First year UAL Extended Diploma in Acting for Stage & Screen students presented their final year production at our Hartlepool campus last May. The production explores and celebrates the works of playwright Jim Cartwright, performing selected scenes from Road, Two and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, all under one roof – ‘The Angel Inn’!

Lecturer Gavin Bell explains “the plays are all set in 1989 the students brought the characters to life through research and exploration of the times and themes, adding music and songs to the narrative.  Students transferred from our Middlesbrough campus rehearsal room to a packed auditorium at our Hartlepool Campus.” 

Acting for Stage & Screen first year student Libby Hornsey commented “the combination of plays and characters were picked by our lecturers. We were all working together each taking a production role.  For example I was working on the posters and the live music.”

Fellow student Mia Young “commented I have absolutely loved working on this project; it was such a positive experience to share our creativity and collaborate to develop the final outcome. It was really liberating as we realised there were no wrong answers or bad ideas, we were able to experiment and discover what worked best for us as an ensemble. I’m already looking forward to our next project together!”

Reflecting on her time on the diploma Mia said “I really enjoy the community within the course and the ability I have to express myself everyday with each new project. I’m really glad that I chose this course because it has allowed me to develop my skills and prepare me for my next steps. I’ve found my first year to be a really positive experience and I’m excited to see what next year brings.”

Libby said her time on the diploma gave her confidence and her main takeaway from the year has been “to just give everything a go amd throw myself into things. My advice for students starting in September is to just have fun with it. Make friends and enjoy it. It’s a very unique experience going to art college as there are so many different types of people and you can just be yourself.”

If you are interested in studying acting at college level make sure you check out our course page here.