Drama, Theatre and Performance (Placement Year) BA (Hons)

Lancaster University

Studying Drama, Theatre and Performance at Lancaster gives you the opportunity to learn about innovative twentieth and twenty-first century theatre and performance through an exciting and varied mix of practical and academic approaches. You will gain critical and creative skills that open up possibilities for working in theatre, while making you highly attractive to a wide range of other employers.You will be taught by theatre practitioners and scholars and will benefit from performance facilities and the access to professional practice provided by our close relationship with Lancaster Arts and with other leading organisations in the creative and cultural industries.Throughout your degree you will be given the opportunity to gain knowledge of different modes of acting and theatre production from ancient Greek theatre to cutting edge contemporary theatre. You will be given the option to choose modules on Devising, Dance Theatre, Performing Texts, Theatre for Social Change, Visual Theatre, Writing for Performance, Contemporary European Postdramatic Theatre, Contemporary Dance and the Visual Arts, New Scenographies in Performance, New Writing in Contemporary British Theatre and Community Theatre. You will have a number of opportunities to complete solo and group performance projects including the final degree show.The interdisciplinary environment supported by the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts gives you the opportunity to either focus solely on Theatre or choose to take some modules in Art, Design, Film, or Sound. You will have the opportunity to gain ‘real world’ experience in the creative arts with our Creative Enterprise module, working on a live project to deliver a creative arts initiative in the community.You will have the opportunity to spend Year 3 on a placement with a public, private or voluntary organisation in the UK or overseas. This experience should boost your employment prospects and help you to decide on your career direction and the kind of organisation in which you want to work once you graduate. You will be doing a real, responsible job – with all the satisfaction that brings.Applying for a placement is a competitive process and our Placements Team will support you in finding and applying for a suitable placement. The preparatory modules you will complete in years one and two are designed to give you the best chance of success in both your placement applications and the placement itself.One of the aims of the placement year is to enhance your understanding of the connections between theory and practice which could benefit your final year of study. Placements provide an exciting opportunity to build up experience and transferable skills, as well as to make contacts with potential employers, which can place you a step ahead in the graduate recruitment market.The University will use all reasonable effort to support you to find a suitable placement for your studies. While a placement role may not be available in a field or organisation that is directly related to your academic studies or career aspirations, all placement roles offer valuable experience of working at a graduate level and gaining a range of professional skills.If you are unsuccessful in securing a suitable placement for your third year, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent non-placement degree scheme and would continue with your studies at Lancaster, finishing your degree after your third year. The University offers a range of shorter placement and internship opportunities for which you would be welcome to apply.