- UCAS Code
- WW34
- Location
- Penryn Campus
- Length
- 3 years full-time
- Direct line
- 01326 213730
- Admissions
- admissions@falmouth.ac.uk
An emerging new art form, music theatre is full of innovators and Falmouth is on the frontline. Building on our Dartington College of Arts legacy, we're one of the only undergraduate courses in Europe to focus ?on making new work. BA(Hons) Music Theatre at Falmouth is for aspiring actors, performers, composers and makers who wish to explore the possibilities of new work that engages the intersections between music, sound and theatrical performance.
Our progressive, multidisciplinary course has an intensive practical focus, exploring music, theatre, writing, image, movement, design and technology in the shaping of brave new work. Alongside this, you'll examine the sonic, physical and visual elements of music theatre pieces and how they've been created to help you work confidently with all of these forms, combining them in exciting new ways.
Music and performance have long gone hand in hand, with music drawing on live video, gesture, movement, costumes and spatial arrangements, and theatre continually incorporating a range of music forms. We consider and develop this relationship so you gain a real understanding of the musicalities inherent in theatrical performance – as well as the theatrical in music – resulting in original, dynamic work.
With a focus on the collaborative nature of music theatre, you'll team up with fellow students in The Performance Centre community to create new work. You'll also work off campus with schools, museums, art institutions and theatre companies. In your third year, you'll undertake a national or international placement project to shape your practice, so that you can build confidence, connections and skills away from the course to become a creative, versatile and initiative-taking music theatre professional.
How is the course taught
You'll learn to create your own music theatre pieces through a series of projects and workshops. You'll be exposed to different approaches through lectures, research exercises and assignments. This will help you understand the contexts your work sits within so you're confident and literate working with peers and professionals.
Careers
- Career as an independent music theatre professional
- Working with or starting performance companies like WildWorks, Vincent Dance, The Shout or Lone Twin
- Working for producing/receiving houses such as The Roundhouse, The Cube or Traverse Theatre
- Making new work within a variety of other professional contexts
- Postgraduate study
Assessment
The way you're assessed prepares you for how you'll make work professionally. You'll demonstrate your research, critical thinking and practice through presentations, performances, essays and a final dissertation.
Experience you'll get
- External music theatre projects
- Solo and ensemble performance projects
- Working with performance institutions, companies and artists
By choosing to study for a degree in Music Theatre at Falmouth you will:
- Be taught by friendly and approachable staff who are all experts in their respective fields.
- Develop both a clear, theoretical understanding and the strong practical skills necessary for a successful career in music theatre.
- Understand the connections between theatre makers and the audiences, consumers, communities, industry and cultures that they serve.
- Have opportunities to work outside the University in professional contexts.
- Benefit from our close relationships with many performance institutions, companies and artists, including: Battersea Arts Centre, Hall for Cornwall, Kneehigh Theatre, Cal Arts, Lone Twin Theatre Company, Goat Island, Rosie Dennis, Helen Chadwick, Bobby Baker and many others.
- Be based at the new Performance Centre, a high-specification facility, purpose-built for students' specific needs with the very latest equipment.
Interview and selection process
All applicants will be invited to a selection day. This will include a practical group workshop, a tour of The Performance Centre and campus, a group interview and a performance by a theatre company.
You will be asked to bring a short prepared piece of vocal or instrumental composition which will be used in the group improvisation workshop. Applicants should also bring a short review of a contemporary performance.
Selection days are currently taking place.
Location: Penryn Campus
What you'll do
Stage 1
Nurtured by our course team, you'll learn how to experiment and innovate with the media, technology and processes that make great music theatre. You'll gain a broad foundation of music theatre contexts, learn straight from professional practitioners about contemporary work and devise your own pieces, while also learning how to constructively critique your own work and that of others.
Stage 2
Developing in confidence and capability, you'll continue to create new work, with projects that take you outside of the course to boost your experience of professional practice, including schools, community centres, museums and art institutions.
Stage 3
In your final year, you'll arrange to work on a music theatre project in a professional, cultural or social context, depending on where your interest lies. On your return, you'll have the opportunity to further develop your experiences and ideas through both solo and ensemble performance projects and connected research writings.
