Our exciting course focuses on a collaborative approach to acting, creating a drama school atmosphere for our degree students whom work with a range of creative programmes, including
Costume, Film TV and Theatre production, Photography, Production Designand
Model Making & VFX to produce brand new material created by film and theatre scriptwriters. Because of our joint approach students have the opportunity to gain valuable communication skills and to generate a dynamic and original body of work.
Performance students look at the core acting skills of voice, physicality and characterisation. Working on devised and scripted text for both stage and screen. You will be part of two full theatre productions each academic year to showcase the skills gained. This degree explores classical theatre, clowning and acting for media.
Your three years of study will culminate in your final year enabling you to produce an extensive CV, professional standard show-reel, a full theatre production and a solo show at The ARC Theatre to agents and industry professionals. On this course we treat our students like actors in training, by working alongside guest lecturers and industry professionals from the theatre and film industries you will develop professional skills. As working actors we expect professional standards on all projects.
Students have recently worked with:
Channel 5’s All Creatures Great and Small
Ken Loach’s film ‘Sorry we missed you’
Channel 4’s Sparks Comedy
Stockton International Riverside Festival
Tangled Feet’s Production ‘Half Life’
BBC Tees Radio’s ‘Crossing the Tees’
National Youth Theatre
Durham Fringe Festival
Hartlepool Waterfront Festival
Blowin' A Hooley Theatre
Squiggle Productions
Theatre Hullabaloo
Changing Relations
First Year
• Core Acting Skills 1
• Script Interpretation
• Contemporary Practice 1
• Production 1
• Contextual Studies 1
Second Year
• Core Acting Skills 2
• Acting for Film and Media
• Contemporary Practice 2
• Production 2
• Contextual Studies 2
Final Year
• Project Research and Preparation
• Dissertation/Report
• Final Major project
• Final Show
This course is enriched by a host of work shops and lectures previously including
Including:
•
Frantic Assembly
•
Tony Jayawardena, Actor, The RSC, The Crown, The Globe, National Theatre
•
David Kirkbride, Actor, National Theatre, Play That Went Wrong, Silent Witness, Sherlock, Lady Macbeth
• Maria Crocker, Director, at The National Theatre, Broadway, West End
•
Mee Mee Theatre
•
Alex Jacobs , Director, Hollyoaks & Casualty
•
Ishy Din, Playwright & Screenwriter
•
Open Clasp Theatre Company
•
Gracefool Collective
•
Theatre Hullaballu
•
Stockton Riverside Festival
•
Umar Butt
Students are encouraged and supported in securing professional opportunities throughout the acting programme.
The North-East has a thriving theatre & creative scene which our professional staff continue to work in. Because of this the programme has strong industry links, offering an important network of contacts for our undergraduates.
These include:
•
ARC Theatre
•
Newcastle Puppetry Festival
•
Northern Stage
•
Janet Plater Management
• Spotlight
• North East Screen
• Stockton International Riverside Festival
• Theatre Hullabalu
•
Gyre & Gimble
• Andy Berriman, Film maker
•
Tangled Feet Theatre
Our school engages with a wide range of partners working across each creative sub-sector to ensure that teaching and learning are in line with the latest developments and requirements of industry, including:
David Kirkbride
David Kirkbride is an actor, known for Enola Holmes (2020), Lady Macbeth (2016), Crooked House (2017) and Sherlock (2010). Growing up in the North East of England, David started performing in theatre with various companies from a young age. He went on to train at Guildhall School of Music And Drama and since graduating has worked with the National Theatre and on the West End. He's also travelled up and down the county on stage and has worked on multiple TV & film sets all over the UK. Theatre credits include the National Theatres 'Pinocchio' by John Tiffany and 'The Play That Goes Wrong' on the West End.
Janet Plater
Janet is the founder of the eponymous Janet Plater Management Ltd - the leading professional actors agency in the North East of England. The company was established in 1997. The company offers professional representation and personal management to around 60 professional adult actors. She is also a playwright.
jpmactors.com
Tony Jayawardena
Tony is a British actor, known for his roles as Mr Bhamra in the West End musical Bend It Like Beckham the Musical and for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe and Royal National Theatre. In 2018, he began portraying the role of Rashid Hyatt in the Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge. He has also appeared in The Crown.
www.imdb.com
Rob Icke
Robert Icke FRSL is an English writer and theatre director. He has been referred to as the "great hope of British theatre." He is an award-winning writer and director, working in theatre and on screen. He is currently the Ibsen Artist in Residence at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, supported by the Philip Loubser Foundation. His awards include two Evening Standard ‘Best Director’ Awards, the Critics’ Circle Award, the Kurt Hübner Award for his debut production in Germany, and the Olivier Award for ‘Best Director’, of which he is the youngest ever winner. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
https://roberticke.com/
Annabel Turpin
Annabel Chief Executive & Artistic Director of the award winning arts centre Arc. She has a national profile for championing of both the arts and theatre as well as community participation.
arconline.co.uk
Maria Crocker
Maria is a theatre director and teacher based in Newcastle with 10 years’ experience of working in the industry, including the West End and Broadway.
directorsprogram.youngvic.org
The talented acting students on this degree gain a range of invaluable skills and experience working across both stage and screen during their three years of study. To find out more you can view the profiles of our graduating class
here.As well as having access to a brand new television and film studio and 129-seat theatre space already in use for students. A new 30,000 sq ft commercial film and television sound stage facility and studio complex ‘The Northern Studios’ is currently in development, next door to our campus. Find our more about the studios here:
thenorthern.studio
