On the course we give you constructive approaches to acting that empower you as an artist and give you a sense of autonomy of your craft. Progressive practise is central to the training, where your lived experience is respected, and all training ideas explored through a wide cultural lens. Rigour, creativity, generosity, specificity and collaboration are core tenets of the course as we prepare you for the demands of the industry.
The first term focuses on the actor identifying their habitual responses. You will work to broaden those responses to enable greater depth, range and choice. Embodying actions and freeing yourself from self-consciousness and self-judgement is a focus. As is an emphasis on owning choices and the freedom to make offers that aren’t habitual. Your clowning classes are an integral part of this process. This term works to build trust in the room, so that you are open and available to shift and develop your practise. Key to this process are the techniques of Stanislavski, Meisner and Michael Chekov. You will be guided through by experienced practitioners who understand that an actor’s wellbeing is as important as rigour, imagination and commitment.
In Acting classes, you will work on applying fundamental acting principles in a fully embodied and practical way. You will be given a thorough and systematic process in how to analyse dramatic writing and how to mine the text to further your understanding of role. You will work on contemporary text as well as plays from the early 20th Century to apply these skills.
From the first week you will begin a thorough and comprehensive training in the techniques appropriate for acting for camera. Through practical scene work, where you can analyse your process directly through viewing your work on screen, you will develop a confidence and practical knowledge of how to work on a professional TV or film set.
You will also build awareness of your physicality and use of your body to help inhabit text, enable character transformation and develop physical range. Through the practise of Rudolf Laban and Michael Chekov you will develop greater specificity and broaden movement choices. In this term you will also undergo Intimacy Training and Stage Combat classes
Voice and Singing classes sit alongside the physical work with a focus in voice work on release and connection. You will be guided through the techniques of acting through song in singing, gaining confidence and greater technical understanding of what is required of an actor when approaching sung text.
In Critical Appraisal seminars you will discuss how you position your practice in relation to differing perspectives on the craft of acting, the modern industry and the wider world. This work feeds into a reflective essay on your process after the first term through which you will develop strategies to optimize your progress in the remainder of the year.
The MA course is based at studios at 2 Dukes Avenue in Chiswick, just a short walk from ArtsEd’s main building in 14 Bath Road. All MA students have full access to the resources in the main building, these include the library, canteen, and studio and rehearsal spaces. The latter are free to book outside of timetabled hours.
Term 1 is 13.5 weeks
| Module MA1 | Acting |
| Credit value | 60 (Delivered in terms 1, 2 and 3) |
| Core components | Acting Skills Rehearsal Projects 1: Contemporary text 2: Naturalism Screen Acting |
| Module MA2 | Movement |
| Credit value | 20 (Delivered in terms 1 and 2) |
| Core components | Physical Skills Actor Movement Clown Intimacy and Stage Combat |
| Module MA3 | Voice |
| Credit value | 20 (Delivered in terms 1 and 2) |
| Core components | Voice and Speech Fundaments Singing for the Actor |
| Module MA4 | Reflection |
| Credit value | 30 (Delivered in Terms 1, 2 and 3) |
| Core components | An Actors Journal Critical Appraisal 1 |
In the second term, you will explore how to find increased specificity in your approach to text and performance. You will work with texts that make more demands on the actor to deliver an authentic and truthful performance within the parameters established by the text and your director. Your training in Movement & Voice continues and your Voice work is complemented with workshops to develop Accent & Dialect skills. Screen Acting work continues with the addition of learning how to do an effective self-tape.
The first half of term you will focus on heightened language and verse. This may include Shakespeare and other Elizabethan and Jacobean writers along with International Classical texts. As you become confident in your approach to heightened language, you will consolidate your understanding of the technical needs of the form whilst continuing to work for truth and authentic connection.
In the second half of this term you extend the spectrum of plays you have already encountered by doing the 20th/21st Century Iconic project. You will work on an iconic British or International play, researching the cultural, social and political world in which it exists, whilst also deepening your process and finding greater emotional reach. This project seeks to widen the lenses in which you encounter performance.
During this term, you learn about the structure of the industry through classes on professional preparation. You are given a thorough, all round training in how to succeed in a competitive industry and how to manage yourself as a business. You will receive training in audition techniques, and learn how to present yourself when meeting agents, casting directors and directors. We aim to prepare you thoroughly for your first job.
Over the Easter Break you will write your Annotated Bibliography for Critical Appraisal 2. This bibliography will be the launchpad for a short performance in Term 3 that will reflect upon and develop further ideas encountered on the course or through further reading.
