BA (Hons) Acting for Stage and Screen
Course Overview
Start date
September 2021
Subject area
Music and Performance
Attendance
Full-time, 3 years
Full-time, 4 years
Part-time, 6 years
Part-time, 8 years
Learning
On campus, dual delivery
Course summary
Over three years of practice-led learning with leading industry professionals, you will be immersed in the techniques of acting, text, voice, movement and performance for screen with the industry always at the forefront of our minds. Our goal is to develop flexible and versatile actor-entrepreneurs who feel empowered within their craft across all mediums, spaces and platforms.
You can also take this course with a foundation year (FY), which means you it will take you four years to complete the course full-time, and eight years to complete the course part-time.
Return to campus: dual delivery
In a Covid-secure environment, enjoy learning on our state-of-the-art campuses and flex between online delivery
Find out moreStarring...
This degree will give place equal emphasis on both stage and screen acting, approaching the work at all times with a sense of freedom and play building towards public/industry performances and screenings of your work.
Industry readiness
The acting industry is rapidly changing and this course combines the traditional craft of the stage and screen actor with the new technology demands of the industry from streaming platforms, voice over, to virtual reality and motion capture performance.
Interdisciplinary career
The core philosophy of the course is the generous ensemble actor where individuals learn to work and collaborate within a group whilst also exploring their personal practice of voice, movement, emotional honesty, connection to the word, scene study and improvisation on screen and stage.
Fees and funding
Tuition Fee Loan
You can apply for a loan to cover the cost of your tuition fees, which will be paid directly to UEL. There are no up-front fees required. Repayment only starts after you finish your course and are earning over £25,000. If you haven’t finished repaying your loan after 30 years it will be automatically cancelled.
To apply visit gov.uk/student-finance
Maintenance Loan
You can apply for a loan to help with living costs such as food, travel and accommodation. How much you can borrow depends on where you live and study, and whether you are currently on welfare benefits. The maximum loan you can apply for is £12,729.
To apply visit gov.uk/student-finance
Supplementary Grants
The government also offer the following additional support:
- Parents' Learning Allowance
- Adult Dependants' Grant
- Childcare Grant
- Disabled Students’ Allowance
- All nursing and many allied health students on courses from September 2020 will receive a payment of at least £5,000 a year from the government.
For further information visit gov.uk/student-finance or contact Student Finance England.
All students will receive:
Bursaries Schemes for which you can apply
- Care Leaver and Foyer Bursary - up to £1,500
- Progression Bursary - up to £2,000
- Engagement Bursary - up to £2,000
- Hardship Bursary - up to £2,000
- Helena Kennedy Foundation - £1,500
- Going Global – awards range from £300 - £700
Scholarships Schemes for which you can apply
- Vice Chancellor Scholarship - up to £27,750 over three years
- Dean Scholarship - up to £13,500 over three years
- Civic Engagement Scholarship - £1,000
- EU Scholarship (EU Only) - £1,000
- ELSEF Scholarship - £1,000
- UTC Scholarship - £1,500
- Sports Scholarships - up to £6,000
There are a number of external organisations that offer financial help to
students. Please see the list below list to view additional support options.
Alternatively, you can visit the Scholarship Search website.
Please note that the University of East London is not responsible for
the content of these external sites and is not associated in any way
with the funding schemes and their application processes.
The Student Money Advice and Rights Team (SMART) are here to help you navigate your finances while you are a student at the University of East London.
We can give you advice, information and guidance on government and university funds so that you receive your full funding entitlement.
Email: study@uel.ac.uk
Phone: 020 8223 4444
You don't need to pay this up front.
EU, EEA and Swiss Nationals starting a course in September 2021, will no longer be eligible for Home fees. However, such nationals benefitting from Settled Status or Citizens' Rights may become eligible for Home fees as and when the UK Government confirms any new fees regulations. Further information can be found at UKCISA.
Tuition fees are subject to annual change. Fees for future years will be published in due course.
Tuition Fee Loan
You can apply for a loan to cover the cost of your tuition fees, which will be paid directly to UEL. There are no up-front fees required. Repayment only starts after you finish your course and are earning over £25,000. If you haven’t finished repaying your loan after 30 years it will be automatically cancelled.
Maintenance Loan
Part-time students can access maintenance loans from Student Finance England.
From academic year 2018/19, part-time students can access maintenance loans from Student Finance England.
You can apply for a loan to help with living costs such as food, travel and accommodation.
Part-time students need to study their courses at a rate of at least
25% of an equivalent full-time course in each academic year.
For further information visit gov.uk/student-finance
We appreciate that finance is one of the key considerations when you are applying to university. That's why alongside your Government loan, you can apply for scholarships to help towards your finances. We have invested over £2 million worth of scholarships to financially assist new students, starting in September 2019. If you are awarded a scholarship you don't need to pay it back.
All students will receive:
Ebooks
Bursaries Schemes for which you can apply
Scholarships Schemes for which you can apply
There are a number of external organisations that offer financial help to
students. Please see the list below list to view additional support options.
Alternatively, you can visit the Scholarship Search website.
