Acting for Stage and Screen

Acting (Stage and Screen) BA (Hons) is aimed at students looking to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in acting on stage, screen and in immersive and digital spaces.

Ranked 1st for 'Student Satisfaction in the Midlands in Drama, Dance and Cinematics' by the Complete University Guide 2024, this is a practical and creative course in which you will have the opportunity to develop skills which are essential for a range of careers in the creative industries and beyond.

• Taught primarily through practical workshops in professionally equipped studio spaces, students will benefit from dedicated technical support for theatre, film and wardrobe needs as well as a range of equipment available on loan for video, recording, sound and lighting.

• The course is predominantly practice-based with workshops and classes exploring a wide range of different styles and forms from character building methodologies, to devising performances for theatrical, digital and experimental spaces. You will have a contextual underpinning to the work you do, with the aim of becoming an industry focussed critical and reflective practitioner or the arts.

• This degree combines devising scripted and experimental work with opportunities for live and mediated performances, emphasising the development of acting as an art form. The teaching and learning methods selected for this course are designed to facilitate your ability to develop and reflect on your own skills and understanding, and to foster links between this, the practice of others, and theoretical knowledge and concepts.

Key course benefits

• You will have opportunities to learn and work on projects with students from other courses in the School of Media and Performing Arts which may include film, media, music and photography. These collaborative opportunities are a defining feature of your learning experience and place you in an advantageous position in developing your skills and employability on graduating. You will be taught by our team of experienced creative practitioners as well as industry professionals, partner companies and recent alumni.

• You will have access to excellent facilities, including a theatre with lighting/sound control rooms and comprehensive and up-to-date technical equipment, large film, immersive and green screen digital studios, rehearsal spaces, extensive costume stores, dressing rooms and box office facilities.

• You may have the opportunity to participate in the multi-international award winning Telepresence in Theatre initiative which is an ongoing project between Coventry and the actor training degree at the Tampere University, Finland*. Using repurposed technologies such as videoconferencing, rear projection, directional sound an immersive rehearsal space is created in both locations giving students the unique opportunity to rehearse and explore performances simultaneously while thousands of miles apart.

• We have excellent links with industry locally, nationally, and internationally providing opportunities to act in a wide range of contexts and projects. The course is taught by experienced creative practitioners who have worked as directors, actors, and designers for a wide range of companies.

• Our graduates have gone on to further training, both in UK and abroad and have worked in a variety of roles in the theatre and film industry from acting for Amazon Prime, BBC, and Netflix, touring with both large and small scale independent theatre companies, and gone to work in the education sector for (inter)national production companies.

*For further information please check the course page on the Coventry University website

Year One

In year one you will begin to develop skills in voice, movement and characterisation coupled with an exploration of contemporary acting styles and practices underpinned with knowledge and theory to help develop your practice. Key practitioners and styles of acting are explored as well as the fundamentals of acting in live, digitised and mediatised settings.

Modules
The Actor's Toolkit: An Introduction
The Performer and The Space
The Cultural Industries and Creative Communities
The Actor’s Toolkit: Development
Devising Performance Texts
Performance and Production Technologies

Year Two
Year two takes skills developed in year one and applies them to a series of contexts from the digital to the live. From classical to experimental performance styles, you will undertake a series of activities that will continue to develop and hone your acting skills through a series of stage and screen opportunities. There may be opportunities to learn with students from across the School and to engage in externally facing / industry projects*

Modules
Global Shakespeares
Contextual Studies: Stage Performance
Directed Stage Performance
Acting for Camera
Creative Collaboration
Exploring New Forms of Creative Practice

Placement Year
There’s no better way to find out what you love doing than trying it out for yourself, which is why a work placement* can often be beneficial. Work placements usually occur between your second and final year of study. They’re a great way to help you explore your potential career path and gain valuable work experience, whilst developing transferable skills for the future.

If you choose to do a work placement year, you will pay a reduced tuition fee* of £1,250. For more information, please go to the fees and funding section. During this time you will receive guidance from your employer or partner institution, along with your assigned academic mentor who will ensure you have the support you need to complete your placement.

Final Year
In the final year you will work on shaping your career path with the help of industry professionals. You will continue to have opportunities to develop your acting skills through a series of workshops and projects that prepare you for entry into the creative industries, examining how you apply skills in voice, body and character creation to a series of performance opportunities, leading to a final industry showcase event.

Modules
Actor's Toolkit: The Actor's Voice
Contextual Studies: Screen
Directed Screen Performance
Actor's Toolkit: Preparing for Industry
Final project

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated. Before accepting any offers, please check the website for the most up to date course content. For full module and course details please check the course page on the Coventry University website.