Taught course

Text and Performance

Institution
Birkbeck, University of London · School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
Qualifications
MA
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Entry requirements

You will need to have, or be expecting, a second-class honours degree (2:2) or above, usually in an arts subject.

In exceptional circumstances, appropriate career experience - for example in professional theatre - may be considered as an alternative qualification.

The course should appeal equally to candidates with an academic knowledge of drama, who wish to increase their practical and creative awareness, and to candidates already involved in their own practice who wish to explore it through academic study. Students must be prepared to engage in practical theatre-making, as well as class discussions.

Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

Months of entry

January, October

Course content

Birkbeck’s MA Text and Performance is a highly distinctive degree designed especially for emerging artists looking to develop their practice, build their analytical capacity and gain hands-on industry experience.

Why choose this course?

  • It is taught by world-leading academic researchers, artists and industry professionals and is delivered in collaboration with the pioneering creative team at Camden People’s Theatre.
  • It is ideal if you are an artist, performer, writer or theatre-maker looking to deepen your understanding of how theatre and performance interact with contemporary culture through artistic practice and academic study.
  • It gives you the chance to develop your career goals gaining both practice and theory experience to uncover your potential as an artist and scholar through work in theatre and performing arts, including live, digital and screen-based arts.
  • Groundbreaking guest artists teaching on this course offer you expertise, insight and access to some of the most cutting-edge performance work in London today. They have recently included Dickie Beau, Karen Christopher, Tim Crouch and Brian Logan.

What you will learn

You will explore the role theatre and performance play in addressing the most urgent issues of our time: climate justice, social inequality, migration and conflict.

You will first take core modules which offer you new pathways to understanding the relationship between creative and critical practice. You will then create an original piece of devised theatre under the direction of the creative team at Camden People’s Theatre, a performance collective known for supporting the work of emerging artists and launching the careers of leading performance makers such as Fevered Sleep, Chris Thorpe and Emily Lim.

How you will learn

In the studio and workshop we use voice, movement, playwriting, directing and dramaturgy techniques to create text and performance-based theatre and performance. In lectures and seminars, we study theatre history, philosophy and theory in order to understand how contemporary performance practices are shaped by our contemporary cultural climate as well as traditions and legacies of the past.

For your dissertation project, you may choose to make digital artworks, including a film, or you may decide to create a new piece of theatre under the direction of Brian Logan, artistic director of Camden People’s Theatre. You will present your project at a graduation festival at Camden People’s Theatre.

Highlights

Careers and employability

This course uniquely combines the practical and academic exploration of theatre and performance, which means you will graduate equipped with a broad range of highly employable skills, ideal for entering the creative industries or undertaking further academic study. Graduates can also find ongoing support via the Birkbeck Theatre Alumni network, which is dedicated to creating networking opportunities for graduates of Birkbeck’s theatre courses and celebrating their achievements.

On successfully graduating from this MA Text and Performance, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:

  • new performance-making, devising and theatrical production skills
  • a critical grounding in key contemporary social, cultural and political questions
  • skills in the design, production and presentation of high-quality research
  • effective communication across different formats, from long-form text to short presentations.

Studying our course will prepare you for roles in a range of fields, such as:

  • performance-making
  • writing for performance
  • theatre production
  • arts administration, policy and management.

Some of our graduates from this course have go on to be employed:

while others choose to pursue a PhD.

Recent graduates include:

  • Charlie Barker (actor and teacher)
  • Dzifa Benson (writer and critic)
  • Dr Jaswinder Blackwell-Pal (playwright and academic)
  • Neka De Costa (academic)
  • Isobel Dougill (dramaturg)
  • Emma-Louise Howell (writer and director)
  • Katherina Kastening (director)
  • Namsi Khan (screenwriter)
  • Chris Lawson (artistic director)
  • Emma Muir-Smith (writer, director, performer)
  • Dominic O’Hanlon (publisher)
  • Christina Schelhas (director and performance artist)
  • Miriam Sherwood (producer and theatre-maker)
  • Harriet Taylor (producer and theatre-maker)
  • Gabriele Uboldi (playwright and director)
  • Ali Yalgin (academic)

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.

Information for international students

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.

If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

Qualification, course duration and attendance options

  • MA
    part time
    24 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
    full time
    12 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification

Course contact details

Name
Student Advice Service
Email
studentadvice@bbk.ac.uk
Phone
+44 (0)20 3907 0700
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