Technical Theatre and Performance Design with Foundation Year

Develop your practice in conjunction with students from our BA (Hons) Theatre Arts and MA Applied Theatre and Education, as well as other Derby students and external partners. The programme embeds partnerships with tech and other partners, where you’ll develop your Createch (creative digital) skills within theatre and performance. Sustainable theatre production, accessibility, inclusivity, civic, and community engagement are at the core of our Programme curriculum. Additionally, there is a wide scope for experimentation, innovation and development of practice-research and independent projects.

EXPERT TEACHING 

The course tutors maintain close industry links and are members of the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) and the Society of British Theatre Designers (SBTD). They have links with companies as well as personal contacts with myriad design and technical practitioners currently working in industry and are recognised internationally for their research in the field of performance design.

MODULES, TOPICS AND THEMES

You will work to speculative and live briefs to be part of creative and technical teams working on ‘in house’ productions at Derby Theatre and other venues or environments. Working in Derby Theatre you will get the chance to be embedded and learn from theatre professionals, to work alongside them, to understand how the whole theatre making process works, to have immediate access to staff to ask questions. New Digital and Virtual Technologies, creativity, collaboration, communication, organisation and time management skills are developed at all levels of the Programme.

As a graduate from this course, you will be a confident designer and/or technician, familiar with the creative possibilities of existing and emerging digital technologies with a particular focus in Theatre and Performance (lighting, sound, video, Computer Aided Design (CAD), Extended Reality (XR) – such as AR and VR; Artificial Intelligence (AI) and content generating tools), low-fi technologies (related to experimental constructions) and tools such as model making, drawing and theatre mechanisms.

HOW YOU WILL LEARN:

Teaching is through a combination of practice-led, studio-based exercises, workshops, performances and lecture or seminar activity. You will learn from expert lecturers who are also practising artists, as well as from theatre professionals based at Derby Theatre and visiting companies and lecturers. There will also be the opportunity to take part in masterclass residencies and engage in a variety of field trips. Field trips in the past have included visiting the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, backstage tour and shows at The National Theatre and visits and tours at Alton Towers. You will have the opportunity to learn by working within your own student-led theatre company with full professional technical support and mentoring. The work will be underpinned by the professional production programme of Derby Theatre.

HOW YOU ARE ASSESSED

Assessment is through a range of methods including creative portfolios, presentations, written coursework, practical workshops and public performance.

CAREERS

Graduate from this programme as a multidisciplinary designer and/or technician familiar with the creative possibilities of existing and emerging digital technologies alongside traditional theatre tools and techniques. You will be able to explore the potential of theatre and performance in both text-based productions and expanding practices such as socially engaged, immersive, site-specific, design-led performance, performance installation, exhibition design, sound design, and event design. This will provide you with the creative, critical, and technical soft and hard skills that are expected at Industry level for becoming a successful free-lancer, employee or progression to Post Graduate study.