Acting - Contemporary, MA

Course information

Duration
1 year, full time
Course start
September
Award
Master of Arts in Acting (180 credits)

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About this course

MA Acting Contemporary at Central is a creatively, physically and intellectually demanding, advanced-level conservatoire acting programme. It is designed primarily for students with previous training or performance experience who wish to focus on contemporary writing and the creation of new theatre.

  • Perform in two professionally supported public productions and an industry showcase.
  • Hone your individual technical craft, and release your collaborative and imaginative creativity within a diverse ensemble company (typically 14-16 students)
  • Learn through practical group classes in acting, movement, voice and stage combat; seminars on identity, dramatic theory and research skills; and individual tutorials and feedback panels

This experiential and practical course will encourage your development as an embodied actor, able to work across a wide range of material from script-based rehearsals to personal writing and creation. It develops your collaborative skills by building a strong ensemble company and usually culminates in the development and production of a piece of new writing, specially commissioned for the course.

The Contemporary course has a thematic structure, working through the following areas of investigation:

> Storytelling, embodiment and the ensemble

> Textual analysis and the psychophysical process

> Transformation into character

> The playwright and the actor-creator

The training engages with methodologies drawn from a wide range of theatrical artists and thinkers. Our teachers are inspired by Stanislavsky and his inheritors; physical theatre, improvisation and mask practitioners such as Lecoq, Gaulier, Wright and Johnstone; voice and movement pioneers Berry, Linklater, Laban, Bartenieff, Feldenkrais, and Roth; and modern traditions such as Viewpoints and Suzuki. The approach and content are intended to be embodied, inter-disciplinary and culturally inclusive.

You will work with exceptional plays from Chekhov to Kane and tucker green, and with the most contemporary writing possible, your words and the words of an established playwright writing for the company. You will be equipped to interpret, invent and perform and to have a full political and creative engagement with your work.

Accordion

  • Course Detail

    Indicative course content includes: 

    In the first term four weeks of practical work on building ensemble, neutral mask and intensive physical and vocal training is rooted in an exploration of personal story and contemporary, poetic language. Texts may be drawn from spoken-word poetry and imagistic theatre and will invite exploration of personal identity and narrative structure, storytelling, ensemble, audience and space. Accompanying contextual seminars address the social and political contexts that influence the creation of modern plays.

    For the subsequent ten weeks, we will develop your understanding of script-based rehearsal, laying in the fundamentals of the Stanislavskyan approach to text analysis, improvisation and character exploration. Classic early 20th texts, such as those from Chekhov and Ibsen, in modern translations and adaptations, will form the basis of our material. Practical classes in stage combat, movement, voice and clowning continue the training in embodied storytelling begun in the intensive. Contextual and theoretical seminars continue throughout the term. Practical assessments, showings and feedback panels take place at the end of term, and individual personal guidance from tutors is available throughout the year.

    In the second term your focus will move to transformation and the psycho-physical creation of character. Animal studies, vocal transformation and dialect, and a range of étude work will allow you to develop your skills in observation and  transformation. You will study textual form, including the use of fractured narratives, codified silence and stillness. You will begin the process of collaborating directly with writers and develop your own writing or creation of work. Practical assessments, showings and feedback panels take place at the end of term. 

    The course’s outward-facing work begins after the mid-session break with an industry showcase, either filmed or in a professional theatre venue. Screen acting classes help to prepare you for auditions for TV and film. 

    The public productions season involves participation in two professionally supported productions of modern plays either in Central’s theatres or external theatre spaces. One of these could include a devised piece or a fully  realised 20th or 21st Century extant play. The other will usually be a play specially commissioned for the course from an established writer.   

    Throughout the practical training, you will work on a Sustained Independent Project (SIP), which may take the form of either: a solo performance with a 4,000-word critical reflection; or a 12,000-word dissertation. 

