There are three possible ways to include theatre (drama) and dance in your undergraduate study:
1.The BA in Theatre & Performance
(Programme Code: HB014)
This four year degree programme equips students with the necessary skills to enable them to pursue professional careers (in theatre, dance and related fields such as film, television, advertising and teaching) and/or preparation for pursuing research degrees (for students wishing to enter academia).
The programme offers five different professional orientations.
• Acting
• Dance Performance
• Performance Making (Theatre Making and Choreography)
• Scenography
• Dance Applied and Pedagogy
(Please note: Not all orientations are offered every year.)
The programme includes the full academic major in Theatre & Dance Studies and requires students to take courses in other departments in the Humanities faculty.
Students who complete the professional orientations will graduate at the end of fourth year with a BA degree that is Honours equivalent.
After four years of study students are qualified to go on to Masters study and, possibly, the PhD.
Admission to this programme is by face-to-face audition.For more information on the audition procedure please click here.
Please note that all students who are accepted for this degree are accepted in either Dance or Theatre and for the first two years will do foundational training. At the end of the second year of study, students are streamed via audition into the various professional orientations. All students accepted to the programme at the beginning of the year will find a place in one of the orientations. While every attempt will be made to match the student with the orientation of their choice this cannot be guaranteed because resources are limited. Staff will work closely with students to determine what the best orientation is for each student. Students who wish to leave the BA Theatre & Performance programme in the middle or at the end of first year will be able to move across to the general BA with no loss of time.
2.The Diploma in Theatre & Performance
(Programme Code: HU020)
This three year diploma programme is an intensive vocational training for stage performance and/or dance teaching. It is intended for students who do not qualify for the BA Theatre & Performance on the basis of their matriculation results but who show exceptional potential in an audition.
The programme includes some courses from the academic major in Theatre & Dance Studies but its main emphasis is practical.
The programme offers four orientations:
• Acting
• Dance Performance
• Performance Making (Theatre Making and Choreography)
• Dance Applied and Pedagogy
• Scenography
(Please note: Not all orientations are offered every year.)
The Diploma in Theatre & Performance admits very restricted numbers of students and is specifically intended for candidates who wish to undertake professional studies in Dance, Theatre and Performance and make careers in the dance, theatre and related industries.
Admission to this programme is by face-to-face audition.For more information on the audition procedure please click here.
3.The Theatre and Dance Studies Major
(Programme Code: HB01 / HB03 - consult Faculty of Humanities)
For students who want to study Dance and Theatre but do not wish to become theatre professionals, the department offers an undergraduate academic major in Theatre & Dance Studies which can be taken as a whole or in part within the general BA degree. Students who are in the general BA degree and wish to study courses in the Theatre & Dance Studies major should take note that this is academic study only with no practical input. On completion of the major it is possible to go on to do an Honours year in which various practical streams are available.
THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE ORIENTATIONS
ACTING
This orientation is focused on producing professional actors primarily for stage performance. Camera acting is introduced in a limited way for degree students in the fourth year. If you choose this orientation you must be willing to engage in extensive production work outside of formal class time. You should choose this orientation if you wish to act primarily in productions created by other people.
Careers: Actor for stage, film and television, radio; voice artist; events MC or TV presenting
DANCE PERFORMANCE
This orientation focuses on producing dancers for the professional stage. The curriculum offers engagement with multiple dance forms and styles such as Contemporary Dance, African Dance, Classical Ballet and movement approaches such as improvisation and somatic dance. If you choose this orientation you must be willing to engage in extensive production work outside of formal class time You should choose this orientation if you want to perform in productions/works primarily created/choreographed by other people.
Careers: Dancer for stage, screen and other public events
PERFORMANCE MAKING
This orientation has two tracks – theatre making and choreography. At times students will follow their primary track separately and at other times students from both tracks will work together. The primary focus of this orientation is to produce performance makers with the conceptual, technical and creative skills required to make their own work professionally. In this orientation you will continue performance training but not to the same degree as in the acting or dance performance orientations. All students in this orientation graduate with a production/work that can potentially be staged in a professional context after graduation. If you choose this orientation you must be willing to engage in extensive production/project work outside of formal class time. You should choose this orientation if you want to make your own work alone or in companies with other creatives.
Careers: Choreographer for stage and/or screen; Theatre Maker producing own work in formal theatres, festivals or other contexts; Theatre director; Dramaturg; Playwright.
DANCE PEDAGOGY/APPLIED PERFORMANCE
This orientation focusses on educating professionals who will work in arts education in schools and other pedagogical contexts. The orientation will also focus on training facilitators who will work with dance to foster community arts development, and the applied arts in responding to social justice, health, disability, and fostering wellbeing through participation in the arts. This work is aligned with performance-making and performance, but with the purpose of facilitating others’ access to dance. Students who choose this orientation should be willing to work outside of class times in various sites such as senior homes, community centres, studios, schools or prisons. The curriculum offers opportunities for guided and independent projects in chosen sites of engagement and working with organisations in the same field. You should choose this orientation if you are interested in facilitating other people’s access to and experience of theatre and dance, as well as developing agency in individuals and communities.
Careers: Educator/teaching artist, facilitator, arts activist, community arts worker, social development, dance therapy.
SCENOGRAPHY
This orientation is especially well suited to those interested in the visual and compositional aspects of theatre making, directing and choreography. The focus is on developing both conceptual and technical skills. Visual literacy, compositional aspects, key theories of stage design, contemporary and site-specific performance are covered in the courses. Skills such as drafting (technical drawing), perspective and costume rendering, model building, mask making and scenic painting are developed alongside the conceptual work. Students can expect to specialise as either set, costume, props or lighting designers.
Careers: Set, costume, props and/or lighting designer for live performances of various kinds. Many graduates, while trained in design for live performance, transition well into film and television production as well as event design.