Term 2 is 12 weeks
| Module MA1 | Acting |
| Credit value | See above (Delivered in Terms 1, 2 and 3) |
| Core components | Acting Skills Rehearsal Projects: Shakespeare, 20th/21st Century Iconic Screen Acting |
| Module MA2 | The Expressive Body |
| Credit value | See above (Delivered in Terms 1 and 2) |
| Core components | Physical Skills Actor Movement |
| Module MA3 | The Expressive Voice |
| Credit value | See above (Delivered in Terms 1 and 2) |
| Core components | Developing a Responsive Voice Singing for the Actor Accent |
| Module MA4 | Reflection |
| Credit value | See above (Delivered in Terms 1, 2 and 3) |
| Core components | An Actors Journal Critical Appraisal 2 |
| Module MA6 (required) | Professional Employment Skills |
| Credit value | 10 |
| Core components | Professional Preparation |
In your Acting for Screen classes, you will continue to develop your skills, filming scenes and learning how to be on a film set. You will also receive training on how to audition for TV, film and commercials.
Within term 3 you will rehearse and perform your Industry Showcase. This is an opportunity to rehearse a selection of short scenes which are then performed to an invited audience of directors, agents and casting directors. This is presented at a central London theatre. Your scenes are selected and rehearsed to optimise your casting potential.
Your training culminates in presenting your work to the public through a theatre production. These performances are directed by established directors currently working in the industry and will be performed at our in-house Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Theatre. They are fully supported by the production unit at ArtsEd, and you will work closely with industry design and stage management teams to give you an authentic, professional experience within your training. Rehearsals for the Term 3 theatre production take place at Bath Road, in our main building, which is where the ALWF Theatre is located.
During Term 3 you will work on and perform a short piece for Critical Appraisal 2 which explores ideas you wish to extend further or reflect more deeply upon in a performative context. You then write an assessment of the process.
Term 3 is 12 weeks
| Module MA1 | Acting |
| Credit value | See above (Delivered in Terms 1, 2 and 3) |
| Core components | Screen Acting |
| Module MA4 | Reflection |
| Credit value | See above (Delivered in Terms 1, 2 and 3) |
| Core components | An Actors Journal Critical Appraisal 2 |
| Module MA5 | Performance |
| Credit value | 40 |
| Core components | Showcase Public Performance |
| Module MA6 | Professional Employment Skills |
| Credit value | See above (Delivered in Terms 2 and 3) |
| Core components | Professional Preparation Professional Practise Portfolio |
You will be taught through a combination of workshops, acting classes, technique classes, rehearsals, lectures, seminars, screenings and tutorials.
Most sessions will take place in groups of 10-15 students and some tutorials are offered on a one-to-one basis.
When not attending timetabled classes you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve reading plays and books, learning lines, working on individual and group projects and undertaking research in the library. Your independent study is supported by a range of facilities including the ArtsEd specialist library and City, University of London library.
Your overall workload consists of class contact hours, some independent study and performance/assessments.
Training for a vocational course in acting or indeed, any performance medium, is experiential and you will often be assessed on your practical work. There are four types of assessment on the MA Acting programme.
You will be required to create characters and present them to camera or to a live audience, and the tutors will assess you on your vocal, physical, presentational and performance skills.
Your director will assess your process during the rehearsal and preparation period for performances.
You will be assessed on the work you put into preparation for the classes in each module, and on the attitude, behaviour, skills and creativity you demonstrate during these classes. This grade incorporates effort and attendance as well as the level of attainment reached.
You will undertake independent research, write working journals and reflective essays, and collect information for professional development plans.
The minimum pass mark for each component or module of the course is 50%. The pass mark for all assessments is 50%.
Staff will provide academic support in the following areas:
Our Disability Officer also helps students with additional needs resulting from disabilities such as learning difficulties, organisational issues and mental health. The MA also has a dedicated counsellor who is available once a week to anyone who wishes to discuss any issues that arise as a result of the actor’s research into their process.
You will be taught by an experienced teaching team whose expertise is closely matched to the content of the course and who all have industry experience. Industry professionals, directors and workshops leaders also contribute to the teaching. You can learn more about our staff by visiting our staff profiles.
The course provides you with opportunities to test your understanding of the subject informally before you complete the formal assessments/performances that count towards your final mark.
In order to qualify for the award of MA Acting, you must satisfy the pass requirements for all modules within the programme and achieve 180 credits overall.
The overall aggregate mark for the Masters degree shall be calculated using overall percentage grades, according to the following weighting:
| MA 1 | Acting | 30% |
| MA 2 | Movement | 15% |
| MA 3 | Voice | 15% |
| MA 4 | Reflection | 10% |
| MA 5 | Performance | 30% |
There is no provision for awarding a distinction on this programme, all awards will be classified ‘Pass’ or ‘Fail’.
You will receive regular feedback on all classes and projects, either verbally or in writing. Feedback is intended to help you learn and you are encouraged to discuss it with your module tutor. After assessed projects and final performances we aim to provide written feedback within 10 days.
