MATheatre Directing
| Study location | United Kingdom, Egham, Surrey |
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| Type | Master courses, full-time |
| Nominal duration | 1 year |
| Study language | English |
| Awards | MA |
| Entry qualification | Undergraduate diploma (or higher) Upper Second Class Honours degree (2:1) or equivalent in a relevant subject . Relevant professional qualifications and relevant experience in an associated area will be considered. The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English. Often you can get a suitable transcript from your school. If this is not the case, you will need official translations along with verified copies of the original. |
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| Language requirements | English IELTS: 6.5 (with 7.0 in writing and no sub-score below 5.5 ) |
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| Other requirements | At least 2 reference(s) must be provided. Academic A motivation letter must be added to your application. A relevant portfolio is required. Either an academic essay or two analyses of recent professional theatre productions that demonstrate how meaning is created in performance and are not merely a description of the show (approximately 2,000 words each) Either an academic essay or two analyses of recent professional theatre productions that demonstrate how meaning is created in performance and are not merely a description of the show (approximately 2,000 words each) |
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| More information |
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Overview
Interested? To learn more about this study programme, entry requirements and application process, please contact one of our consultants in a country nearest to you.
Programme structure
Core modules
A Director Prepares
In this module you will develop an understanding of the prepartory work that directors need to do before actors enter the rehearsal room, looking at how to study and read a play for performance. You will consider dramaturgical strategies, and examine decisions to take before working with actors. You will also assess the practical implications of intepretive decisions and their likely impact on performance.
Theatre Directing
In this module you will develop an understanding of how to take prepared text into the rehearsal room, articulating your interpretive choice and translate this into a legible performance. You will experiment with space, work with actors and other creative collaborators, and begin to develop a personal style and vision. You will plan a rehearsal schedule and manager the rehearsal process, and critically relfect on this process of training in relation to current directing practice.
Making Performance
In this module you will develop an understanding of current trends in, and new approaches to, contemporary performance practice, including playwriting, theatre directing, devised, physical and applied work. You will collaborate with students from the other MA programmes offered in the Department of Drama, Theatre and Dance, encountering a broad range of performance making processes and contexts. You will also apply established techniques of research and enquiry to the conception of a new group or solo performance project, allowing you the opportunity to provide thought provoking response to the practices encountered.
Dissertation
The dissertation offers you the opportunity to develop some of the concepts you have explored practically in written form. With a flexibile format, you may employ a number of critical methodologies. Katie Mitchell will open her rehearsal room for the autumn and spring terms for you to observe her practice, which can form the basis of your case study.
Career opportunities
By the end of this course, you will have an enhanced understanding of the tasks and responsibilities of a director, and developed your abilily to work with actors and space. You will also have gained experience in working through the research and preparation necessary to direct a piece of theatre, and have the ability to research and articulate an extended analytic discussion of theatre directing.
Our graduates have started careers in professional theatre, film and television as well as training and education. If you come to the end of the course and find yourself curious about an area of study – or want to take your dissertation topic further – the MA is a perfect grounding for a PhD, which may be fully written or include a practice-based component.
The department gives you access to other creative areas of study like dance, media and art. Part of our reputation as a creative campus comes from this cross-pollination of studies and disciplines, so you’ll have a good chance to push into those fields and gain knowledge of theatres and the performance scene in London and beyond. You’ll leave the MA able to navigate an intense and growing field with credibility and creativity.