PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module builds upon all of the previous modules through two creative projects designed for the student to achieve a professional level of entry into the industry. These are a digital industry Showcase and an Independent Performance Project, in either a live or recorded format, which is created and managed by the student. The Independent Performance Project is presented at the end of the module as either a film or a live performance, and is supported by a framing document outlining the aims and methods of the work of up to 500 words. These projects are supported by professional development workshops with guest practitioners and one-to-one tutorials. The student may opt to submit a 6,000 word Critical Evaluation in place of the Independent Performance Project. This can be a written essay on a topic of the student¿s own choosing of relevance to the programme curriculum, such as an evaluation of one area of the training from a personal perspective (6,000 word equivalent). Additional professional development workshops by guests offer students valuable information and insights into the life of a working actor, for example management of tax affairs, maintenance of a social media profile, communication and behavioural protocols for auditions, understanding the role of agents and casting directors, and other important aspects of sustaining a career in the performing arts.

Module provider

Guildford School of Acting

Module Leader

TUNSTALL Darren (GSA)

Number of Credits: 60

ECTS Credits: 30

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

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

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content for the module includes:

• Preparation, rehearsal and performance of digital industry Showcase


• One-to-one tutorial instruction (given by PhD students at GSA) to support Independent Performance Project or Critical Evaluation


• Workshops to guide students in preparation for Independent Performance Project


• Professional Development workshops to provide information, knowledge and advice for entering the industry

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

• Excellent acting skills, meeting professional standards;


• Excellent collaborative skills, discipline and consistency in practice


• Commitment to acquisition of skills necessary for entry into the industry


• Evaluative, self-reflective awareness


• The application of creative imagination and planning/management for problem-solving


• The ability to communicate effectively in written, verbal and physical form

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Continuous assessment of students' preparation, rehearsal and performance of chosen material for a digital industry showcase, addressing learning outcomes 1,2, 3 and 4.


• Presentation of Individual Performance Project (max. 30 mins) with supporting statement (500 words) or Critical Evaluation (6000 words), addressing learning outcomes 1,2,4,5 and 6

Formative assessment

Formative assessment occurs on a continuous basis, with students receiving feedback on tasks undertaken and work completed both within taught sessions, and independently.

Feedback

Guided feedback is given in verbal form during rehearsals and recording of digital industry showcase. Students receive feedback in the form of individual tutorials from PhD students during their preparation of the Independent Performance Project or Critical Evaluation.

Module aims

• Enable students to research and create an original or adapted piece of contemporary performance
• Enable the student to strategize for the pursuit and creation of artistic opportunities
• Prepare the student for engagement in the professional performance industry
• Stimulate constructive and critical reflection upon the student's process and outcome

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Offer students a showcase platform that promotes them to the industry;


• Facilitate students' creation and management of an independent performance project;


• Encourage students to reflect upon and evaluate their own research, rehearsal and performance work

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Group and individual rehearsals 


• Individual Tutorials


• Workshops


• Independent research, study and rehearsal


• Group and individual performances

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: ACTM050

Other information

Digital Capabilities

Students engage with digital technologies to develop their technical literacy and support their learning. Students also use non-specialist software for communication, administration and planning. Showcase work is generated in digital formats to facilitate student engagement with potential employers and creatives, and assessments make use of digital technologies for feedback. Students may use a range of media platforms to share the digital showcase content with industry professionals as appropriate. Students may opt to create a film for their Independent Performance Project, making use of GSA¿s digital film-making equipment.

Employability

Employability is a crucial element of the module teaching, learning and assessment and is designed to inculcate a professional attitude in students. Staff, including visiting tutors, draw upon their professional experience in the creative industries to deliver vocationally-oriented curriculum materials. Students develop transferable skills in team collaboration, creative thinking and problem solving. Industry stakeholders are invited to deliver professional development workshops, and the programme leader works closely with GSA's Head of Employability to foster and maintain a high level of engagement with current industry practice as well as with potential employers. The digital showcase is created to promote students to the industry, and to this end a network of agents, casting directors and other potential employers are sent access to the showcase.

Global and Cultural Capabilities

Students with additional learning needs are signposted to the university¿s support services, and GSA has a dedicated Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager. Materials for the showcase are chosen so as to speak to the student¿s individual talents, background and experience.

Resourcefulness and Resilience

The need for students to manage uncertainty, risks and challenges and deal with the responsibilities of working as part of a team is reflected in the Independent Performance Project, which is almost wholly student-led and student-managed. Students work towards achieving professional standards in rehearsal and performance of both projects, in line with expectations for a successful career as an actor. Formative and summative feedback is geared towards students' progress towards these standards as they develop an approach to their own creative work which is both professional in its standards of excellence and self-reflective, evaluative and critically-minded.

Sustainability

Students are invited to reflect on the impact of their work in social, economic and environmental terms, and to consider how they may take responsibility for achieving professional standards that promote wellbeing. GSA is committed to sustainable practices in its output, including productions that optimize resources, and students are taught how to create work that is sustainable in all senses of the word. This is reflected in the creative output of the Independent Performance Project, where students are expected to deliver a performance that can achieve professional standards with minimal resources.

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 2025/6 academic year.