Performance (Creative Producing)

During this Creative Producing MA, you’ll build on your current experience and artistic vision, explore your creative ideas and judgement, and develop your entrepreneurial thinking.

We’ll equip you with the practical know-how to get your artistic ideas to audiences and sustain your practice. You’ll expand your professional knowledge, skills and networks in the following areas of creativity and business:

• Leadership of and collaboration with creative and technical teams
• Curation of artistic material
• Project management and planning
• Budgeting and finance management
• Fundraising and funding strategy
• Audience development
• Marketing.

You’ll also learn key cultural contexts that’ll enhance your critical thinking and broaden your understanding of the Arts. This will enable you to:

• Reflect on your practice and develop your expertise
• Analyse current industry debates and policy
• Respond to new market trends and legislation
• Formulate business strategies for your work, including innovation, planning and longevity.

Trimester one
You’ll begin by building the skills you need to be a producer, including those that are practical, creative and managerial.

You’ll explore the cultural industries, including how the business of live performance works in theory and in practice.  

You’ll be given an overview of the economic and cultural landscape that a producer inhabits, allowing you to see where your skills and interests can be applied.

Trimester two
Trimester two gives you the collaborative model to explore your artistic ideas and begin planning for your own project or production.

You’ll examine how the producer leads and fits into a collaborative team, allowing you to reflect and explore your own professional identity and knowledge as a producer.

You’ll learn key skills that are essential and specific to building your business as an independent producer - your "producer's toolkit".

Trimester three
In the third trimester, everything you've learned on the MA so far comes together in your final project. This could be a research-phase of a new piece of work, a full-scale theatre production, a tour, or a festival. One of our alumni created Bath’s Garden Theatre Festival, which runs annually for a fortnight in the gardens of the Holburne Museum. 

You’ll be assessed by a range of methods, including:

• Performance portfolios
• Proposal documents for funding, business plans, strategies or artistic ideas
• Research projects
• Presentations
• Viva voces
• Reflective learning and work-based reports or journals
• Project evaluations.

We combine academic study along with practical hands-on experience. Throughout our creative producing course, you’ll apply and develop your producing expertise.

You’ll learn through a range of methods, including:

• Lectures by academics and industry guests
• Workshops
• Work-based learning via productions, festivals and working with industry
• Seminars
• Independent research.

Your learning will be enhanced by one-to-one tutorials and personal supervision. You’ll also benefit from mentoring, peer support and collaborative learning. In addition, you’ll glean industry expertise through attending industry events and guest talks.

To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.

You’ll get the chance to visit theatres and venues, experience performances, and meet the people who create them.

Some trips are subsidised, however, you may have to contribute to fund travel, for example.

You’ll work on real-time creative projects for the University’s in-house production company, Bath Spa Productions. This means collaborating with professional theatre directors, choreographers, writers, musicians, theatre companies and venues – to develop your networks and the skills you’ll need for your future career.

You’ll also get the chance to work with a range of cultural organisations, such as Theatre Royal, Bristol Old Vic, The Holburne Museum and Bath Festivals.

The course is geared towards giving you the skills you need to develop a freelance career as a Creative Producer.

You’ll also be able to diversify your work by developing skills in other areas. Through the course, you’ll gain transferable skills that are designed to equip you to work in a range of areas including:

• Event and cultural management
• Cultural leading and strategy
• Artistic direction or management
• Leisure, tourism and heritage 
• Fundraising
• Audience development
• Marketing. 

Based at our Newton Park Campus, you’ll have access to a range of University services, venues and specialist music resources. 

Our Oldfield Park Theatre workshops are a purpose-built facility in central Bath. These facilities include:

• Four rehearsal studios and Black Box performance space
• Breakout spaces and quiet study areas
• Lecture and seminar rooms
• IT suite
• Fully-equipped carpentry workshop and teaching space
• Fully-equipped costume making workshop
• Prop making workshop.

You’ll also have access to facilities on our other campuses, including the University Theatre.

• Newton Park Library, including a large collection of books, periodicals and CDs with extensive eBook and online journal access.
• Support for your academic work from the Writing and Learning Centre, including feedback on written drafts and help with academic writing.
• English Language support from the English Language Unit, which can help you improve your English, reach your potential and boost your confidence.
• Virtual Learning Environment, which provides online access to learning materials such as lecture slides, assessment information, discussion boards and other resources. 
• The Careers team run networking events and advisory workshops that explore your future options and the essentials of the job application process. They help you get experience by assisting with your search for work placements and paid part-time jobs while you're studying. When you're ready to progress into your chosen career, they can help you secure graduate-level employment, freelance opportunities, and funding for your own business ideas. Career support continues for years after you graduate with the dedicated Grad Support Unit.
• Free equipment loan service, which provides a huge variety including field recording, film and other audio related equipment. 
• Access to thousands of business, design and tech courses online via LinkedIn Learning.
• Access to the full Adobe Creative Suite.