Please note that the University of East London is not responsible for
the content of these external sites and is not associated in any way
with the funding schemes and their application processes.
The Student Money Advice and Rights Team (SMART) are here to help you navigate your finances while you are a student at the University of East London.
We can give you advice, information and guidance on government and university funds so that you receive your full funding entitlement.
Email: study@uel.ac.uk
Phone: 020 8223 4444
Price per 30 credit module.
EU, EEA and Swiss Nationals starting a course in September 2021, will no longer be eligible for Home fees. However, such nationals benefitting from Settled Status or Citizens' Rights may become eligible for Home fees as and when the UK Government confirms any new fees regulations. Further information can be found at UKCISA.
At UEL, we understand that studying in another country is a big financial commitment. If you apply early for an undergraduate, you may be entitled to a scholarship of up to £3,000.You can find out more about the international scholarships here.
The Student Money Advice and Rights Team (SMART) also run an Emergency International Fund to assist international students in hardship.
You can contact our SMART team on 02082233333 or study@uel.ac.uk
As part of the Tier 4 student visa requirements, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) estimate that you will need £1,265* per month to cover your living costs. It includes expenses for accommodation, food and drink, travel within London, text books, entertainment, clothing, toiletries and laundry. Most Tier 4 students are required to show they have sufficient funds to cover the first nine months of the course before they start- a total of £11,385- in addition to the tuition fees. You can find more information about the specific requirements of the Tier 4 student visa here. The amount that you will spend can vary depending on your lifestyle. The UKCISA International Student Calculator can help you plan and manage your money. Please make sure you also factor in the fees for the visa application and immigration health surcharge when budgeting.
* Please note the Immigration Rules are subject to change and this figure is likely to be increased by UKVI year on year. Please therefore check our ISA pages for more information at the time of preparing your visa application.
Deposits and paying by instalments
International students are required to pay a deposit prior to being issued a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).
Your remaining balance will be paid in five monthly instalments over your first term. The first of these instalments must be paid when completing your enrolment on arrival at UEL. Please follow the payment instructions here.
After the required payment has been made, you will be asked to complete the online International Student Reply Form to confirm your acceptance of our offer and of our terms of admittance and fees policy.
Our International team at UEL are available for advice and guidance on studying in London, fees, scholarships and visa requirements.
Email: international@uel.ac.uk
EU, EEA and Swiss Nationals starting a course in September 2021, will no longer be eligible for Home fees. However, such nationals benefitting from Settled Status or Citizens' Rights may become eligible for Home fees as and when the UK Government confirms any new fees regulations. Further information can be found at UKCISA.
Tuition fees are subject to annual change. Fees for future years will be published in due course.
Entry requirements
- September 2021
-
Degree
112
New UCAS Points
What you'll learn
This new and inclusive degree in Acting for Stage and Screen offers an intensive and dynamic actor training, developing acting skills for both on-camera and on-stage. From initial idea through to performance or screening we will encourage and support the building of craft and development of an understanding of the actors’ creative process. With 80% practical assessments, acting techniques are explored via workshops enabling a personal creative toolkit to be built.
Alongside your lecturers you will be mentored and taught by professional actors, directors, casting directors, film-makers and screenwriters, many of whom continue to work in the industry today. This practical and analytical training will help to develop your own artistic identity and offer you a creative performing arts community with plenty of opportunities to create your own original work.
This course focuses on a collaborative approach, building an ensemble and creating a conservatoire atmosphere for our degree students with a focus on developing the graduate actor with an extensive CV, a professional show reel and a resilience to make exciting contemporary work.
If
you join in the foundation year, you will have the opportunity to transform and
develop your existing experience and skills in creative practice and establish
key academic skills to prepare you for undergraduate study.
The
first year of undergraduate study develops core technical and creative skills
in key areas of disciplinary practice and collaboration. You will participate
in industry-modelled projects in collaboration with students from other related
disciplines.
In
the second year you will experiment further, explore different approaches to
individual and collaborative practice, engaging with external practitioners and
organisations, and developing employability skills as part of a Professional
Life module.
In
the third year of study you will become more focused on the development of your
own specialist ideas, practice and research, individually and in collaboration
with others, internal and external to the University.
You will graduate with a
rich and dynamic digital portfolio to present to industry professionals and
future employers.
Who will teach on this course:
- Ed Hughes
- Tristan Parkes
- Juliet Knight
- Clare Qualmann
- Liselle Terrett
- Paul Woodward
- Carrie Mueller
- Dominic Hingorani
What you'll study and when
We consistently review our courses to ensure we are up-to-date with industry changes and requirements from our graduates. As a result, our modules are subject to change.
Skills
1 (Core, 20 points)
Skills
2 (Core, 20 points)
Group
Work 1 (Core, 20 points)
Group
Work 2 (Core, 20 points)
Public
Outcome (Core, 20 points)
Mental
Wealth: Professional Life (Core, 20 points)
Acting
for Stage and Screen Technique 1: Establish (Core)
Acting
for Stage and Screen Technique 2: Extend (Core)
Collaboration
1 (Core)
Collaboration
2 (Core)
Public
Project 1 (Core)
Mental
Wealth: Professional Life : Enterprise and Engagement 1 (Core)
Acting for Stage and Screen Craft 2: Refine (Core)
Multidisciplinary Collaboration 1 (Core)
Multidisciplinary Collaboration 2 (Core)
Public Project 2 (Core)
Mental Wealth: Professional Life : Enterprise and Engagement 2 (Core)
An optional placement year can be taken between Level 5 (Year 2) and Level 6 (Year 3).
