Applied Theatre With Young People, PG Certificate

Course information

Duration
One year, part-time
Course start
September
Award
Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Theatre with Young People (60 M Level credits)

About this course

Central offers a PG Certificate in Applied Theatre with Young People (PGATYP) in Directing Text in association with the National Theatre, as part of their Connections Scheme. You apply initially through the scheme at The National Theatre.

  • Combines the National Theatre Youth Connections Scheme with academic study
  • Integrates theory and practical work in directing with young people
  • Applied theatre at Central is highly regarded internationally as a world leader with the largest number of specialist teaching staff in the field

The PGATYP is designed to provide a qualification based on work undertaken in partnership with the National Theatre in directing theatre and drama with young people (young people are usually interpreted as up to the age of 25 years). The course offers direct entry to Central’s MA Applied Theatre on successful completion of the PGATYP.

Accordion

  • National Theatre Connections Scheme

    The Connections Scheme is one of the world’s largest celebrations of Youth Theatre. Produced by the National Theatre Learning Department, Connections was established in the mid-1990s as a response to a demand for new plays by highly respected contemporary writers for young people to perform.

    In each cycle of Connections, the National Theatre commissions a number of new plays. Playwrights previously featured in the project include Dario Fo, Jackie Kay, Judy Upton, Andy Hamilton, Sarah Daniels, Sharman Macdonald, Bryony Lavery, Ali Clark and Mark Ravenhill. Hundreds of youth theatre and school groups from around the UK, Ireland and, increasingly, abroad apply to take part. Those selected (currently around 200) are asked to choose one text from the portfolio of plays that the National Theatre has provided.

    Productions that result from the first phase of the Connections programme transfer to other venues, appearing within a series of regional festivals across the country. Some 12 productions nationally are presented in a final festival of work on the stages of the National Theatre.

    As part of the Connections programme, as directors of young people, you will select a new play and produce it with a youth company. You may also transfer it to another venue. This work is likely to be challenging and creative and it calls for artistic and strategic decisions geared to the selection of a particular piece for a specific context. You will make choices about rehearsal techniques and staging possibilities, and will oversee the pragmatics of production, continually interacting with the members of the company to ensure that they are developing both as young artists and as responsible members of a project for a public performance.

    Together with an accompanying portfolio, this forms the content of the larger of two units in the PG Certificate. For the second unit of the PGATYP, you join Central’s MA Applied Theatre students for ‘Critical Contexts’, a theoretical unit engaging you with contemporary issues in applied theatre discourses.

    Visit the National Theatre Connections pages to find out more about the programme.

  • Applications

    Applicants will normally be able to demonstrate the following:

    • relevant qualifications (e.g. undergraduate degree or equivalent) or professional experience which has prepared you equivalently for advanced study, as agreed by academic staff at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama ;
    • an appropriate written reference;
    • evidence of a specific commitment to the course with an understanding of relevant issues and practices;
    • evidence of appropriate level of skills/competencies;
    • evidence of the ability to work in collaboration with colleagues and, where relevant, with external parties;
    • evidence of a capacity to work at masters’ level e.g. engage with complex matters in the field;
    • demonstrate originality in the application of knowledge.

    Admission will be based on the reasonable expectation from your application that you have the potential to complete and contribute positively to the degree and that you would benefit from masters level study.

    Registration on to the course is subject to a satisfactory check with the Disclosure and Barring Service. A student who is barred from registered activity with children or vulnerable adults will not be permitted to register for the course.

    We particularly encourage applications from groups currently under-represented in higher education, such as students with dis/abilities Black, Global Majority groups. Visit Central’s commitment to equality and diversity page for more information.

    We actively seek a cohort that is diverse in ethnicity, dis/ability, age range and heritage.

    Admission with prior experiential learning and/or academic credit

    There is no APL (admission with prior experiential learning or academic credit), substituting either unit on the PGATYP.

    Attainment of English Language Level

    Applicants whose first language is not English are required to obtain and present as part of their application a valid Test Report from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as administered by the British Council. Applicants will normally be expected to achieve an Overall Band Score of 7.0, and a minimum score of 7.0 in Listening, 7.0 in Academic Reading, 7.0 in Academic Writing and 7.0 in Speaking.

    There is no formal application deadline for our MA courses. Applications are assessed, and places offered on courses, on a rolling basis, and applications are closed when a course becomes full. Therefore, you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

  • Notable Graduates

    Notable graduates of this course include:

    Gemma Woffinden (2009) Youth Theatre Director at West Yorkshire Playhouse

    Sylvan Baker  - Associate Director People’s Palace

    Emma Dennis-Edwards  - Actress Clean Traverse Theatre Company / 59e59 Theatre New York

Student Feedback

“The PG Certificate was a year packed with invaluable practical experience, devising techniques and an extensive toolkit for my own practice. This practical experience has created opportunities for me in Applied Theatre as well as mainstream theatre. Central is such a creative place that attracts likeminded individuals with whom you can collaborate.”

Hayley Holt

Graduated 2015, progressed to Central’s MA Applied Theatre.

“I revisited my studying at Central as continued professional development. I graduated from the PGCert last year and left with a completely different approach to working with young people. What I learned about using theatre as a tool for development and change has infiltrated passionately into my life and work as an Applied Theatre Practitioner.”

Adam Boden

Graduated 2014, now running his own youth theatre and drama school, Bodens.

Staff On The Course

Selina Busby is an international theatre maker working with community groups, an author, academic, researcher, Principal Lecturer and the Course leader of the MA Applied Theatre at Central.

Selina Busby

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