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Theatre and Performance – (M.A.)
Queen Mary, University of London
Masters Programmes
| Location: | London / United Kingdom / View location on map ▾ Hide location on map ▴ | ||
| Duration: | 12 months | Start Date: | September |
| Educational Form: |
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| Languages: | English | ||
Location of Queen Mary, University of London
The MA in Theatre and Performance is an innovative programme that reflects the Department of Drama’s commitment to socially engaged and critically inventive inquiries into theatre and performance. Drama at Queen Mary offers graduate students the opportunity to study in one of the most vibrant performance research environments in the United Kingdom. Their work directly benefits from, and contributes to, the world-class scholarly and artistic ecology of London. Students work alongside scholars and practising artists with international research profiles.
The programme is interdisciplinary in its scope and students have the opportunity to analyse and create theatre and performance in relation to a wide variety of contexts and critical, cultural and historical perspectives.
Students benefit from staff research expertise in five main strands of research in theatre and performance: cultural politics; transnational practice; experimental practice; applied practice; and cultural industries. These highly established, overlapping areas of expertise provide sustained opportunities for students to specialise in contemporary theatre and performance and early modern drama. A key benefit of the programme is its flexibility: within a framework of informed and structured experimentation, students can develop theoretical and practical projects to advance their own investigations across core and optional modules.
The programme capitalises on London’s outstanding theatre and performance resources and, particularly, the Department’s formal links with a variety of organisations including Artangel, Artsadmin, Barbican, Live Art Development Agency, London International Festival of Theatre, National Theatre, People’s Palace Projects, Project Phakama, and Shakespeare’s Globe. For students interested in developing their experience in the cultural industries, the Department offers research placements in leading organisations. Students are also encouraged to participate actively in the numerous research and performance events that are a central feature of academic life in Drama at Queen Mary.
In addition to contact hours with academic staff in the Department of Drama, students attend lectures, workshops and mentoring sessions with visiting artists. In recent years the MA has hosted a wide range of high-profile artists, including Ron Athey, Julia Bardsley, Stacy Makishi, Kira O’Reilly, Manuel Vason, Simon Vincenzi, Del LaGrace Volcano, and many others.
The programme aims to provide a range of career prospects for its graduates. The MA programme prepares students for research degrees in theatre and performance; enables sustained reflection and practical development for practising artists; and enhances professional development in teaching, arts administration and a wide range of other creative careers.
Contents
Students take four assessed modules, two nonassessed research training modules and write a dissertation.
Compulsory modules:
• Theatre and Performance Theory
An examination of theoretical texts and ideas that have shaped our contemporary understanding of performance, theatre and culture.
• Performance Research
A consideration of critical writings, theoretical frameworks and research methodologies.
• Historiography and Archives
An analysis of theoretical and practical issues surrounding historical research in theatre and performance studies.
Optional modules
Students choose three of the following:
• Performance Lab
Students co-devise and perform a group project as a means of addressing research questions through practice.
• Independent Practical Project
Students devise individual practical projects, with the support of a mentor, that focus on an area of
performance practices such as playwriting, applied drama, directing, dramaturgy, acting, new technologies, site-specific performance and live art.
• Independent Written Project
Students design and produce an independent written project under the supervision of a member of staff on a topic not provided within existing modules.
• Contemporary Theatre and Performance
An examination of trends in recent theatre and performance and its analysis, especially in relation to what they articulate about contemporary culture and aesthetic, political, social and emotional value.
• Early Modern Drama in Performance
An exploration of ways in which performance produces meanings in relation to early modern drama – in its early production, performance history and recent performance.
Students may specialise in early modern drama by substituting Performance Lab with a suitable module from the MA in Renaissance and Early Modern studies (subject to the approval of the MA Convenor). Students may substitute a maximum of 30 credits from another of the School’s MA programmes (subject to the approval of the MA Convenor). Suitably qualified students take up to 30 credits of selected modules from the MSc by Research in Media and Arts Technology (subject to approval and availability).
DissertationFollowing the completion of the taught modules, students pursue an independent research project culminating in a dissertation of 12,000-15,000 words.
Assessment
Theatre and Performance Theory, Contemporary Theatre and Performance; Applied Performance: Histories, Theories, Practices and Independent Written Project are each assessed by a 4,000-word essay. Performance Lab and Independent Practical Project are assessed by a combination of practical work process and documentation. Early Modern Drama in Performance is assessed by a practical presentation and a 3000-word essay. The dissertation is 12 – 15,000 words in length. The research training modules – Performance Research and Historiography and Archives are not assessed.
IELTS
You are normally required to take an English Proficiency Test.
Most European Universities recognise the IELTS test.
Take testRequirements
Most applicants will have an undergraduate degree with First or Upper Second Class Honours (or the equivalent) in Drama, or such related fields as English, Film, History, Cultural Studies and Media Studies. Where a North American marking scheme is used, applicants should have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.3.
Promising applicants who do not meet the formal academic criteria but who possess relevant credentials and who can demonstrate their ability to produce written work at Masters level will also be considered. Applicants may be invited to interview or asked to submit examples of written and/or creative work. We welcome applications from mature and non-traditional students.
English language entry
* IELTS 7.0
* TOEFL 610
Additional Requirements
| Minimal degree required: | Bachelor's degree |
| Minimal amount of work experience | Not specified |
Language Proficiency
| Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE): | Grade B (Score: 75) |
Ask a Question
You can contact Dr Catherine Silverstone to ask a question about Theatre and Performance at Queen Mary, University of London.
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