Actor Musicianship at Rose Bruford College 2023

What you'll study

This course offers distinctive and practical training for actors who have musical skills.

You will be guided by experienced staff, including industry professionals, who will help you to develop your actor-musician skills through practical classes in movement, voice, music and approaches to text and character. You will also develop your existing musical skills for use in a variety of performance contexts. Importantly, you will explore how these skills interconnect.

Your imagination to create, lead and make music will be developed whilst acting classes will explore the musicality of performance. You will need to be able to play at least one instrument to a good standard in order to get the best from this course, and we do not typically consider ‘voice’ to be an instrument.

Rose Bruford Actor Musicianship students

Why choose this course?

Expert training

Experienced staff, including industry professionals, will help you to develop the skills of the actor-musician through practical classes in movement, voice, singing, music and approaches to text and character

Innovative and specialised

The first course of its kind, for more than 20 years, we have innovated the way actor-musicians are trained and have a team of specialists in developing actor-musicians on hand

Studio and training facilities

Purpose-built rehearsal, movement and performance spaces including the fully-equipped Rose Theatre and Barn Theatre, a flexible drama studio and a digital studio with motion capture facilities

Professional opportunities

Take part in several productions in your final year, including a main house and the London Showcase to which agents and casting directors are invited. There are also chances to develop your own new work and see it performed

Learn from working professionals

Recently includes: Tarek Merchant (freelance), Ian Ross (MD, Wise Children), Max Reinhardt (World musicologist, BBC Radio 3 presenter), Jeremy Mortimer (BBC radio producer), Adjoa Andoh (RSC, the National and TV: His Dark Materials, Bridgerton), Dele Sosimi (Afrobeat specialist), Abigail Pickard Price (Watermill Theatre) and Shema Mukherjee (Sitar, Raag and Tabla specialist)

Career-focussed

Learn to integrate your musical skills in performance to create, lead and make music alongside your work as an actor. Also learn how to apply actor musician skills in different, exciting contexts like Sensory or Specialist Learning environments

Rose Bruford Actor Musicianship students

Course breakdown

Course content is regularly reviewed, to make it relevant and current. Course modules are therefore subject to change.

Year 1

You will be introduced to the academic and intellectual skills that you will need for study and professional development. In addition, you will begin to learn the practical and technical skills of the actor and contextualise these in developing your understanding of theatre making.

  • Demonstrate a range of physical, vocal, music and performance skills
  • Integrate these acting and musical skills and techniques into performance
  • Engage with, articulate and reflect upon collective processes in the rehearsal room
  • Identify key principles and concepts informing the discipline of the actor musician
  • Locate dramatic text and performance practice within certain historical social contexts
  • To demonstrate an awareness of professional discipline towards the work
  • Demonstrate an independent imaginative response to your interpretation of text and performance

Year 2

Your skills will be further developed towards a level appropriate to pre-professional work and you will experience performance in collaboration with other disciplines.

  • To demonstrate the consistent use of physical, vocal and musical performance skills in a range of contexts
  • Integrate music into your performance work
  • Employ a range of analytical, reflective and communication skills, informed by an understanding of the processes inherent in a production
  • Critically evaluate and analyse the relationship between the actor, the text, music, the performance and the audience in a range of social contexts, historical periods and cultures
  • Take responsibility for the development and assessment of your own professional skills.

Year 3

  • Independent Research Project: research and develop your own area of interest
  • Recorded Media: developing skills in TV, film, radio and voice-over
  • Professional Preparation: mock auditions, industry lectures, Spotlight registration and CV / Portfolio guidance
  • London Showcase: performance event for an invited audience of agents, casting directors and industry professionals
  • Main House Production: a fully mounted public production with students from the Acting Course
  • London Season: a fully integrated actor-musician production performed in a London venue
  • The New Writing Season: a series of commissioned pieces for actor-musicians

Teaching and assessment methods

  • You’ll complete approximately 30 hours a week of learning: this includes classes, independent learning on projects, productions, or self-directed study. Assessment will be through formative feedback, and through summative tutorials in which you reflect on your working processes, and determine your grading through discussion with your tutor.

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Your future career

Actor Musicianship at Rose Bruford College 2023
Rose Bruford Actor Musicianship students

We aim to put you in front of and amongst the profession. This includes opportunities to network and work on fully realised public performances as well as introducing your work to the industry and agents at our London Showcase and London Season performances.

Over the years our students have signed with agents like Eamonn Bedford Agency, Global Artists, Olivia Bell and Narrow Road

Alumni success

Rosalie Craig

Evening Standard Award Winner and Olivier Award nominee for The Light Princess, Threepenny Opera, National Theatre.

Sam Palladio

Nashville, Strange Magic, Rebel

Shiloh Coke

Julius Caesar, Donmar Warehouse; Small Island, National Theatre

Silas Wyatt-Barke

Prince of Egypt, Dominion, West End; Dr Seuss’ The Lorax, Old Vic

Gloria Obianyo

Feature Films: Dune (2021); Mission Impossible 7 (2022); Girl From The North Country, Gielgud, West End

Lauryn Redding

Writer / composer of Bloody Elle (a gig musical), Comedy of Errors - Shakespeare's Globe and Tour, Oliver Twist - Hull Truck

Lila Clements, Tarek Merchant and Alex Tomkins

Midsummer Nights Dream, RSC

Careers options

Our graduates can be found at leading regional theatres, in the West End, RSC and National Theatre. In television, film, radio, children’s theatre, and in small scale touring theatre companies in the UK and Europe. And studying an Arts related subject gives you a wide range of skills that can be put to use in many careers. Recent graduates have gone on to become:

  • Actors, entertainers and presenters
  • Musicians
  • Arts officers producers and directors
  • Teaching and other educational professionals

Meet the staff

Alison MacKinnon Rose Bruford College Programme Director
Alison MacKinnon

Programme Director for BA (Hons) Actor Musicianship

Read their profile
Rose Bruford College Module Year Co-ordinator Actor Musicianship
Tom Attwood

Module Year Co-ordinator Actor Musicianship

Read their profile

How to join

UK/Republic of Ireland and International applicants

Applications are still open for undergraduate courses, submit your application via UCAS.

Institution code: R51

Course code: W4W3

UCAS Points

64 UCAS points*

This is equivalent to two C’s at ‘A’ level or one Merit and two Passes at BTEC (QCF) National Diploma or equivalent.

*We offer places based upon your future potential. We may offer you a place based on lower UCAS points than shown here, or an offer that is not linked to UCAS points if we have evidence of your potential from your application or audition/portfolio review.

For 2024 entry, there will be a £35 audition fee, unless you are eligible for an exemption, which you can learn more about by clicking the link below.

Our Auditions page gives an overview of the process and a video about preparing for audition.

Auditions Audition Fee Exemption

Course Summary

Duration

3 years

Mode of study

Full time

Start date

September 2024

Course Type

Undergraduate Course

Course Fees (2024 Entry)

UK/Republic of Ireland students (Fee per year)

£9250

International students (Fee per year)

£24150

Funding and Support Additional Costs

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