BA (Hons) Performing Arts (Film TV and Stage) with Foundation Year

Why study this subject?

In this course you will learn that there are many ways to be a performer. You’ll be comfortable as a creative performer, as a film maker and as a motivated team player able to think about the world around them. You’ll become a thinking practitioner with a passion for all that the performing arts can be and a wide range of skills to achieve it.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

The mix of screen and stage work is what makes this course stand out. We will give you hands-on experience with the latest technology allowing you to explore the full range of screen, audio and intermedial possibilities. Our team of experienced academic-practitioners has a wealth of industry and academic experience and will nurture your learning and professional development throughout your time with us. We place performance making at the centre of this course so you'll get a much better understanding of the practices that surround film, stage and television performances.

We seek to bring your work into the wider world and to bring the world into the university. Students perform in external venues during their time at BNU, and have recently worked with a range of theatre companies and practitioners including Paper Birds on devising theatre, Out of Joint on contemporary texts, Mark McGann on acting for camera, and Station House Opera on intermedial theatre. Find out more about what life in the School of Dance and Performance is like.

What will I study?

Each year includes skills, production and theory modules, enabling you to gain knowledge and confidence with the practical and theoretical elements that underpin the subject area. Once you master the core elements of performing, you’ll begin to look at unusual and experimental approaches to performance. You’ll increasingly find your own voice as you have the opportunity to study subjects such as devising, writing and directing.

How will I be taught and assessed?

This course is offered as a four-year programme, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate degree.

We're passionate about giving our students as many opportunities as possible so you’ll be able to work on a number of exciting projects. We know the importance of catering for different learning styles and enabling our students to develop a wide range of academic and performance skills. Teaching methods may vary but will include workshops to develop practical and production skills, lectures, and performances (some of which are formally assessed) where you will perform to an audience or be mediated (i.e. for camera).

Throughout this degree you’ll create a series of shows, films, short scenes and devised performances. In your third year, you’ll set up your own theatre company and devise a production that you'll manage from conception through to venue booking, marketing and performance.

In the theoretical and practice as research modules, you’ll look at the various ways that performance can be conceived and consider its importance in society through conducting research into different areas that interest you.

You can choose from a number of optional modules giving you the chance to specialise in an area you're particularly drawn to. This could be directing for performance or devising and writing. You’ll also be able to learn how to work with cameras and gain invaluable knowledge of editing and filming.

Assessment is varied. We don't have any written exams and we encourage you to develop your own response to open briefs, giving you independence and creative control over your work. By the time you graduate, you’ll have an entrepreneurial flair and a strong grasp of the world of performing arts. You’ll be able to position yourself confidently as an inspiring and creative practitioner that people will want to work with.

What facilities can I use? 

You’ll use our drama studios on site, some with moving lights and fully-equipped sound systems and projection. We also have sprung floors and mirrors suitable for movement and physical work. We use the professional venue at Wycombe Town Hall, which is less than two minutes from our campus. You will have access to high quality Sony camera equipment, suitable for film and TV screening, and also to lighting rigs and sound recording facilities.

Placements Plus

BNU is a Placements Plus university. So, whatever degree you do, you can be sure there’ll be plenty of industry-relevant opportunities on offer, to help you get into your chosen field.

We’ll also prepare you for work beforehand, with special skills for work training, further boosting your CV, and building skills employers will value. In recognition of the value we place on these skills we have incorporated this experience into your study time.

Placements Plus is all about helping you get some valuable experience under your belt while you’re a student, to increase your choices later, and help you get the graduate-level job you want.