Performance Studies MA

• Either a first or second-class Honours Degree in a relevant, cognate discipline, or lower level qualifications and/or relevant work experience
• If English is not your first language, you will be expected to have reached a sufficient standard on admission to the course (e.g. IELTS 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 in each element)
• All applicants will be invited to attend an interview

The course will run on a full or part-time basis and could take 1-6 years to complete depending on the number of modules students choose to take each semester. Some modules will be taught in small-group seminars in the evening from 18.00-21.00. More practical modules will be delivered on Saturdays or in a week-long summer school. Students may choose to explore a special interest in an extension module with individual tutorials.

Mandatory

• The Theory and Practice of Research in Drama (for Diploma and Masters)
• For the award of Masters – a Dissertation of three or four modules is required and may be practically based in performance experimentation or writing for the theatre

Optional Modules

• Applied Theatre
• Contemporary Theatre Practice in a Digital Culture
• New Writing for the Theatre
• Conceptions of Physical Theatre
• Masks, Structures, Sites
• Contemporary Stages & Classical Plays
• Cultural Diversity & British Theatre
• Installation Art
• Contextualising Shakespeare
• Critical Engagement in the Workplace

To view the full module directory please click here.

For more details of any of these modules contact c.cochrane@worc.ac.uk or e.swift@worc.ac.uk

Teaching Team

Course tutors have extensive practitioner experience in small-scale theatre companies and community performance. C & T Theatre Company, which specialises in new technology and applied theatre, is resident on the campus and there are well-developed links with local theatre writers.

Active research interests include 20th century British theatre, Victorian playwrights, digital theatre and theatre and disability. There is a growing expertise in practice as research.

Postgraduate Certificate

To gain a Postgraduate Certificate students must successfully complete three modules, which may be all taught or a combination of taught and individual study modules.

Postgraduate Diploma

After completing the Postgraduate Certificate, it is possible to complete a further three modules to achieve the award of Postgraduate Diploma.

Masters

The MA is awarded on successful completion of nine modules. They include a mandatory module; five or four optional modules; and a 15,000 or 20,000 word Dissertation equivalent to three or four modules.

The Dissertation may have a substantial practical element. The Dissertation defines the Masters Award, enabling students to apply knowledge and understanding of the subject to a topic of individual choice. This can provide the platform for future research towards an M.Phil or PhD.

This course provides an opportunity for teachers and current or aspiring arts professionals and community workers to acquire new skills and subject expertise, or to enhance existing interests and specialisms. Performance Studies students may develop higher level employment opportunities in a range of theatre-related industrial practice and community engagement. The course can also serve as a foundation for a research MPhil or PhD.