L4 Professional Practice in Performing Arts, Acting, Dance and Musical Theatre

This unique one-year professional diploma will provide you with the skills, knowledge and experience to help you progress into higher education, drama school, conservatories training or directly into employment in the creative industries.

This UAL course is perfect if you intend on pursuing a career in the creative arts, particularly acting. It allows you to explore, develop and test your creativity through a range of stimulating and demanding industry-linked projects. You will explore a range of techniques, genres and processes relevant to the creative industries in order to define and support your artistic ambitions while taking ownership of your own professional development.

The course will empower you to identify your performance style and intent and prepare you for a sustainable career in the creative industry as a company or solo artist. You will be guided through this process by your tutor and a range of external professionals, including external theatre companies and industry professionals and actors. In recent years, we have worked with Uninterrupted Theatre Company, Culture Shift, Alfie James, Trevor Michael Georges and the New York Film Academy and NACL New York.

There are three units to study during this course. During each unit, you will be introduced to the realities of a professional working environment and learn the necessary rehearsal etiquette and professional practice standards required within the industry. You will take part in a range of performance activities to develop your performance technique. You will also instigate, rehearse, and perform in a specialist performance project which will require you to identify the project objectives, clarifying and agreeing the scope of the work, managing your time and resources to achieve a final outcome for a clearly identified audience.

Minimum five grade 4-9 at GCSE including English and maths, and successful completion of the Level 3 course. Minimum age 18 years old. A successful audition will be required.

You will be assessed by recording and documenting your creative process and by observation and presentation of practical performance projects. This process will help develop your academic and performance skills, meaning you can produce reflective written work, audio-visual records, group critique, and individual tutorials. We'll encourage you to assess yourself enthusiastically and honestly and critique your practical projects positively.

Once you have completed this course, you will gain a Level 4 UAL Professional Diploma in Performance.

This enterprising qualification allows you to explore, develop and analyse the diversity within your practice while investigating current trends within the creative industry. It provides a supportive transition into university, drama school, conservatories courses or directly into employment in roles such as an Actor, Performer, Director, Scriptwriter, Performance Artist, Musician, Dramaturgy, Choreographer, Theatre Maker, Workshop practitioner, Producer, Facilitator.

There will be a £100 cost at the start of the course for scripts, course materials, production costs, and theatre visits.

If you are under 19, then you might be eligible for government funding. If you are over 19, then you can apply for an Advanced Learner Loan.