BA (Hons) Musical Theatre with Foundation

• Foundation year

• Explore a wide range of performance practices which will offer you a solid base for your BA degree in Musical Theatre. You’ll acquire a toolkit of skills in a supportive and professional environment, and the confidence to know how to use it.

  Core modules

  • Introduction to Performance Training (THPF3001)

    This module fosters the development of vocal and movement skills and the application of performance techniques necessary for the successful creation of contemporary performance. Through regular workshop study, students will embark on a creative and practical exploration of the physical and mental processes embedded in core traditions of actor, dance, drama and musical theatre training.

  • Introduction to Individual Performance Project (THPF3002)

    Students will undertake, with supervision, an individual project related to their study of performance and research into the social, cultural, historical and political context of a chosen play text and its original performance. As part of the module, students will gain research and time management skills that will support their successful progression through their degree programme.

  • Introduction to Performance Studies (THPF3003)

    The module will provide an overview of key historical shifts in theatre, dance and performance practices and will examine the way in which they have influenced contemporary performance making. In this module, students learn written, theoretical, analytical and conceptual skills that will support them in their Performing Arts degree.

  • Introduction to Performance Making (THPF3004)

    This module introduces a range of theatre, dance and performance making methods to develop students’ understanding of the relationship between process and performance. Students will be required to research relevant processes and practices through ensemble performance work. Through regular workshops, students will embark on a creative exploration of the physical, vocal and mental processes embedded in actor, dance and drama training.

• Year 1

• Introduction to the primary elements of musical theatre, with teaching in acting, dance and singing culminating in an end of year showcase performance.

  Core modules

  • Page to Stage 1: The Physical Action (ACT4002)

    In this module students work together, with leadership from staff to read, rehearse, design and present a number of fully realised scenes from plays. Students will experience all aspects of theatre production in a concentrated rehearsal process, with a performance at the end of each process.

  • History and Context of Musical Theatre (MTH4001)

    A lecture-seminar based module in which students are introduced to the histories and ideology of musical theatre and begin to situate musical theatre productions in their historical and cultural context. This module will include 2, 2 hour talks that introduce our School and programme level employability related opportunities and support, including details of the optional placement year.

  • Ensemble Singing Practice (MTH4002)

    This module explores ensemble singing practice through a wide variety of styles, from large scale musical numbers through to small group a cappella arrangements. Skills explored include musicianship, sight-reading, diction and language, vocal technique, vocal health, and part-singing.

  • Technique and Repertory (MTH4003)

    This module will develop students’ dance technique and physical skills through classes in jazz, ballet, contemporary dance and pilates. Students will engage with the aesthetic, technical and stylistic features of a variety of music theatre dance styles through the development of dance routines and combinations.

  • Acting the Song (MTH4005)

    This module gives students the opportunity to engage with the history of musical theatre through performance, engaging with the stylistic developments of the genre through the decades from operetta, Rogers and Hammerstein, the rock musical to Hamilton.

  • Ensemble Singing 1 and Music Theory (MTH4006)

    This module introduces ensemble singing practice exploring unison and part songs in a variety of musical styles. Rudimentary music theory will also be taught which will include understanding notation, musical terms, symbols and signs as well as interpretating the musical score. Other skills explored may include musicianship, sight-reading, diction and language, vocal technique and vocal health

• Year 2

• Deepen your training in Musical Theatre – learn advanced acting or dance techniques and synthesise these in production. You also have the option to study acting for radio, for voice-over and computer games, or dramatic writing and audio recording.

  For students entering Level 4 of their programme in academic year 2024/25 optional non-credit rated modules SSC500 and SSC600 will not be available in 25/26 and 26/27 respectively.

  Core modules

  • Showcase 2 (MTH5002)

    This module asks you to further develop your technical dance, singing and acting skills in showcase performance. This module builds on the experience gained from the showcase module in the first year, and asks students to explore more technically challenging material from different genres of musical theatre. This module equips students with greater confidence and autonomy in rehearsal and performance to develop material for employability purposes - this can include showcase scenes as well as showreel-suitable material.

  • Main House Production 2 (MTH5003)

    Main House Production 2 gives students the opportunity to apply all that they have learnt on the programme so far in a staged performance open to the public. Students will acquire new skills and develop resilience from performing in a more complex and demanding piece of theatre.

  • Performance Practices (PER5002)

    This module encourages students to find their creative voice through the exploration and application of a specific performance practice. Students will develop and practically interrogate the skills and understandings that establish specific forms of contemporary performance practice as both skilled activities and culturally significant artistic statements.

  • Creative Research Project (MTH5004)

    Students will undertake an individual research project to examine the historic, social, political and artistic context of a Musical Theatre Production. Students will also creatively explore, propose and justify an original concept for a new production of the chosen piece and for a target audience.

  Optional modules

  • Stage 2 Professional Development, Placement Preparation and Identifying Opportunities (SSC500)

    This module is for students in the School of Society and Culture who are interested in undertaking an optional placement in the third year of their programme. It supports students in their search, application, and preparation for the placement, including developing interview techniques and effective application materials (e.g. CVs , portfolios, and cover letters).

