You will learn to be autonomous and resourceful, and develop specific scenic construction skills to the high professional level required to meet design briefs and the requirements of the industry in which you are planning on working. The training will principally be in theatre but these skills are easily transferable to many different media environments.
From the second year of the course you will have the opportunity to work in professional contexts, for example constructing scenery for a professional venue, working with a major scenery building company or with companies doing events, television or advertising.
Scenic Construction is an excellent opportunity for those with a strong interest in building with wood and metal, but who want a career that is also creative.
Year 1
You will learn about a variety of materials, including woodworking tools, hand-held tools and machinery. You will build specific elements of scenery, working to a professional designer’s specifications and will work closely with technicians to plan how it might be rigged to fit within either a studio or main-house space. Learning specific carpentry techniques, you will work as part of a team, building or adapting scenery. You will undertake an introduction to AutoCAD and learn basic technical drawing.
Year 2
You will continue to further develop your AutoCAD skills. Working on welding and building metal work structures, you will build a set for a public production, either on your own or as part of a team. You will also work with automated scenery. During this year you will have the opportunity to work in a professional context within the industry.
Year 3
Undertaking the role of Head of Department on a full-scale realised production in the Embassy Theatre or Webber Douglas Studio, you will manage other students building scenery and coordinate with all the other members of the creative and production team.
You will also work on a personal project or placement that is focused on your main area of expertise. The project work that is chosen is negotiated to fit with the student’s understanding of which area or areas of the industry they are most keen to make a career in.
Placements
From the second year onwards you will have the opportunity to arrange placements and there is a wide range of professional companies that work with us, allowing you access to many performance styles. This extends from live arts, through small- and medium- scale devised and collaborative work, puppetry, circus and street theatre, text and character-based play production, large-scale celebrations and events, and corporate presentations. During the final year of the course, you will have the opportunity to work with a professional company to create the costumes for one of their productions. Students regularly undertake placements at the Royal Opera House and Watford Palace Theatre.
