemporary theatrical context. In this programme you will practically examine the mechanics of managing a rehearsal room and develop strategies and techniques for a creative, collaborative process. Throughout the course you will work with students, theatre professionals and creative practitioners in order to understand and explore the work of the theatre director in theory and in practice. The course will encourage you to lead workshops and practical acting sessions as well as develop your individual directing and creative style.
The course will culminate in two large projects. The first being in the role of an assistant director where you will work alongside and collaborate with a professional director and the second being ‘The Directing Project’ where you will lead a full team of creatives and actors through a rehearsal process that culminates in a run of public performances. “Working alongside specialist tutors and industry professionals, the course offers excellent facilities and innovative experiences to students, which will act as a catalyst for a career within the theatre industry”. Peter Doran Artistic Director Torch Theatre
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HOW TO APPLY
DISCLAIMER
Full-time undergraduate applications are made through UCAS. All courses are listed under University of Wales Trinity Saint David code T80.
University of Wales Trinity Saint David makes every effort to ensure that the contents and statements made in this publication are fair and accurate, and the University will use reasonable endeavours to deliver programmes and other services in accordance with the descriptions provided. The University, however, reserves the right to make variations to programme contents, entry requirements and methods of delivery, and to discontinue, merge or combine programmes, both before and after a student’s admission to the University, if such action is reasonably considered necessary by the University. We will endeavour at all times to keep any changes to a minimum and to keep prospective students informed appropriately.
www.uwtsd.ac.uk
COME FOR A VISIT! We really recommend you come for a visit and get a feel for the place. Open days are held throughout the year and booking forms are available on the website. If you can’t make one of the dates available we’ll try our best to make arrangements for you to visit on a day that is suitable, just get in touch! www.uwtsd.ac.uk/visitus
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DRAMA
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DESIGN
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MEDIA 58