  • Harm in the 21st Century (CRM5003MX)

    This module explores the global challenges of harmful behaviours and activities in contemporary society by considering specific areas of concern for criminologists. By drawing on real-world examples in everyday life, the module examines how social problems and issues have arisen due to processes of globalisation that have changed the social, political and economic landscape of the 21st century.

  • Crime, Harm and Culture (CRM5009MX)

    The module aims to provide students with a critical appreciation of harm and crime by exploring relevant issues from film, television, music, fiction literature and art. By applying a criminological lens to different forms of popular culture, students will be able to examine a variety of media forms in terms of its content and its contemporary political, social and economic context using different theories and concepts.

  • Gothic Fictions: Villains, Virgins and Vampires (ENG5002MX)

    This module looks at eighteenth- and nineteenth-century novels to trace the variety and scope of literary contributions to the Gothic. It begins by discussing the origins of the Gothic novel, then moves to the heyday of the genre in the revolutionary 1790s, on to authors writing in the early and mid-nineteenth century, through to the decadence of the 1890s.

  • ‘Hurt Minds’: Madness and Mental Illness in Literature (ENG5013MX)

    This module considers changing attitudes towards, and a variety of theories of, the mind, examining how different cultures have understood ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ mental states. It will look at how the experience and treatment of mental illness has been represented in fiction. The mind is at its most fascinating when it behaves outside of expected social norms. By considering a variety of literary texts over several centuries, this module explores shifts in the definition, understanding, evaluation, and management of exceptional mental states.

  • Writing Genre Fiction (ENG5017MX)

    This module takes students into in-depth engagement with prose fiction writing in various genres, with possibilities including fantasy, science-fiction, period/historical, young adult fiction, horror, comedy, romance, crime, and thriller. The module is taught through lecture, seminars, and workshops where students are asked to submit and feedback to peers and tutors on a regular basis.

  • Law in Context: Commerce and Intellectual Property (LAW5019MX)

    This module focuses on the work of commercial lawyers in practice in helping businesses to trade. It analyses a range of contractual agreements dealing with the manufacture, sale, supply and distribution of goods, assets and services in general and intellectual property in particular.

  • Politics Beyond Parliaments (PIR5013MX)

    This module analyses the role of civil society and the public sphere in democratic governance and in democratization from a variety of theoretical perspectives.

  • Voter Behaviour and Effective Election Campaigning (PIR5014MX)

    This module undertakes an advanced examination of contemporary trends and developments in theories of electoral behaviour globally; then more specifically the relationship between electoral rules, electoral systems and election outcomes; the evolution of campaign techniques, and the role, mechanics, and accuracy of opinion polls in modern electoral politics. These global understandings are applied directly to the case of British politics.

• Optional placement year

• Gain valuable skills and experience by completing an optional placement year.

  For students entering Level 4 of their programme in academic year 2024/25 optional non-credit rated modules SSC500 and SSC600 will not be available in 25/26 and 26/27 respectively.

  Core modules

  • School of Society and Culture Placement Year (SSC600)

    Students have the opportunity to gain work experience that will set them apart in the job market when they graduate by undertaking an optional flexible placement year. The placement must be a minimum of 24-weeks (which can be split between a maximum of two different placement providers) and up to a maximum of 48-weeks over the course of the academic year. The placement is flexible and can be undertaken virtually, part or full time and either paid or voluntary. This year allows them to apply and hone the knowledge and skills acquired from the previous years of their programme in the real world.

• Final year

• Curate your professional digital profile, meet and network with agents and casting directors and perform in your final end of year showcase.

  Core modules

  • Audition Technique (MTH6001)

    A technical guide to auditioning for musical theatre, with practical classes and real-world simulations supported by an introduction to expectations and practices around casting and professional representation.

  • Showcase 3: Digital Showcase (MTH6002)

    This module is all about getting your work out there and seen by agents, casting directors, producers, and potential employers. This module equips students to produce short-form digital showcase material and introduces and explores the concept of an online, professional ‘digital profile’.

  • Main House Production 3: Final Major Show (MTH6003)

    Main House Production 3 gives students the opportunity to apply all that they have learnt on the programme in a public, full scale musical theatre production, and to acquire new skills and stamina from performing in a complex and demanding full-length piece of theatre.

  • Performance Research (PER6001)

    Students will plan and conduct a research enquiry relevant to the application, practice and study of performance (including acting, dance, theatre, live art, and cross-form practices). Through lectures, workshops and tutorial guidance, students develop appropriate ways of collecting, analysing, documenting and organising material to present and evidence their research process and findings.

  Optional modules

  • Advanced Short Story Workshop (ENG6003)

    In this module we will examine a range of contemporary short story writing and relevant theory as a way for students to learn how to compose their own short fiction. Class time will be divided between discussion of short fiction and theory, writing exercises and peer workshops of student work. The workshops will be substantially informed by staff research practice.

Every undergraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the course aims, the course structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

The following programme specification represents the latest course structure and may be subject to change:

BA (Hons) Musical Theatre with Foundation programme specification_7232