Performance (Acting)

MA Performance (Acting) is primarily a practical acting course. Workshops in voice, text, movement and acting, which you’ll experience in our state-of-the-art rehearsal studios, are designed to enable you to work to professional standards by the time you graduate.

We respond to current industry trends, and examine theory, history and cultural contexts that inform your performance practice. This allows you to become an articulate practitioner – someone who can talk about their work, their methods and their approaches at auditions and when meeting industry professionals.

The latest industry best practices – those that are inclusive and empower the actor – inform our course. With us, you’ll learn to navigate the modern acting environment, such as setting boundaries around physical contact and intimacy, disclosing neurodiversity, and safeguarding your own wellbeing as a professional in this competitive field.

As an actor, you’ll often be the public face of a project. For this reason, we also provide media training – including social media advice – so that you’ll become skilled in communicating with interviewers and audiences. 

Trimester one
From the start of this Acting Master’s course, the Skills module immerses you in the practical training necessary to develop your professional practice as an actor.

The Professional Practice module will allow you to strengthen your practice while developing your personal process and approach as an actor. Being able to talk about your approach to acting and the specific methods you use is crucial for those all-important conversations with fellow professionals and future employers.

We’ll ensure that you’re skilled in, and knowledgeable about, the latest issues and practices within the industry, so that you’re able to take the next step with confidence and professionalism. 

Trimester two
You’ve laid the foundations for developing your own skills; now you turn your attention to how to apply these in collaborative projects – in teams, in companies, and with artists and other professionals. You’ll build on the skills and performance practices you established in Trimester One, and apply them to more ambitious performance projects.

These projects provide opportunities to enhance your professional portfolio. You’ll work on your audition skills, showreel, CV, website, series of headshots and tapes.

Alongside this, you’ll develop a theatre company with fellow MA students and create public performances, with opportunities to work on SparkFest, the festival we run in collaboration with Bath Festivals. 

Trimester three
During this last phase of your MA, your main focus will be your final dissertation, which can be performance-based, written, or a mix of the two, and is supported by our knowledgeable lecturers and specialist facilities.

It could include a range of work, such as:

• narrated ads, radio performances, and audiobooks
• short films, sitcoms, and stand-up comedy shows
• a play or script that you write or produce.

Previous students of Bath School of Music and Performing Arts have produced plays, been cast in productions, delivered workshops and undertaken research into stage and screen productions as part of their dissertation.

You’ll mostly be assessed through performance projects. Other assessments may include essays, reviews, rehearsals, blog posts, written and practical dissertations, reflective journals, presentations and portfolios. We may also assess you on practical tasks such as leading a workshop. 

You’ll be taught through a variety of workshops, lectures, seminars, masterclasses, off-site visits, performance and production work, and through our Virtual Learning Environment. We invite professional actors and directors to work with you, and we have an ever-expanding list of lecturers, specialists, artists, and guest scholars.

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 have the opportunity to gain an accreditation in combat. We provide the training, however you’ll have to pay a small administrative fee for the examination, in order to gain the certificate.

For the academic year starting September 2022, this fee was £25. 

Our graduates have become producers, actors, teachers and PhD students. Other students have set up their own theatre companies.

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:

• State-of-the art television studios
• 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.