University of Essex

Course Details

BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre

Course Description

Our BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre will appeal if you wish to prepare yourself for the professional demands of today’s theatre, film and TV as creative actors. Teaching, which is eclectic and inspired by such practitioners as diverse as Lecoq, Gaullier, Grotowsky, Meisner and Boal, covers fundamentals in acting, improvisation, research, movement, voice and singing. Our course is accredited by the National Council for Drama Training.

Course Duration

NumberDuration
3year

Career outcomes

Over the last few years our recent graduates have performed at the RSC, BBC, Royal National Theatre, Birmingham Rep, The Royal Court and The Old Vic, as well as touring productions, television programmes and feature films. Graduates of our BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre are not only actors and directors in national theatre, film and TV, but are also writing and producing their own work on stage and screen worldwide. One recent graduate has appeared in the films Trance by Danny Boyle, Zero Dark Thirty by Kathryn Bigelow and Complicit by Niall MccCormick. Another won the Spolight Best Male Actor award in 2009, while a third is about to direct her fellow student's play Bitch Boxer, winner of the Old Vic New Stages Award 2012. Award-winning companies that formed on our BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre include Bear Trap Theatre (Edinburgh Fringe First Award, Adelaide Festival Award and shortlisted for Evening Standard Emerging Playwright award), Snuff Box Theatre (Methuen Edinburgh Fund and Scottish Daily Mail Award), plus the theatre companies Late Night Gimp Fight, Sabotage, 2headed Pigeon, Brigitte Aphrodite and Bad Penny.

BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre University of Essex