BA (Hons) Acting - Drama Centre London

Course detail

The purpose of the BA Acting Course is to prepare you to compete successfully for work as a professional actor. The course incorporates classes in acting, character analysis, movement, music, singing, voice, speech, play analysis, cultural and contextual studies that situate the actor in a wider context and preparation for the acting profession. The classes are fully integrated, designed to address the individual needs and aspirations of each student. Assessment is based entirely on performance and class work. Students on this course are entitled to student membership of Equity, applying for full Equity membership on graduation.

Autumn term:
Monday 24 September 2018 – Friday 7 December 2018
Spring term:
Monday 7 January 2019 – Friday 15 March 2019
Summer term:
Monday 15 April 2019 – Friday 21 June 2019

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Course outline

Stage One (first year)

• Unit one: Introduction to Study in Higher Education (20)
• Unit two: Foundation, Exploration and Work on the Self (40)
• Unit three: Rehearsal Methods for Realism (40)
• Unit four: Analysis one: Archetypes and Storytelling (20)

Unit 1 encompasses the whole of the first term’s work, with particular emphasis on core concepts taught in the form of seminars and autonomous preparation for the dramatic presentation of research outcomes. In terms two and three, unit one gives way to unit four, which provides students with an opportunity to critically investigate theatrical archetypes and dramatic storytelling from both Western and Eastern perspectives, using the research and presentation methods established in the first term. unit two incorporates a wide range of performance skills required by the contemporary actor and is ongoing throughout the year. Although many of these skills need to be established by regular repetition and staff-led classes, there is also abundant scope for the individual exploration of students’ creative response to their personal history and cultural heritage, through improvisation and student-led exercises. For the first eight weeks of each term, unit three offers a gradual introduction to a specific rehearsal methods, applied to a play drawn from the Realist canon. Towards the end of term, skills classes give way to a full-time focus on these rehearsal exercises, which may include contemporary British plays, American Realism of the 30s and 40s and the ‘classical realism’ of France, Russia and Scandinavia at the turn of the 19th century.

Stage Two (second year)

• Unit five: Expansion, Consolidation and Work on the Role (40)
• Unit six: Character Analysis and Composition (20)
• Unit seven: Rehearsal Methods for the Classical Actor (40)
• Unit eight: Analysis two: Renaissance, Realism, Internationalism (20)

Stage 2 operates on a similar pattern to Stage 1. Skills classes operate a spiral curriculum, in which expertise in voice, movement and acting is refined and reinforced. The central importance of Character Analysis to BA (Hons) Acting is underlined by its allocation to an independent unit, which leads to the performance of ‘The Six’, i.e. a series of solo scenarios, using each of the character types. Rehearsal exercises during Stage 2 occupy the same position in the structure of the course: they are an opportunity to implement skills practised in Unit 5 in the 10 rehearsal and performance of text. They also introduce students to additional ways of working, both with staff directors and visiting tutors. The key development from Unit 3 to Unit 7 is that students are introduced to the challenge of dealing with heightened texts and non-naturalistic forms of theatre, frequently using complex language and verse. Plays are likely to be selected from the English Renaissance, the Restoration period, European classics or non-naturalistic material from the contemporary era. Unit 8 extends the work of Unit 4 through a critical examination of key themes from a multinational perspective, Renaissance Europe, Realism and the contemporary play.

Stage Three (third year)

• Unit nine: The Skilful Actor (40)
• Unit ten: The Professional Actor (80)

The purpose of stage three is to provide opportunities for students to synthesise the skills learned during stages two and three, to apply them to a range of creative projects, including both live theatre performance and recorded media and to prepare to apply their skills and talents in the world of the professional actor. The two units in stage three comprise an integrated package of activities that incorporate meetings with industry professionals and showcasing of work, audition practice, further development of skills that relate directly to public productions, participation in radio and screen acting projects and the opportunities for selected students to participate in industry-related events, such as the Wanamaker Festival, the Carleton Hobbes Awards and the Spotlight prize. Public productions normally take place in the Platform Theatre. Each student will be cast in three plays, either involving the entire year group or a sub-division of the cohort.

BA Acting Programme Specification 2018/19 (PDF, 476KB)

Facilities

• Platform Theatre

  Find out more about our Platform Theatre

• Studio Theatre

  Find out more about our Studio Theatre

• Costume

  Find out more about the Costume facilities at Archway

Staff

Course Leader: David Jackson
Acting for Microphone: David Angus
Analysis: Ben Askew
Text: Alex Bingley
Acting for Camera: Bill Britten
Musical Repertoire: Andrew Davidson
Speech: Jonathan Dawes
Singing: Graham Dufresne
Stage Combat: Tim Klotz
Acting: Oleg Mirochnikov
Movement: Liana Nyquist
Movement: Lydia Baksh
Voice: Janis Price
Character Analysis: Tim Robins
Character Analysis: Lydia Baksh
Character Analysis: Ben Askew
Acting: Aoife Smyth
Ballet: Glen Snowden
Acting: Annie Tyson
Music: John White

Visiting professional: Tony Clark
Visiting professional: Gary Davy
Visiting professional: Simon Dormandy
Visiting professional: Gabrielle Jourdan
Visiting professional: Sue Lefton
Visiting professional: Mark Ravenhill
Visiting professional: Kath Rogers
Visiting professional: Agnes Treplin
Visiting professional: Di Trevis
Visiting professional: David Tucker
Visiting professional: Richard Williams
Visiting professional: Alan Dunnett
Visiting professional: Chris Ettridge
Visiting professional: Lawrence Evans
Visiting professional: Mark Friend
Visiting professional: Diana Fraser
Visiting professional: Rupert Frazer
Visiting professional: Nikolai Foster
Visiting professional: Jane Gibson
Visiting professional: Piers Haggard
Visiting professional: Rob Hale
Visiting professional: Scott Handy
Visiting professional: Philip Hedley
Visiting professional: Jonathan Humphreys
Visiting professional: Melanie Jessop