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Acting and Performance with Creative Writing BA(Hons)

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    Overview

    You have a love of the stage and performing arts, and you also want to explore your own writing.

    Whether you’re working on a drama or film script, or you’d like to write fiction, non-fiction or poetry, this course combines creative writing with acting and performance to enable you to indulge both interests.

    You’ll develop your writing skills and techniques along the way, and you’ll be encouraged to do so across a range of creative media, including theatre, film, television, radio, fiction and poetry.

    In your creative writing modules, you’ll be working with tutors who are all published and performed writers.

    You’ll also have the chance to understand what makes great writing, which could be invaluable in your own work, and help you find a career in a wealth of professions.

    Why study Acting and Performance with Creative Writing BA(Hons)

    We’re ranked 27th in the world for ‘Performing Arts’ QS World University Rankings 2023.

    On the course, you’ll enjoy guest appearances from those in the industry; past students have met the likes of Professor Sir Patrick Stewart, Natalie Gavin, John Britton, Nicolás Núñez, Chloe Beale, Nicci Topping, Anna Helena McLean, and David Crowley.

    This is a production-based programme, which features visits from practitioners and residencies from internationally known companies, including Slung Low, IOU Productions and Northern Broadsides. Via the Yorkshire Film and Television School, here at Huddersfield, you can also collaborate with fellow actors, screenwriters, film makers and costume designers to create a major performance.

    You can get involved, too, with the award-winning Huddersfield Literature Festival: past students have gained experience in festival planning, programming, curating, and stewarding.

    If you’re keen to pursue a career in drama, this Acting and Performance degree will provide the foundations for a potentially fruitful career in the theatre, film, or TV industries.

    You may go on to write creatively for contemporary theatre, perhaps, or further your studies in English, literature, or English and drama studies. You might also opt to go into theatre technology, stage production, or another related area.

    Entry requirements

    BBB-BCC at A Level .

    120-104 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications.

    Merit in T Level .

    DMM-MMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.

    • Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Merit or above.
    • 120-104 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.

    If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.5 overall with no element lower than 6.0, or equivalent will be considered acceptable. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

    Other suitable experience or qualifications will be considered. For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

    Course Detail

    Core modules:

    Introduction to Creative Writing

    All graduates of degree programmes can really gain advantages in the workplace by being able to think and write creatively. This module aims to develop creative thinking alongside Creative Writing skills. It also aims to clarify the principles of good writing and to enable you to reflect upon and improve your own abilities. It will also cover a variety of related academic skills in organisation of research, revising drafts and preparation of the final copy. This module will focus on the creative writing process from initial inspiration and idea, through drafting, to ‘finished’ piece of work. The basic approach to the module is heuristic i.e. you will be encouraged to identify key issues and learn through practice, discussion and conscious reflection. Seminars will involve creative workshop exercises intended to help generate new ideas as well as themed discussions on some of the processes involved in writing poetry, short fiction and creative non-fiction. The focus on process will help students structure and refine their own writing and there will be opportunities to present work in progress in workshops for positive and creative feedback. Reading as a writer is integral to the programme.

    Option modules:

    Choose up to three from a list which may include:

    Studying Performance 1

    A series of lectures will introduce you both to different theories of performance and to a vocabulary appropriate to discussing theatre and performance. Seminars will follow up the lectures in order to probe the issues raised with reference to theories and assigned readings.

    Text into Performance

    You’ll have the opportunity to explore the ways in which a play script can form the basis for a live theatre production through working together as a company to stage a short text. Training in acting, voice, and the physical can be explored through the challenge of staging the work.

    Making Performance 1

    You will undertake a foundational training in approaches to making live performance. You will explore workshop practice, including aspects of performance training, as well as a range of techniques and starting points for creating work. The nature of group and individual creativity will be addressed, and you will engage in at least one major collaborative public performance project. You will keep logbooks and undertake contextual research and analysis.

    Studying Performance 2

    A series of lectures will introduce you to a range of historical performance practices from the late-Victorian period to the present. Seminars will follow up the lectures in order to probe the issues raised with reference to texts taken from a range of cultures and periods.

    Core modules:

    Performance Across Media

    You will draw on examples of contemporary practice in responding to theoretical approaches and debates. You will encounter a range of contemporary examples of performance practice across media through a series of lectures which will be supported, where possible, by theatre visits, video materials, and other media resources. The workshops will introduce you to the critical and aesthetic contexts in which such work exists, and assessment will focus on your ability to locate and devise specific examples of practice within the relevant critical frameworks.

