Acting and Performance with Foundation Year

Please check the Sheffield Hallam University website for the latest information.

Course summary

- Develop your skills as an actor and performer

- Create digital materials to showcase your work

- Research, plan and execute a wide range of performances at a professional level

- Use performance to engage with communities and challenge real-world issues.

- Join at the foundation year and develop your personal skills, awareness of resources and commitment to the subject

You’ll be immersed in the creative process of making and presenting theatre and performance in a range of styles and across a range of platforms (such as stage, screen, audio and digital/new media). You will develop your acting skills and contribute to our own festival, The Change Makers Festival.

Find out more about acting and performance courses, facilities and student projects on the SHU performance website: https://www.shuperformance.co.uk/

How you learn

At Sheffield Hallam, all our courses are designed to engage you with the world and challenge you to think in new ways. You’ll get to collaborate with others, and you’ll be taught in a supportive environment where you can thrive.

In the foundation year, you will start by developing a good base of knowledge, but also the personal skills and awareness of resources that will help you manage your studies effectively and be self-motivated.

The practical elements of the course will build throughout your time with us. You’ll take part in interactive lectures, seminars and workshops and have the opportunity to work with industry partners on live projects. At the end of your second year, you’ll travel abroad to see performances made and presented in a different context.

Applied learning

Work placements

In the second year, of the full degree, you’ll have the chance to collaborate with external partners, undertake a work placement or develop your own enterprise.

Live projects

We work with a range of local organisations (theatres, film makers, theatre companies and arts organisations) on live briefs, with staff often producing work for local festivals. You’ll be invited to participate in these projects, giving you the chance to work alongside industry professionals.

In the foundation year, you will undertake a series of projects that respond to real world debates.

Field trips

You will have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of trips throughout your time on the course. We are ideally located close to Sheffield Theatres and regularly see performances there, but you will also travel to see work in other cities in the north, nationwide, and where possible, internationally. In past years, students have attended international theatre festivals and/or performed work in Prague, Venice, Berlin and Paris.

Networking opportunities

We have excellent links to local actors, companies and venues, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet and talk to people from the industry.