In your first year you'll study with our partner, ARU College. This module will provide you with the necessary skills to begin studying at level 4 in courses related to the humanities, social sciences, English, media and education. You will be introduced to the core skills necessary to succeed in higher education, including thinking critically, researching, and referencing appropriately, demonstrating appropriate numeracy and ICT skills, and communicating effectively verbally and in writing. In addition to these fundamental study skills, you'll be given an introduction to a broad range of disciplines whose skills and theories are widely applicable. You will study a variety of writing styles in order to recognise, deconstruct and replicate various forms of persuasive, analytical, and informative writing. You'll learn the basics of intercultural studies and how these theories can be applied to real-world problems. You will consider social perceptions held across Western cultures, and the difference between social and self-perception, participating in structured discussion and argument. You'll be introduced to the core principles of psychology and will explore various current applications of psychological theory. You will also be introduced to ethics and learn about some of the key theories and thinkers in the development of current ethical considerations in a range of scenarios. This module is made up of the following eight constituent elements: Interactive Learning Skills and Communication (ILSC); Information Communication Technology (ICT); Critical Thinking; Intercultural Studies; Psychology; Composition and Style; Ethics; Social Perceptions.
This module will introduce you to effective working methodologies in both performance and production. This will be tested through rehearsal and presentation of a studio-based, collaborative, live performance, which will also explore relevant aspects of theatre history through practice. So that you can perform more effectively, we will research the world of the play, including its genre and performance conventions, from the perspective of an actor. Our expectations of professional discipline, established in the first trimester, will be applied in this module. While tutors will direct performance and production work, you will be expected to develop your own independence and initiative. You will contribute creatively to both performance and production work and therefore develop greater appreciation of the importance of collaborative practice on your degree. You will be cast in one or more roles in the chosen text. You will also take one of the production roles that are essential to live performance, with the support of professional technical staff. There will be a wide variety of tasks available, such as lighting and sound design, sourcing props, costumes and set, choreography or video projection. One or more student stage-managers will be needed to coordinate the whole performance, alongside their roles in the play. You will be expected to participate actively in all aspects of the rehearsal and production processes that are your responsibility. You must demonstrate reliability as a member of a company by full attendance, punctual arrival at rehearsals and high levels of concentration within sessions. Your regular contributions, in the form of both creative ideas and a disciplined approach, will inform your mark for the rehearsal process Your tutors’ expectations of professional discipline in practical work will be set in this introductory module. While they will direct performance and production work, you will be expected to develop your own independence and initiative. You will contribute creatively to performance and production work, to appreciate the importance of collaborative practice on your degree. You may take a variety of roles as a performer or choose to concentrate on the production processes that are essential to effective live performance. You may help to design lighting, sound, projection or video for the performance, working with professional technical staff. You may alternatively work on creating effective set design, choreography, or costume and make-up. One or more student stage-managers will be needed for the whole performance, working in collaboration with all other performance and production roles. You will be expected to actively participate in all the aspects of the rehearsal and production processes that are relevant to your role. You must demonstrate reliability as collaborative performers and production staff by full attendance, punctual arrival at rehearsals and high levels of concentration within sessions. These factors and your creative contribution will inform your mark for the process of rehearsals week by week. This will be 30% of the module mark. The remaining 70% of your mark will be based on the quality of the live performance, whether you appear as a performer or make your contribution in a production role.
View the full module definitionThis module will begin the development of the core physical and vocal skills needed by the actor. There will be two specialist sessions: one focussed on movement for the actor, the other on voice work. These sessions will involve a blend of practice-based learning and critical analysis designed to allow you to develop your voice and body as a creative tool. You will learn to work safely, to create work through the body and through the voice and apply this in practice to both scripted and devised work. This module is designed to complement and support other modules on the Acting course and to begin a focus an on vocal and physical technique that will be developed in the rest of the course. You will work practically in workshops on exercises to develop both vocal and physical expression and, in support of this, study important practitioners in both fields.
View the full module definitionThis module will enable you to apply the fundamental acting skills you learned in the first trimester to video and new media. You'll explore both the requirements specific to screen acting and the basic production skills to make your own short videos. The module includes guidance on camera operation, single camera shooting and editing. Video playback will allow for critical reflection on your process and highlight where improvements may be made in performances and the selection or editing of shots. As part of a developing awareness of process, you'll critically reflect on the principles of screen acting and its contrast to live stage work. Although the primary focus is on screen acting, you;ll also support your peers in a production role. The videos you make may form part of the showreel to be compiled in your final year. Your work will encompass skills in acting, directing, and editing that demonstrate your employability in the creative industries.