Advanced
Practice and Innovation: Acting for Stage and Screen (Core)
Advanced
Practice and Enterprise: Acting for Stage and Screen (Core)
Final
Project: Research and Development (Core)
Final
Project: Implementation and Impact (Core)
Public
Project 3 (Core)
Mental
Wealth: Professional Life : Enterprise and Engagement 3 (Core)
How you'll be assessed
Assessment of portfolios is split as follows:
80% Practice Portfolio and 20% Coursework Portfolios.
You’ll always receive detailed feedback outlining your strengths and how you can improve. We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
How you'll learn
Level four
This degree starts by developing a professional and practical skills-based training including vocal technique, approaching text, overcoming inner blocks, ensemble training, authenticity, promoting presence, playfulness and working with the camera as a maker and performer
Level five
This year features collaboration projects including Research and Development processes with writers and directors, an exploration of the creative process with public projects, writing, film making, physical theatre, acting to camera, and improvisation. The second year connects the student with industry both inhouse at UEL and with invited practitioners.
Level six
The Third year culminates in a festival of new writing, launching the student into the industry with a combination of stage and screen exposure. Our flag ship scheme PROJECT ON A BUS is also an offshoot of the Performing Arts Department and gives undergraduate and graduates a platform to make and perform original work.
You'll be taught by a range of staff, many of whom run their own practices or work in practice, which ensures that the practice-led research which is disseminated in the studios, or actually takes place there, is relevant to industry and practice. It also means that studios are well placed to take advantage of the myriad of professional networks which staff bring with them. Within each module are a practice component and coursework component with the intention that knowledge and skills are always introduced and developed in relation to projects.
Guided independent study
When not attending timetabled lectures you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This will typically involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for exams. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and Moodle.Academic support
Our academic support team provides help in a range of areas - including learning and disability support
Projects
Professional practice, innovation, enterprise and engagement will be modelled and applied in live projects and assessed through the development of an online creative portfolio. Each piece of coursework will be presented as a digital portfolio.
Practice Portfolio
Practice Portfolios include a range of creative artefacts associated with disciplinary and interdisciplinary practice, developed through performance, production, composition, devising, writing, and other creative activities. Practice portfolios are used to capture multi-dimensional evidence relating to the product of a creative process (e.g. performance, composition, installation, improvisation, workshop, site-specific activity, interactive artefact (e.g. immersive theatre production or Website), and other artefacts relating to the creation of this material, including formative assessment evidence (e.g. plans, notes, scripts, scores, evidence of collaborative development / devising).
Coursework Portfolios
Coursework Portfolios report the process of creating practical work. They will often include production reports to illustrate and evaluate the process, as well as integrating research and contextualisation, including formative assessment evidence.
Practice and Theory are integrated, so that research skills, critical reflection and evaluation, and contextual studies are embedded in you project work throughout the programme.
Dedicated personal tutor
When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of staff who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at UEL and who will show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer.Workload
Each year you will spend around 300 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module.
The approximate percentages for this course are:
Year 1:
scheduled teaching – 300 hours; guided independent study – 900 hours.
Year 2:
scheduled teaching – 300 hours; guided independent study – 900 hours.
Year 3:
scheduled teaching – 300 hours; guided independent study – 900 hours.
Your timetable
Your individualised timetable is normally available to students within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9.00am and 6.00pm. For undergraduate students Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.Class sizes
To give you an indication of class sizes, this course normally attracts 30 students per year. You will attend lectures and seminars together, and regularly work in smaller groups and individually in workshops and practical sessions.Your future career
Performing Arts programmes at UEL develop an existing base of core skills in practice, research and portfolio development, and apply these to specific industrial contexts in collaborative projects that simulate professional practice, and which integrate with the Theatre, Media and Immersive Experience industries.
The BA Acting for Stage and Screen course
will develop a core set of skills and will also develop transferrable skills
(linked to UEL Core Competencies and the Career Passport) for the creative
industries.
The integration of both staged and screen-based acting
technique, dramaturgy and creative collaboration with technical and creative
areas mirrors the nature of the contemporary industrial context, in which
traditional career pathways have been superseded by more diverse skills sets
and practice applied across disciplinary and industrial contexts.
Programme Specific skills will include: Acting for stage and screen, dramaturgy, video editing, creative writing, creative and technical production, interactive portfolio development, sound recording (environmental, Foley stage, stage), sound design.
You will be able to collaborate and participate in a range of projects, resulting in a portfolio of project work that represents a broad range of skills and experience, with depth of both disciplinary and interdisciplinary skills.
This approach anticipates a diverse world of work, building skills to create coherence and impact that is transferrable across multiple industry contexts.
