MA Acting - Drama Centre London

Course detail

All applicants considered for September 2017 entry will be applying for the newly revalidated version of the course. Further detailed information will be published as it becomes available, however the focus of the course remains the same.

MA Acting is primarily a stage acting course which focuses on the techniques developed to address the demands posed by the great European classics. The course is a rewarding route to the general training of actors, offering a solid grounding in acting technique, rooted in the long-established traditions of England and Russia, which are widely considered to be the foremost exponents of the art of the actor.

Throughout, the postgraduate course emphasises theatrical approaches, in particular those relating to narrative structures, movement expression and the conveyance of complex texts by means of a rich, well-trained voice. Questions of text and subtext are explored in detail.

MA Acting approaches performance in ways specifically addressing the needs of the Jacobean stage: focusing on vocal accuracy with speed, expressivity on a large scale, engagement with the audience. In addition, the postgraduate course encourages you to develop skills required by the realist style: multi-layered characterisation, recognising the subtle rapport between text and subtext, being ‘private in public’.

MA Acting reflects the general ethos of the Drama Centre London. The Centre's distinctive approach includes:

• The Stanislavsky System
  The most famous and detailed of all acting systems and the point of departure for most subsequent developments. Training at Drama Centre London reflects both the Russian and the American methodologies. The teaching therefore ensures a balance between the requirements of the stage on the one hand and of film and television on the other

• German Expressionism and the legacy of Rudolph Laban
  The Drama Centre London was created around the work of Dr Yat Malmgren, one of the great solo artists of European modern dance and the creator of the Laban-Malmgren System of Character Analysis. His unique contribution developed the theoretical work on the psychology of movement initiated by Rudolph Laban, the visionary innovator in the field of choreography and movement theory

• Improvisation
  Following in the footsteps of great originals such as Joan Littlewood and Mike Leigh, Drama Centre London adopts an eclectic approach that fuses the contributions of the modern masters: Vakhtangov, Brecht and Grotowsky, placing at the heart of its work the exploration of character, story and dramatic relationships through improvisation. This approach also involves actors, directors and writers in active research into the social background of the dramatic text and places political awareness at the forefront of their work. Drama Centre London lays great emphasis on applying these techniques to the recorded media (film, radio, television) as much as to the stage.

Course dates

Term one:
Monday 4 September 2017 – Friday 8 December 2017
Term two:
Tuesday 2 January 2018 – Friday 23 March 2018
Term three:
Monday 16 April 2018 – Friday 20 April 2018 (at Drama Centre London)
Monday 23 April 2018 – Friday 15 June 2018 (at Vakhtangov Institute, Moscow)
Term four:
Monday 2 July 2018 – Friday 7 September 2018

Related content

• Drama Centre London
• The Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute.

Course outline

MA Acting is structured in two units over 45 weeks:

• Unit One (weeks 1-15) "Skills and techniques of acting"
• Unit Two (weeks 16-45) "The practice of acting"
• Eight weeks are spent at the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute, known as the Vakhtangov Institute, in Moscow - one of the foremost conservatoire drama schools in Russia.

A typical week for MA Acting students will be:

• Three hours voice
• Three hours movement
• 1.5 hours ballet
• 1.5 hours speech
• 1.5 hours period dance
• Three hours neutral mask
• Seven hours acting technique
• 12 hours rehearsal.

This intensive pattern, with skills classes underpinning rehearsals, carries on for all 45 weeks of the postgraduate course. All of the above classes and rehearsals are "taught time". Contact hours on MA Acting are high, with additional time spent preparing either by yourself or with fellow students. It is an intensive postgraduate course, physically and emotionally demanding.

MA Acting Programme Specification 2018/19 (PDF, 59KB)

Facilities

• Studio Theatre

  Find out more about our Studio Theatre

• Costume

  Find out more about our Costume workshop

• Platform Theatre

  Find out more about our Platform Theatre at King's Cross

View all facilities

Staff

Course Leader: Georgina Sowerby
Associate Lecturer, Acting and Improvisation, Group Tutor: Oleg Mirochnikov
Associate Lecturer, Acting for Camera: Bill Britten
Associate Lecturer, Acting: Annie Tyson
Associate Lecturer, Acting: John Beschizza
Associate Lecturer, Ballet: Glen Snowden
Associate Lecturer, Character Analysis: Tim Robins
Associate Lecturer, Critical Analysis: Mary Ann Vargas
Associate Lecturer, Movement: Liana Nyquis
Associate Lecturer, Music: John White
Associate Lecturer, Neutral Mask: Shona Morris
Associate Lecturer, Practical Voice: Alex Bingley
Associate Lecturer, Professional Preparation: Anne Henderson
Associate Lecturer, Radio: David Angus
Associate Lecturer, Speech and Dialect: Helen Ashton
Associate Lecturer, Stage Combat: Tim Klotz