    Assessment 

    Formative assessment is through a mixture of practical tasks, including showings of prepared scenes and structured improvisations, filmed performance, and theatre performance; in addition, continuous assessment is reflective of your effort, attitude and improvement in class. You will also undertake a Sustained Independent Project (SIP), which may include elements of solo performance and critical writing. 

  • Entry Requirements and Auditions

    Applicants will normally have either undertaken conservatoire training, have professional acting experience, or have a degree in the broad field of performance and drama studies. Students from other disciplines may be considered if you have sufficient experience of theatre. An offer will normally only be made after audition and interview, and you may also be required to take part in a short practical workshop and/or submit a short piece of written work.

    We particularly encourage applications from groups currently under-represented in higher education, such as students with disabilities and members of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups. Find out more information on Central’s commitment to equality and diversity.

    English Language Requirements

    Applicants for whom English is not their first language are required to prove their English language proficiency by gaining an overall score of 7.0 in an IELTS test. We do accept equivalent English language qualifications.

    While a test result is not required in order to submit an application, applicants are advised to gain this certification as early as possible and more information can be found through the English Language Requirements page. 

    Auditions

    We invite all applicants for MA Acting to audition. Applicants will be considered for both the Classical and Contemporary strands. The process will give you the opportunity to learn more about the course and the School. 

    We will invite you to submit a self-tape including the following elements:

    • Two contrasting speeches of your own choice lasting no more than two minutes each. One of these must be from an Elizabethan or Jacobean play, the other a 20th or 21st century modern piece. 

    Please note you will book yourself onto a self-tape submission deadline, and receive further instructions via an automated email. Note also that even if you share your tape with us prior to the deadline you have booked, it will not be viewed by the panel until after that date has passed.

    Selected candidates will be invited to attend a recall audition and interview at a later date, and may also be asked to submit a short piece of written work (again at a later date) to demonstrate their aptitude for the course.

    We strongly recommend candidates ensure their first-round video link remains ‘live’ until they have received a final decision from Central (ie. an offer or unsuccessful decision) as the panel may wish to revisit this to help them make a decision.

    All candidates will be informed of the outcome of their audition via email. 

    International Applicants

    Central regularly welcomes students from all over the world – and we are proud to have a large network of alumni working internationally.

    Visit our International Students pages for advice and information on studying at Central and living in London, if you’re not a home applicant.

    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.

  • Industry Links

    Both faculty and visiting lecturers have extensive professional practice and networks. In recent years, Contemporary students have participated in research symposia at Central, worked collaboratively with students on the MA/ MFA in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media, worked with new writers at the Royal Court, Hampstead Theatre and Theatre 501; performed at the Yard Theatre, created short films for the Theatre Centre ImagiNation  project, and filmed a production with Eight Engines. 

    Writers we have commissioned include Hannah Khalil, Tanika Gupta, Chris Bush, Sabrina Mahfouz, Anna Jordan and Rebecca Lenkiewicz. 

    In addition to the MA Acting showcase, students from Ireland and the USA have participated in showcases in Dublin, New York and Los Angeles. 

  • Recent Visiting Professionals

    • Riz Ahmed 
    • Mike Alfreds 
    • Diane Alison-Mitchell 
    • Ned Bennett 
    • Anne Bogart 
    • Chris Bush   
    • Michael Grandage CBE 
    • Tanika Gupta 
    • Paul Harris 
    • Federay Holmes 
    • Stephen Hudson 
    • Anna Jordan 
    • Rebecca Lenkiewicz 
    • Sabrina Mahfouz 
    • Shelley Maxwell 
    • Katie Mitchell 
    • Thomas Ostermeier 
    • Nadine Rennie CDG 
    • Ian Rickson 
    • Grace Savage 
    • Polly Teale 
  • Recent Graduates

    Stacie Bono: Screen credits include Billions (Showtime Network), The Flight Attendant (HBO), When a Man Falls (Insight Film). Theatre includes Miss Saigon (US National Tour), The Music Man (Guthrie Theatre), Avenue Q (Off Broadway).

