PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - 2024/5

Module Overview

This module allows students to engage with a range of industry practices, protocols and resources in the pursuit of the skills and knowledge required to sustain a career within the professional Musical Theatre.  This module also allows students to increase their critical and realistic understanding of their present and future place within Musical Theatre and other Creative Industries.

 

The module comprises of:

• Agent Feedback Forum classes and industry event


• Professional Development lectures and classes


• Professional Profile seminars and tutorials


• Showcase rehearsals and filming

Module provider

Guildford School of Acting

Module Leader

NICHOLLS Stewart (GSA)

Number of Credits: 45

ECTS Credits: 22.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Professional Development

Classes and seminars are delivered by expert internal and external practitioners engaging students with a range of industry practices, protocols and resources promoting the development of the necessary skills and knowledge required to sustain a career within Musical Theatre and other Creative Industries.   Students undergo personal selection, preparation and presentation of appropriate audition material for an Agent Feedback Forum industry event which allows provides an increased critical and realistic understanding of their present and future place within Musical Theatre.

 

Professional Profile

Seminars and tutorials are undertaken to engage and support students in the writing of 3,000 word Professional Profile Report.  This piece of writing is a critical and realistic understanding of students’ personal comprehension of their present and future place in the industry and is focussed on their five-year work post-graduation plan.  This module encourages, promotes and fosters a post-graduation understanding of relevant sustainable financial/business models, social sustainability, enterprise, entrepreneurship, employability, resourcefulness and resilience in the Musical Theatre and other Creative industries.

 

Showcase Rehearsals and Filming

Students work with a Director/Choreographer and Musical Director on a personal selection and presentation of material for Industry Showcase. 

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

None

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the integration of techniques to achieve a high level of performance in audition and showcase scenarios, rigorous research practice, critical analysation and a comprehension of the Musical Theatre Industry and their role within it.

 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

 

Performance Assessment – Singing Voice Reel.  Practical Based Assessment – Submitted Week 1 of Teaching Block 2

• Awareness of employable performance profile in digital format


• Technical skill delivery at advanced/professional level


• Advanced understanding of singing vocabulary


• Advanced awareness of appropriate style within the context of Musical Theatre

This assessment addresses Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10

 

Performance Assessment - Performance at Agent Feedback Forum.  Practical Based Assessment - Teaching Block 2

• Professional Audition technique


• Integration of disciplines


• Selection, Preparation and Presentation of appropriate audition material


• Understanding of professional profile within Musical Theatre

This assessment addresses Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10

 

 

Written Assessment – Professional Profile Report (3,000 Words).  Coursework - Submitted Week 1 of Teaching Block 3

• Reflection on present and future place in the industry


• Consideration of personal professional development


• Demonstration of five-year post-graduation work plan


• Consistent and thorough critical, sustainable and enterprising practices


• Creative and intelligent writing, reflecting on a range of personal processes

This assessment addresses Learning Outcomes 4, 8, 9, 10

 

Performance Assessment - Professional Performance Scenario.  Practical based assessment - Teaching Block 2 or 3

• Selection and presentation of appropriate performance material


• Technical performance delivery


• Integration of disciplines at professional level


• Advanced awareness of appropriate style within the context of Musical Theatre

This assessment addresses Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10

 

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is embedded within the learning and teaching for this module.  Mirroring industry practice, students are given detailed constant verbal feedback during classes, which enables students to develop and act upon notes given.  Questioning, dialogue, facilitated peer-to-peer feedback and group discussion is undertaken constantly to enable students develop their critical, and self-reflective skills, to allow them to adjust their work and process in response.

 

 

Feedback

• Students are given detailed constant formative verbal feedback during classes. 


• Students will receive detailed written summative feedback via SurreyLearn on conclusion of each assessment.