    Writing Beyond the Page

    This module pays close attention to issues which influence what writers write and how they write it. It explores a range of techniques for writing for specific contexts and critically evaluates how contemporary writers respond to socio-political and aesthetic issues through irony, satire, parody and allegory. It also considers how literary writers can employ techniques such as performance poetry, the satirical sketch and dramatic monologue to create character, create dramatic tension and energy, free up creativity and overcome writer’s block. You'll be introduced to a number of issue-based literary and dramatic texts and will be given guided opportunities to develop your own form of expression.

    Developing Your Craft

    You will develop knowledge and understanding of, and expertise in, the craft of creative writing by studying a representative range of contemporary, modern and pre-Twentieth century prose and poetry. You will learn how the formal, technical and stylistic elements of creative texts are used to enable, effect and complement intention, theme and content. You will apply your knowledge by writing in a variety of forms and deploying a range of techniques. You may choose to specialise in writing prose, to specialise in writing poetry, or to write in both genres—again according to your choice. Although course materials will be differentiated to support specialisation, exemplar and stimulus materials will include both prose and poetry. You will demonstrate theoretical as well as practical learning by critically commenting on your own and others’ work in the light of your study of craft.

    Option modules:

    Choose up to four from a list which may include:

    Performance Across Media

    You will draw on examples of contemporary practice in responding to theoretical approaches and debates. You will encounter a range of contemporary examples of performance practice across media through a series of lectures which will be supported, where possible, by theatre visits, video materials, and other media resources. The workshops will introduce you to the critical and aesthetic contexts in which such work exists, and assessment will focus on your ability to locate and devise specific examples of practice within the relevant critical frameworks.

    Making Performance 2

    The aim of this module is to allow you to participate in and analyse a process leading to a performance or performance-related event (installation, series of workshops, etc) and also to study in detail the text or material which forms the basis for the work. You will contribute in one or more roles within a creative process which will be staff initiated and/or directed, developing and extending your own skills and knowledge.  Typical examples might include: a Renaissance text, a devised performance, a contemporary playtext, a filmed performance, a piece of live/performance art, or a series of Applied Theatre workshops. You will document the process in detail using analysis and reflection. Research and discussion will form an integral part of each process, and Academic Skills and PDP reflections will be embedded in the curriculum.

    Specialist Practice

    You’ll have the opportunity to undertake a training project in one of a range of theatre skill areas, such as directing, performing, physical theatre, technical theatre, or workshop facilitation. A programme of training will help to prepare you to undertake an independent project which demonstrates your skills and understandings.

    Global Popular Cinema

    In this module you will examine contemporary cinema as a global media industry, with a particular emphasis on the processes of globalisation and circulation that allow film texts to become meaningful far outside the contexts in which they were made. While the global dominance of Hollywood is central to this, cultural influences, values and meanings flow in multiple directions. You will develop knowledge of key theories in film and global media studies, including theories of globalisation, cultural hybridity and exchange, national identities, and imagined communities. By focusing not only on the films themselves, but on their production, distribution, promotion and reception, the module provides you with a detailed understanding of how and why cinema spreads around the globe, and the tensions this cultural flow creates at a political, social, economic and cultural level.

    Screenwriting and Genre

    This module provides a practical orientation in some of the main genres of film and television, and a training in how to write for them. You will analyse and discuss the narrative structures, character types, and other conventions of a range of genres, and try your hand at writing them yourself. These genres could range from documentary to sitcom, from horror to romantic comedy, or from action movie to period costume drama. Finally, you will become proficient at writing in a particular genre, which you will select from those you have studied. You will produce a script according to a genre-specific brief, and then reflect on the process of writing to the constraints of the familiar generic conventions of the film/television industry.

    Placement Year

    The optional one-year (48 weeks) work placement after the second year can be completed in the UK or abroad. It will give you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, insight into your chosen career and open up your graduate employment prospects.

    Core modules:

    Creative Writing Project: Going Public

    This module aims to support you in the production of a portfolio of original work in a category to be negotiated with the tutor. The production of a self-reflective commentary on the creative process is integral to the project. You'll be asked to provide a project proposal outlining the content of your project. Regular tutorials will be available to help you manage your time and offer constructive feedback to help with rewriting and drafting of creative work. It is recognised that a single piece of creative work may not be appropriate for all students, so a portfolio may contain a mixture of poetry and prose or other kinds of creative writing.