    Henry Davis: Screen credits include Hanna (Amazon), The Machines That Built America (Six West Media). Theatre includes: Chariots of Fire (Hampstead), Jersey Boys (UK tour).

    Karan Gill: Screen credits include I May Destroy You (HBO/BBC), Flesh & Blood (ITV), Boogie Man (MGMM). Theatre includes The Captive Queen (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Lovely Bones (Birmingham Rep/Northern Stage).

    Chris Huntley-Turner: Theatre credits include the title role in Henry V at the Pop Up Globe Auckland/Melbourne/Sydney where he also won a Best Supporting Actor BroadwayWorld Award for his role in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as performing in As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice. He is also the Artistic Director and co-founder of Bar’d Work, for which he received a joint BroadwayWorld Sydney Award in 2019 for Best Director.

    Lanna Joffrey: An actor, writer and spoken word poet, her theatre credits include Love’s Labour’s Lost, Measure for Measure, Timon of Athens (all for The Factory), Muse of Fire (Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre), Ursula Rani Sarma’s adaptation of A Thousand Splendid Suns (Arena Stage, The Old Globe, American Conservatory Theatre and Seattle Repertory), and Damascus (Northern Stage). Her writing includes her verbatim play of women’s war stories, Valiant (NY International Fringe, Culture Project’s IMPACT Festival, UN Celebration for the Committee on the Status of Women), for which she was awarded a NY Fringe Festival Performance Award.

    Dan Krikler: Screen credits include Mamma Mia: Here we go again (Universal), The Halcyon (ITV). Theatre includes: Present Laughter (The Old Vic), Unicorns Almost (Bristol Old Vic), Pink Mist (Bristol Old Vic).

    Tommy Letts: Theatre credits include The Jungle directed by Stephen Daldry (UK, US tour).

    Lucy Mangan: Theatre includes Harry Potter & the Cursed Child (West End), Queen Margaret (The Royal Exchange), Let the Right One In (National Theatre of Scotland and US tour).

    Laura Marcus: nominated for Best Writer at BFI, her short film The Massive F***ing Bender also nominated at BFI Future Film Festival

    Christina Murdock is an award-winning playwright, actor, and opera singer. She was one of 20 playwrights in the Globe Theatre’s new writing festival Notes to the Forgotten She-Wolves. Her award-winning, five-star solo show Dangerous Giant Animals has been performed 44 times in four countries.

    Sam Newton: Screen credits include This is England 90 (Warp Films/Film4 Productions). Theatre includes Sometimes Thinking (Frantic Assembly), the lead role in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (National Theatre Productions), Nigel Slater’s Toast (The Lowry/The Traverse).

    Enyi Okoronkwo: Screen credits include Giri/Haji for BBC/Netflix. Theatre includes Tartuffe (National Theatre), The Cherry Orchard (Bristol Old Vic), Wonder Land (National Theatre/Manchester International Festival), Noises Off (The Lyric, Hammersmith), Haystack (Hampstead Theatre).

    Sherese Parris: Is the Artistic Director of Brooklyn’s Black Lady Theater, an iconic centre for theatre, art, activism and public scholarship in New York.

    Alessandro Piavani: Screen credits include The Two Popes (Netflix), The Little Drummer Girl (BBC), Medici (Lux Vide/Rai Fiction).

    Ximena Romo: Has played leading roles in many Mexican feature films including being nominated for Ariel Awards Mexico: Best Supporting Actress for This is Not Berlin. She also starred in Manolo Caro’s Tales of an Immoral Couple, and in Amaneceres oxidados, Aztech, Two for the Girl, and the TV series The Color of Passion and Soy tu fan.

