Welcome from Richard Williams, Course Leader
I know that most people on the Foundation course want to go onto a BA Acting course at a recognised drama school. In fact many people on the course have tried for a BA and been recommended to gain more experience. Therefore our Foundation course offers a terrific preparation for BA Acting auditions and courses.
As part of the course you will get one-to-one advice and tuition on audition monologues so you are in the best possible condition both physically and mentally for your next step. And we have a great success rate. Each year about sixty percent of the year group go onto a BA Acting or Directing course at a recognised drama school.
That's only a part of the course. You'll enjoy studying a broad range of subjects - including Shakespeare, Stanislavski, Text in Action, Acting for Camera, Dance, Movement and Performance Technique - all part of the highly focused conservatoire training. Our students approach their next step with the confidence that only such an intensively concentrated course can offer. I know the course isn't cheap, but that's because we are offering the very best of teaching and tuition with an incredibly intensive 30 hours of teaching weekly.
Take a moment to read how vitally productive some of the present and past students have found it. Think about Foundation Studies in Performance as the place to begin your successful theatrical career.
Richard Williams
Course Leader Foundation in Performance Studies
Richard Williams is a theatre and opera director with a long and distinguished career who has won several awards for his directing. He has worked with some of the country's leading performers including Imelda Staunton, Roger Allam, Mark Rylance, Sylvester McCoy and Alison Steadman. Naturally he brings a wealth of experience to the course as well as careful attention to each individual student.
The tutors on the Foundation Course all also teach at BA or MA level and include Oleg Mirochnikov, Liana Nyquist formally assistant to Yat Malgrem, and filmmaker and West End director Harry Burton.
After the completion of the course the Course Leader invites students to join in one or more summer projects which he is connected to in a professional capacity. So in the past students have appeared alongside professional performers at The Bath International Festival in a cabaret of Brecht/Weill songs, poems and scenes; Buxton Opera Festival in acting roles in a Vivaldi opera; the well-established Old Vic New Voices project; ‘Chalk Legends’ an epic production with The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra as part of the Cultural Olympiad and other exciting professional opportunities.
Foundation Studies in Performance is aimed at those who wish to improve their acting, directing and other performance skills in order to make informed decisions about their future careers. This course is part of the Access to HE and Progression programme.
Foundation Studies in Performance enables you to experience the rigour and variety available in the field of drama and to test your expectations and aspirations against the realities of vocational training. On completing the foundation course, students will normally expect to go on to study in higher education, mainly at vocational drama schools.
During the foundation course you will enhance your capacity to learn in a disciplined, organised manner and develop skills leading to self-reliant learning. You will also develop your critical awareness of contemporary performance and will learn to express your ideas clearly and articulately.
Foundation Studies in Performance is fully based in the practice of performance, delivered within a leading University benefits from high levels of expertise of the professional staff across the programme and college.
Foundation Studies in Performance is "diagnostic" in nature: that means that the tutors will seek to help you widen your understanding of the various opportunities for careers in the field of drama. You may already feel that you are determined to pursue a career in acting or directing, for example. In this case, the course will help you to test your commitment and define your expectations. On the other hand, you may feel that, while attracted by the idea of working in drama, you are not yet sure of what the profession has to offer and of how your talent can be developed. If this is the case, then Foundation Studies in Performance will help you explore the opportunities available and enable you to make informed decisions about future studies.
Comments from this year's students
"The knowledge and experience I have gained from the course is phenomenal. It's an incredible start for anyone considering a career in performance"
"I definitely feel it's great value. It's world class training that has prepared me for a BA course"
"The tutors have taught me to challenge myself."
"The intensity was what I needed, the course was challenging and extremely beneficial."
"The course has allowed me to express myself physically and emotionally in a safe and creative environment. The Foundation course has given me invaluable tools that will carry me through my career."
"I got to know myself a lot better, physically and mentally in a safe and collaborative environment."