    Experimental Writing

    This module is intended to explore the boundaries of genre: the hazy area between fiction and non-fiction. Through study of exemplary texts, you will become acquainted with a variety of experimental narrative and poetic possibilities which they can apply to their own writing practice. You will produce a portfolio of work—narrative fiction, poetry or hybrid/experimental forms to demonstrate different approaches to innovative writing. A self-reflective commentary on intentions and the creative process will accompany the portfolio.

    Option modules:

    Choose up to three from a list which may include:

    Creative Futures

    This module will help you imagine and plan for your future. Whether you want to be an actor, director, film-maker, producer, technician, or teacher, or to do something outside the creative industries, you will need to find the right context in which to work with others and develop your practice. In this module you will reflect critically on your current work and investigate potential employment opportunities, thinking about where you may want to take your career. You will conduct research into a specific industry and/or cultural context that matters to you, learning about what others are doing and imagining what you might contribute.

    Advanced Performance Projects

    You will contribute your artistic skills to the preparation of a staff-led performance , developing and extending your own skills and knowledge. You will document the process and share the results of your analysis through reflective reports. The project will be rooted in an area of staff research and teaching expertise, and its initial focus will be staff initiated. Typical examples might include: contemporary or classical texts; musical theatre; a filmed performance; a piece of devised work. Although the performance may be staff directed, you will be expected to take clear responsibility and initiative for co-ordinating different aspects of the process and/or for running sessions.

    Practice and Research

    This module takes the form of a Working Party research process in which the group collectively researches, designs and delivers a Panel Session within a ‘Conference’ on a set topic chosen from a range of options. At that Session, each of you will present a provocation or make an alternative research presentation. Initially, the group works with the tutor on gaining a broad understanding of the field in question and designs a Call for Papers which summarises the field and identifies the main questions and debates. Each of you then respond to their Call for Papers by designing a detailed proposal for a research process which will culminate in a contribution to the Panel Session. There is scope for creativity in the design of individual presentations and in the curatorship of the event.

    Final Year Project

    The Final Year Project is an opportunity to demonstrate practical skills in a significant theatre or performance role. Building on skills developed through earlier study, you will be able to negotiate a practical project that may focus on performing, directing, applied theatre practice, writing or technical and production skills. With input from a supervisor, you will then be asked to work largely independently to deliver the agreed project. Many of the practical projects appear in the Department’s annual Common Grounds Festival.

    Research Dissertation

    The Research Dissertation module facilitates your journey to acquiring expertise and specialism in a project allowing you to showcase summative learning across your course. You will be supported in undertaking guided independent research aimed at the generation of original knowledge in the study of media content, industries, practitioners, technologies or users and/or their cultural, social, political and economic premises and consequences. You will synthesise primary and secondary data and sources in your systematic, methodological analysis of a chosen topic in a field reflecting your course such as communication, journalism, film, digital media, entertainment, acting and performance, cultural production, sports media, music or promotional culture. This involves reviewing appropriate literature, identifying and executing a suitable methodology and research design and carrying out appropriate forms of analysis.

    You'll experience practical workshops and performance projects in the three theatre/studio spaces, lectures and seminars, and one-to-one tutorials with specialist staff. Assessment of your work includes essays, research based practical presentations, creative practical working processes, performance, scripts and plays, and a dissertation. You submit work for assessment at intervals throughout the year.

    Your module specification/course handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria applying to your course.

    Feedback (either written and/or verbal) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results. Feedback on final coursework is available on request after the publication of results.

    An average 19.6%* of the study time on this course is spent with your tutors (either face to face or online) in lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops. The remainder of the time will be spent on independent study.

    *based on 23/24 programme specifications.

    Full-time or part-time study

    This course is not available to study on a part-time basis on an evening, at the weekend, or via distance learning.

    Further Information

    The teaching year normally starts in September with breaks at Christmas and Easter, finishing with a main examination/assessment period around May/June. Timetables are normally available one month before registration.

    Your course is made up of modules and each module is worth a number of credits. Each year you study modules to the value of 120 credits, adding up to 360 credits in total for a bachelor’s qualification. These credits can come from a combination of core, compulsory and optional modules but please note that optional modules may not run if we do not have enough students interested.

