MA in Playwriting

at University of Manchester

Course unit details

The MA is made up of five components, adding up to 180 credits in total. You will take two course units in Semester 1, and two units plus the dissertation in Semester 2.

Semester 1

• Playwriting and form (30 credits)
   

This unit will cover the relationship between form and content when writing a play.
 

You will engage with the popular conventions to be found in naturalism, melodrama, farce, verbatim, postdramatic and experimental forms.
 

Assessment: A one-act play in development (20 pages), and a piece of reflective writing.
 

• Playwriting and structure (30 credits)
   

This unit will cover the conventions of structure that are useful to consider when writing a play.
 

We will focus specifically on a five-act structure and will identify the fundamental building blocks for dramatic playwriting.
 

Assessment: A one-act play in development (20 pages), and a piece of reflective writing.
 

Semester 2

• The Festival Play (30 credits)
   

This unit will focus on the development of plays at festivals of new work, including Edinburgh Festival and Manchester International Festival, as well as smaller-scale events.
 

The necessary restrictions for new plays in a festival context mean that the unit will be focused on produce-ability, a key challenge for new playwrights.
 

Assessment: Full-length play (45-50 pages) + accompanying pitch for a specific festival context.
 

• The Working Playwright (30 credits)
   

This unit will explore power on and off stage, as well as within the theatre industry.
 

We will interrogate both power between characters and big questions around politics, finance and the environment in order to expand your understanding of the frames within which drama takes place, and sharpen your ability to write driving, meaningful plays.
 

We will also learn how to discuss, debate and disagree with one another in a mutually respectful but fruitful manner.
 

You will also learn about practical issues like pitching, working with a dramaturg/producer, working to a commission, professional identity and voice, publicity and promotion, and a host of others.
 

Assessment: A play that adapts elements of a classic text to a modern-day context (20 pages).
 

• Dissertation (60 credits)
   

This unit is focused on the development and writing of a full-length play, with the theme and form to be decided by the student.
 

The unit is delivered by a series of writing workshops and one-to-one supervision with course tutors.
 

Assessment: A full-length play.
 

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
 

Title

• Dissertation (Playwriting)
• Playwriting: Forms
• Playwriting: Structures
• The Festival Play
• The Working Playwright: Power and Politics

Academic entry qualification overview

We normally expect students to have a First or Upper Second class honours degree or its overseas equivalent in a humanities-based subject area.
 

English language

An overall grade of 7.0 in IELTS with 7.0 in writing an no skill below 6.5 is required or 100+ in the TOEFL iBT with a minimum writing score of 25 and no skill below 22.

• MA (full-time)
  
  UK students (per annum): £10,500
  
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £21,000

• We aim to prepare students for a successful career in playwriting and writing for performance.
• You will graduate with a strong sense of your emerging signature as a writer, and also with an ability to write across a range of genres and contexts and in response to specific commissions.
• The industry focus of the programme ensures that you will be equipped with the practical know-how to manage your career as a writer, and the ability to pitch your own initiatives, as well as work both as an individual writer and collaboratively with others.
• Additional possible career trajectories include work as literary officers and agents, and within publishing, art journalism, dramaturgy and producing.