Module aims

• Prepare students for professional performance within casting processes
• Refine a sophisticated awareness of professional discipline and self-presentation
• Prepare for the process of seeking and acquiring creative, artistic and commercial employment opportunities
• Research, reflect, critically analyse and deploy appropriate research methods and strategies to prepare for ongoing Industry practice

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

 

• Encourage students to reflect critically on current industry processes, personal processes, personal  progress and future plans


• Promote sustained personal practice, independent study and research


• Develop and advance a professional performance audition portfolio


• Launch students into the Musical Theatre industry


• Equip students with the knowledge to be a disciplined and sustained auditionee and self-employed performer

 

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Professional Development lectures and classes


• Professional Profile seminars and tutorials


• Showcase rehearsals and filming

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MUT3020

Other information

Guildford School of Acting trains students, within their chosen fields, to have an understanding and appreciation of Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow Musical Theatre students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

 

Digital Capabilities

Throughout this module and assessment therein, students will be required to engage with digital technologies to develop their digital literacy, to support their learning journey, and to explore and secure employment opportunities through the creation of self-tapes for auditions and showreel self-promotion.  Students will use specialist software to create digital and promotional content for their Industry Showcase, and they will use a range of sharing platforms and social media to share this content with industry professionals and creative peers as appropriate.  Students will also use traditional software and other digital technologies to undertake communication, administration, and planning when writing their professional development plan.

 

Employability

The focus on employability is embedded in the teaching, learning and assessment activities throughout the whole programme, and particularly in this module through Professional Development classes, to nurture career ready graduates that will be sought after by employers in the creative industries.  Expert staff with practitioner backgrounds deliver authentic and practical modes of working from the studio, to rehearsal, to public performance mirroring professional practice.   Students develop transferable skills including independent and collaborative working, creative, critical and reflective thinking, and problem solving.  Students will engage with a range of industry stakeholders who are invited to observe classes and attend performances.  GSA has a dedicated Director of Employability.  The written assessment elements to this module allow the student to reflect on the employability required in the Musical Theatre and other Creative Industries

 

Global & Cultural Capabilities

Students will develop their global, social, historical, and cultural awareness, share experiences and knowledge from their own backgrounds and cultures, and appreciate, recognise and interpret diverse perspectives.  With an open mind and a willingness to engage in discussion, students will develop awareness and appreciate, recognise and interpret diverse perspectives in the characters and communities they will be portraying as actors-in-training.  This is particularly evident in the Agent Feedback Forum and Professional Development classes within this module.  Students will be able to make informed contributions to the current debates in the creative industries.

 

Resourcefulness & Resilience

In this programme the learning journey is carefully structured so that performance and rehearsal skills can be learned, developed, and integrated resulting in the student acquiring a broad range of resources which they can continue to use throughout the rest of their training and in future employment settings, and this is particularly evident through all classes in the module.  The nature of the work means students will learn to navigate uncertainty, to deal with risks and challenges, and to take on board personal and professional responsibilities.  The use of formative and summative feedback will enable students to build a thorough overview of their individual process and progress.  The training features independent and collaborative learning, problem solving, communication, perseverance, stamina, critical thinking, self-management, and an understanding of self-value.  Mirroring industry standards students will undertake classes, rehearsals and performance schedules which are in line with expectations for a successful Musical Theatre career.   The written assessment elements to this module allow the student to reflect on the resourcefulness & resilience required in the Musical Theatre and other Creative Industries.

 

Sustainability

Throughout the programme, students are encouraged to reflect on the social, cultural, ethical, political, economic, and environmental impact of the work they do as individuals and collectively, and to recognise their shared responsibilities.  Students will understand the impact on audiences of the values, perceptions, and actions of their own, of others and of characters they are portraying in rehearsal and performance.  Students will be nurtured as future leaders in sustainability thinking and empowered to take informed decisions and responsible actions that promote the wellbeing of present and future generations.  GSA has a strong commitment to working from the studio, to rehearsal, to public performance in the most sustainable way possible.  The written assessment elements to this module allow the student to reflect on undertake a healthy and sustainable career in the Musical Theatre and other Creative Industries

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2024/5 academic year.