Writing for Performance, BA

at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

Throughout the three years of study, you will encounter a wide range of learning and teaching styles and engage with learning through practical workshops and theatre making, as well as lectures and seminars.
 

Year 1: Exploring concepts and ideas 
 

• Explore concepts and ideas relating to writing for performance and applied theatre through a lecture programme and practical workshops.  

• You are introduced to playwriting and the role of the writer in devised performance contexts, undertaking the practical study of writing for performance and the critical study of contemporary theatre.  

• Many units include a strong practical element where you will work as writers and creators, specifically in term three where, currently, students create and participate in a major devised performance practice spread over the entire summer term.  
   

Year 2: Workshops/masterclasses/study units 
 

• You will engage with professional playwrights and theatre makers and produce a short extract of script to be presented at a rehearsed reading and a piece of solo performance.  

• Further lecture programmes are based around writing for performance, playtexts and the role of drama as a force for change in contemporary society.  

• You will experience the role of the writer in an applied theatre context through study units and a collaborative outreach project, working in a group creatively in London or beyond, including overseas.  

• You may develop your writing practice by sharing optional units with the Performance Arts course.  
   

Year 3: Focus on professional development 
 

• You will pursue your own specialist interests further.

• Units include a dissertation or a playwriting research project, a writing project where you will be placed as a writer within a community context and a final student-led performance and writing-focused practical project.  

• The degree concludes with a specialist lecture series delivered by artists, academics and researchers, who are pioneers in the field of drama, theatre, performance and applied theatre. 

Our standard academic entry requirements range between 120 and 96 UCAS tariff points. You can see how many tariff points your qualifications would gain on the UCAS Tariff Calculator. International qualifications and others not covered within the UCAS tariff can also be accepted. 
 

Please note that we may make lower offers (including unconditional) to exceptional candidates and those who have alternative or prior experience to offer. All candidates are invited to interview, which is a key factor in determining who is accepted on to the course.

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. Applicants are advised to gain this certification as early as possible and more information can be found
 

The fees for Writing for Performance, BA  may vary from £20,000 to £35,000 annually for tuition fees. The fee's prices may get higher for International Students.

Throughout the degree students have the opportunity to work in collaboration with industry professionals, from visiting lecturers, professional playwrights and workshops by leading practitioners and academics in the field of theatre and performance, to creating projects and performances with professional companies and artists.  

The pathway nurtures relationships with local, national and international community and educational arts organisations, from Rewrite in south London (which uses drama to bring young people together and support young people for whom English is an additional language) to SNEHA in Mumbai (an NGO supporting mothers and children across India).  

Your experience with industry will vary from masterclasses with some of the country’s leading theatre practitioners and playwrights, to interaction with small scale, innovative companies.

Professional companies are invited to create new practice with you, either on-site at Central, on tour in various parts of the UK, or at off-site theatre venues and performance spaces.  
For example, in previous years, students have worked with a number of different theatre companies at the Minack Theatre Cornwall, including Cartoon de Salvo and Twisting Yarn.

Students have also participated in staff-led research projects and workshops led by artists from companies such as Graeae Theatre Company, Theatre Company Blah Blah Blah, Ice and Fire Theatre Company, Punchdrunk Theatre Company, National Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre.  

All students participating in placements will be required to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. This is a mandatory government safeguarding scheme for all those seeking to work in any capacity with minors or vulnerable adults.