    If you achieve 120 credits for the current stage you are at, you may progress to the next stage of your course, subject to any professional, statutory or regulatory body guidelines.

    1. The University of Huddersfield has been rated Gold in all three aspects of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023. We were the only university in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West to achieve Gold ratings in all three aspects of the TEF among those announced in September 2023. In fact only 13 Universities, out of the 96 that were announced in September 2023, were Gold in all three ratings.

    2. Further proof of teaching excellence: our staff rank in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates, who have higher degrees, and hold teaching qualifications (HESA 2024). So, you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.

    3. We are first in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 22 since 2008 (2023 data).

    4. We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).

    At Huddersfield, you'll study the Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside your degree* so that you gain valuable qualities and experiences that could help you to get the career you want, no matter what your field of study is. On completion of the Award, you'll receive a GPA certificate from the University of Huddersfield, alongside the specialist subject skills and knowledge you gain as part of your degree, which may help to set you apart from other graduates.

    Giving students access to the Global Professional Award is one of the reasons the University won ‘Best University Employability Strategy’ award at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2021. Find out more on the Global Professional Award webpage.

    *full-time, undergraduate first degrees with a minimum duration of three years. This does not include postgraduate, foundation, top-up, accelerated or apprenticeship degrees.

    Placements

    Each year our first year students work with a professional theatre company which develops a project exclusively with our students for a two-week intensive period at the University, culminating in a performance on the University campus. The course also offers an optional one-year (48 weeks) work placement after the second year. This will give you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, insight into your chosen career and open up your graduate employment prospects.

    Discover more about the course

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    Further Study

    Learn about pursuing a Master’s or PhD at Huddersfield.

    Research Excellence

    See how our innovative research shapes what you'll learn.

    Important information

    We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

    Changes to a course you have applied for

    If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment.

    Cancellation of a course you have applied for

    Although we always try and run all of the course we offer, we may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants to ensure you have a good learning experience. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will contact you to discuss other suitable courses with us we can transfer your application to. If we notify you that the course you have applied to has been withdrawn or combined, and you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

    Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

    We will always try to deliver your course and other services as described. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below:

    Changes to option modules

    Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have a range of options to choose from and we will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

    Major changes

    We will only make major changes to the core curriculum of a course or to our services if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change in this context is a change that materially changes the services available to you; or the outcomes, or a significant part, of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), classes, type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.

    For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators; to meet the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body; to improve the quality of educational provision; in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback; and/or to reflect academic or professional changes within subject areas. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment.

    Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but this may not always be the case. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation with affected students. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

    Termination of course

    In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed and we will notify you as soon as possible about what your options are, which may include transferring to a suitable replacement course for which you are qualified, being provided with individual teaching to complete the award for which you were registered, or claiming an interim award and exiting the University. If you do not wish to take up any of the options that are made available to you, then you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the course without liability to the University for future tuition fees and you will be entitled to a refund of all course fees paid to date. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

    When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. These include regulations regarding the assessment of your course, academic integrity, your conduct (including attendance) and disciplinary procedure, fees and finance and compliance with visa requirements (where relevant). It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to. You should read these carefully before you enrol. Please note that this information is subject to change and you are advised to check our website regularly for any changes before you enrol at the University. A person who is not party to this agreement shall not have any rights under or in connection with it. Only you and the University shall have any right to enforce or rely on the agreement.

    Equal opportunities

    The University of Huddersfield is an equal opportunities institution. We aim to create conditions where staff and students are treated solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential, regardless of gender, age, race, caste, class, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, family responsibility, trade union activity, political or religious belief, or age. Please visit our website to see our Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy

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    Students’ Union membership

    Under the 1994 Education Act, students at all UK universities have the right to join, or not to join, the Students’ Union. There is no membership fee. If you choose not to join you have the right not to be disadvantaged; however, you are not entitled to vote, take part in elections, or hold any office. The following arrangements apply in order that non-Union members are not disadvantaged: Non-members are welcome to take part in the activities of Affiliated Clubs and Societies on payment of the appropriate subscription. However, they may not vote or hold office in the society or club. Union members may be offered a discounted subscription. Non-members are free to use Union facilities on the same basis as members. Welfare, catering and shops are available to non-members as well as members. Union members may be offered a discounted price.

    The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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