    Harrison Rose: Theatre credits include A Room With A View(dir. Adrian Noble UK Tour), Little Women (East Riding Theatre),Taming of the Shrew (Royal Winchester), Hamlet (PSF and Brighton Open Air Theatre), Hobsons Choice(Vaudeville, West End) and North by Northwest (International Tour).

    Claire Rothrock: A 2019 Sundance Episodic Fellow for her writing, recent writing credits include the web series Basic Witch (Amazon Prime/JASH), the original play I Heard Sex Noises (Ars Nova Theater, NY - currently being adapted into a TV comedy with Imperative Entertainment), and an untitled new play, being developed with Playwrights Horizons Theatre School. Screen credits as an actor include Russian Doll (Netflix).

    Madeleine Walker: Theatre credits include a leading role in Harry Potter & the Cursed Child (West End).

  • Recent Graduate Employment

    Our graduates have performed in leading theatre venues worldwide including national and international tours, West End and Broadway.

    National Theatres: National Theatre, National Theatre of Scotland. London Theatres: Royal Court, Shakespeare’s Globe, Old Vic, Young Vic, Lyric Hammersmith, Hampstead Theatre, The Rose Theatre Kingston, Bush Theatre, Finborough, Gate, Theatre 503, Southwark Playhouse, Park Theatre, Kiln, Arcola, Bunker, the VAULTS Festival. Regional Theatres: Northern Stage, Manchester International Festival, West Yorkshire Playhouse, The Royal Exchange, Birmingham Rep, Bristol Old Vic, Clwyd Theatre Cymru, Chapter Arts Cardiff, Theatre Royal Bath. UK Theatre Companies: Frantic Assembly, Punchdrunk, The Factory. International: Old Globe (San Diego), ACT (San Francisco), Playwrights Horizon (New York), Pop-up Globe (Auckland/Sydney), Seattle Rep.

    Screen includes:Universal, MGMM, BBC, ITV, HBO, Netflix, Amazon, S4C, Fox 21 Television Studios

    Graduates have also worked as writers, directors, designers, filmmakers, producers, agents, musicians, singers, scholars, comedians, acting teachers, acrobats and dancers.

  • Tuition Fees, Bursaries and Scholarships

    Tuition Fees for 2024 Entry

    UK (Home) students: £22,750*
    Overseas students: £27,500

    Please note that there may be additional costs that you need to incur as part of the training for the course.

    Full information is available on the Tuition Fees and Additional Costs page.


    Bursaries and Scholarships

    Central offers a range of bursaries and scholarships. If you are holding an offer for a place on a course then you will be invited to apply for a bursary or scholarship.

    *If you are a UK student but already hold a qualification at the equivalent or higher level to the one that you are applying for, then you may be classed as an ELQ student and be required to pay the same fee as an overseas student.

Student Feedback

“I was aware that it would be a jump coming from the BA (Hons) Drama at Queen Mary to the MA Acting at Central, but throughout I have found that the intensity of this course – being taught by industry professionals, and being given unique opportunities and constant support, including 1:1 voice and movement tutorials – has given me incomparable training.”

Enyi Okoronkwo

Graduated 2014, credits include wonder.land at the National Theatre and Junkyard, a new musical at Bristol Old Vic.

Staff On The Course

Visiting Lecturers

  • Ally Cologna
  • Rachel Bown-Williams
  • Natasha Fedorova
  • Anna Healey

Students On The Course

Ankit has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

Ankit Bhatt

Henry has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

Henry Calcutt

Gaby has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

Gaby Coleman

Maddie has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

Maddie Dunn

Emily has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

Girl with blonde hair and green eyes wearing a brown tank top.

Freya has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

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Carolina has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

Ana Carolina Martins Garção

Lewis has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

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Isobel has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

Isobel Imade

Matty has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

Matty Loane Headshot

India has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

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Alexander has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

Alexander Wardach

Hannah has completed their studies on MA Acting - Contemporary and is due to graduate in 2024.

Headshot_Hannah Yip

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