View the full module definitionThis module will establish the foundational skills and understanding that you will need throughout your degree. It will equip you with the tools to explore core themes of acting, not just during your learning journey at ARU, but also in your professional career beyond. The module is a practical investigation of the dynamic tensions between, individual freedom and collective discipline, self and character, spontaneity and planning, practice and reflection. In order to succeed in this competitive industry, you will need dedication and self-discipline. You will develop these qualities through your commitment to your studies and performances, by full attendance, punctual arrival for classes, thorough preparation, and high levels of concentration. You will also need to demonstrate your reliability as a member of an ensemble. We will focus on learning by doing, alternating with periods of reflection. You will also need to devote a substantial amount of time to self-directed study, which will include selected reading about acting, individual research, rehearsing practical tasks for classes and maintaining a log of activities and progress. The module introduces you to the tools you need to prepare a role, for both training projects and professional life. The module will promote an open-minded and experimental approach to learning activities. You will be encouraged to be brave and take artistic risks within a supportive environment in which genuine experimentation feels safe.
Entering higher education is exciting; but it can also be a daunting experience. At ARU, we want all our students to make the most of the opportunities higher education provides, reach your potential, become lifelong learners and find fulfilling careers. However, we appreciate that the shift from secondary education, or a return to formal education is, in itself, quite a journey. This module is designed to ease that transition. You'll be enrolled on it as soon as you receive an offer from ARU so you can begin to learn about university life before your course starts. Through Into ARU, you'll explore a virtual land modelled around ARU values: Courage, Innovation, Community, Integrity, Responsibility, and Ambition. This innovative module is designed as a game, where you collect knowledge and complete mini tasks. You'll proceed at your own pace, though we you to have completed your Into ARU exploration by week 6. If for any reason you're unable to complete by that date, we'll signpost to existing services so that we can be confident that you are supported.
Ruskin Modules are designed to prepare our students for a complex, challenging and changing future. These interdisciplinary modules provide the opportunity to further broaden your perspectives, develop your intellectual flexibility and creativity. You will work with others from different disciplines to enable you to reflect critically on the limitations of a single discipline to solve wider societal concerns. You will be supported to create meaningful connections across disciplines to apply new knowledge to tackle complex problems and key challenges. Ruskin Modules are designed to grow your confidence, seek and maximise opportunities to realise your potential to give you a distinctive edge and enhance your success in the workplace.
For this module you will work with a professional director and co-create a theatre piece for live performance as a company. While the director will establish a live brief for your work, you will have substantial input to on the interpretation of any chosen play-text. In this module you will develop your proficiency by working alongside professionals from the theatre industry through work-based learning. You will gain a new perspective on the employment opportunities available in the theatre sector and an understanding of individual career pathways. This module has a strong focus on employability and is part of a series of modules designed for you to explore the ways in which your developing skills might best fit the needs of the creative industries sector and which skills you may want to develop further.
View the full module definitionOn this module you'll focus on physical theatre techniques as developed by key practitioners and companies. Figures and topics might include Jacques Lecoq at the International Theatre School in Paris; experiments in dance theatre by Pina Bausch; the plays and performances of Complicité or Steven Berkoff; and the techniques taught by Frantic Assembly. In weekly workshop sessions you'll engage practically with physical methodologies for creating original performative work. These methods may include improvisation exercises, development of mime and gestural languages, experiments with neutral and expressive masks, ‘non-human’ movements, multi-role playing, clowning, chair duets, ‘pedestrian’ dance and the analysis of play-texts for their potential transformation into physical theatre performances. The movement of the body through space, and what this might be made to mean, will be a central concern on this module. This is a deceptively simple proposition, but the development of physical precision, rhythm and disciplined ensemble performance is a labour-intensive task. You'll be expected to be self-critical and able to develop your own physical work towards increasing clarity and complexity. Weekly sessions are collaborative in nature and you must be prepared to play a full part in the exercises undertaken. It is essential to wear suitable clothing to these sessions to enable you to ‘play’, according to Lecoq’s meaning of that term, which includes maintaining discipline in your work. You will be asked to work independently in small groups to devise a physical theatre performance for your assessment. You'll be asked to explain the rationale for your piece in advance of performing it, as based on ideas drawn from key contemporary physical theatre practitioners.
