BA (Hons) Stage and Screen Acting

at Edinburgh Napier University

The Degree works in two phases: students begin with a year of intensive teaching, then move gradually toward more independent work in their final year: forming companies, working with playwrights, screenwriters and film makers, having the opportunity to produce and be mentored through a potential run at the Edinburgh Festival. Along with this career-launching run, students leave with a show reel and significant experience in acting for screen.
The degree is designed to help students make the transition from student learning to independent freelance artist as smoothly as possible.

Given our Edinburgh location, you’ll be working in some exciting venues, with professional directors and teachers, and the course culminates in the opportunity of a run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

What you study

Year 3

• Intensive training in voice, movement and acting
• Approaches to sustained performance and theories of performance
• Stage and screen performance technique
• Advanced techniques for performing classical texts
• Entrepreneurial business skills appropriate for a freelance career in the entertainment industry

Year 4

• Professional standard productions on stage and screen
• Critical approaches to acting and performance
• The integration and practice of skills in public performances
• The application of acting techniques appropriate to a particular style of performance
• The development of a personal portfolio showcasing the individual’s work
• Workshops and auditions with industry professionals
• Festival performance

In both years there will be particular focus on style and the ability to adapt performance to specific medium. Through intensive study of the similarities and differences between the demands of stage and screen acting, you’ll gain a critical understanding of your own acting process and confidence in your ability to work in both areas.

Additional mandatory costs

Recommended for the start of the course: 

• ‘Mastering the Shakespeare Audition: A Quick Guide to Performance Success’ by Donna Soto-Morettini (£17)
• 32GB USB pen drive which (around £15)
• Women: A rehearsal skirt (£10-£20) and character shoes (£10-£25)
• Men: dark rehearsal suit jacket (second hand is fine- £10-£30) and dark-coloured hard-soles shoes (£10-£30)

Year 4, trimester 2: you will need to get a professional head shot (ranging from £50-£150 depending on the photographer)

Undergraduate and postgraduate taught degrees 

IELTS (Academic)
6.0 overall, with no component below 5.5

TOEFL Internet Based Test
80 overall with a minimum of 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing

Pearson’s Test of Academic English
56 overall with a minimum of 51 in each component

Cambridge C2 Proficiency (formerly Cambridge English Proficiency (CPE))
169 overall with a minimum of 162 in each component

Cambridge B2 First (formerly Cambridge English First (FCE))
169 overall with a minimum of 162 in each component

Cambridge C1 Advanced (formerly Cambridge English Advanced (CAE))
169 overall with a minimum of 162 in each component

Trinity Integrated Skills Test (ISE)
ISEII, ISEIII, ISEIV with a pass in each component

LanguageCert English language qualification
B2 Communicator Test with overall 39 or above, and 25 or above in all skills

Students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland will be invoiced the tuition fees for 3 years of their 4 years of study. Please note that the tuition fees liable to be paid by mainland EU nationals commencing their studies from 1 August 2022 will be the Overseas fee rate. The University offers a range of attractive Tuition Fee bursaries to students resident in specific countries. More information on these can be found here. For EU students who commenced their studies prior to 1 August 2022 or hold pre or settled status in the UK, fees will remain the same as Scottish Students.                    
If additional compulsory costs other than the tuition fees are applicable, these will be detailed in the course details.                    

Please note that the tuition fees liable to be paid by EU nationals commencing their studies from 1 August 2022 will be the Overseas fee rate. The University offers a range of attractive Tuition Fee bursaries to students resident in specific countries. 

This course will give you the skills necessary to work in the performing arts, as well as a wide range of transferable skills you can take into employment in other fields.

Graduates have moved onto:

• Stage and screen acting
• Producing
• Directing
• Managing and launching small theatre companies
• Theatre company management
• Arts administration
• Various roles in the entertainment industry which require initiative and creativity
• Teaching