View the full module definitionThis module will introduce you to a new platforms and technological applications for acting, which may include motion capture, VR environments, live streaming, green screen scenography, and experiments with online apps or social media re-purposed to disseminate and receive performance. Where suitable, you will collaborate with students from Computer Games to explore how actors can use new technologies and contribute to game design and arts. On this module, your acting work will change from the live, embodied nature of the traditional stage to digital theatre and emergent technologies, where the presence of the actor is mediated and an audience may be remote. The module will help to develop your ability to adapt to a variety of mediated and disembodied modes of acting; you will be looking towards future employability in an expanded landscape of where and how actors can be deployed. Professional work in digital theatre as a performance medium is a relatively new genre and you will begin by studying notable companies and practitioners to understand the potential of various technological innovations. You will go on to devise, script or adapt your own performance work for a technological application of your choice.
View the full module definitionThis module will introduce you to the field of contemporary performance theory and practice in relation to Shakespeare. You'll study a range of 20th and 21st century critical and directorial interpretations of plays by Shakespeare in the theatre and on film, exploring issues like power, sexuality, gender, justice, morality, religion and war. You’ll look at how critics, directors and actors generate meanings from Shakespeare's plays, drawing on details from primary texts, secondary criticism and examples of contemporary creative responses to the plays. For your assessment, you'll select a sequence from one of Shakespeare's plays to stage as an ensemble performance, supported by practical workshops. This performance may include interdisciplinary work involving music, song and a variety of performing styles. You'll also attend seminars that will guide the development of your project proposal, and group tutorials to help you set up your group project. In preparation for the ensemble performance, you'll submit a 1,500-word analysis of how your chosen play has been interpreted in contemporary criticism, and examine a range of creative responses to it in the theatre and on film.
View the full module definitionThis module aims to develop your skill in acting for the camera for applications on screen. You'll consider the potential of online platforms for performance work, the implications of a remote audience and consider the principles that separate mediated acting from live stage performance. You will also learn studio etiquette and the variety of production roles that support acting for camera in both television and film. You'll work as actors in collaboration with fellow students, either from the performance courses or the BA (Hons) Film & TV Production degree, developing your collaborative and networking skills. You will work on original scripts and may have opportunities to workshop the material in order to develop the strongest possible scenes. You'll then work as actors with peers as directors, camera operators, floor managers and editors. You'll develop your understanding of story arcs and characterisation in your script and prepare your performance. You will work as a team of actors to realise the project, mirroring the professional experience of actors working in television to prepare you for your future career.
View the full module definitionImmersive performances have emerged as one of the key developments in live and virtual theatre in the twenty-first century. In this module, you will focus on the creation of an immersive performance in a site-specific location, which may include a virtual reality environment. You will begin by exploring contemporary immersive practice in the work of companies such as Punchdrunk, Wilderness and Blast Theory. You will go on to explore the techniques associated with the creation of immersive performance, such as devising, writing, improvising, audience interactivity and the use of scenography, technology and site responsiveness. Researching sites for the performance and analysing how they might be used will also be essential, as will creating a risk assessment performing at external sites. This will culminate in a staff directed ensemble performance, which will also offer the opportunity to create a portfolio of materials reflecting the production of the work and your own role in this process. As well as working as actors, you will need to take on additional responsibilities in the production of the performance. These may include set design, technical support, production management, stage management and marketing.
View the full module definitionThis will be your final performance, giving you an opportunity to present yourselves professionally to an audience including industry professionals. Your performance will consist of scenes that showcase your skills, which requires research to identify suitable material, intensive rehearsals and an ability to re-locate the work in external commercial venues. You will be directed by a professional theatre director and academic staff, with the performance presented both in Cambridge and in a London venue. The series of scenes selected by students will be compiled into a coherent Graduate show. This will be the culmination of your course, drawing on the skills that you have developed and giving you the opportunity make a transition into employment in the creative industries. As well as working on the performance itself you will study audition techniques both for live and online presentation, prepare an online presence, an actor’s CV and compile a showreel. This material will be collected as a professional portfolio as necessary to gain auditions in the industry.
View the full module definitionThe Undergraduate Major Project represents the culmination of study in the music and performing arts courses and allows students to engage in a substantial piece of individual research and/or creative work, focused on a topic relevant to their specific course. The project topic will be assessed for suitability to ensure sufficient academic challenge and satisfactory supervision by an academic member of staff. The chosen topic will require the student to identify/formulate problems and issues, conduct literature reviews, evaluate information, investigate and adopt suitable development methodologies, determine solutions, develop hardware, software and/or media artefacts as appropriate, develop a performance, process data, critically appraise and present their finding using a variety of media. Regular meetings with the project supervisor should take place, so that the project is closely monitored and steered in the right direction. You will be expected to display, in both your preparatory and your finished work, an advanced understanding of the methods, techniques, materials and processes available to your chosen media.
View the full module definition