Introduction

BA Contemporary Performance Practice is for the rebel artist.*

People who are:

Critical
Experimental
Theoretical
Politically aware
Techno savvy
Angry
Tender
Bold
Radical
Impassioned
Compassionate
Collaborative
Open
Eco-centric
A theatre-maker, musician, dancer or visual artist

*inspired by Guillermo Gómez-Peña.

Our students say that studying Contemporary Performance Practice (CPP) at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is like nothing you could ever imagine. It’s total immersion in a challenging programme with a central philosophy that human beings make art in order to understand better the world in which they live. This programme is for aspiring performance makers who wish to develop their skills as innovative and socially engaged performers, directors, teachers, and cultural leaders, who can realise their aspirations to create and shape the future of new work. This could be the programme for you if you are passionate about creating performance, but you’re unsure of what you’d specifically like to do in the field.

You will be able to explore realisation of your ideas through the disciplines of performance, education, installation, movement, research, and documentation. We will help you to develop your performance skills in our world-class facilities working with our staff, visiting practitioners, directors and lecturers. You will have regular opportunities to take part in specialist workshops and masterclasses, you will push yourself and push boundaries, creating new works with image, action, sound, and text.

You will leave RCS as an independent and entrepreneurial self-managing ‘eco-centric’ artist with an awareness of the aesthetic, intellectual, social, emotional, political, and ecological considerations of a holistic and sustainable arts practice.

Programme structure

Year One

Digging from Where You Stand: The focus is on the ego-centric artist – you will learn about the methods and strategies of making performance using your autobiography as your material. You are encouraged to question your attitudes, values and understandings, and translate these discoveries into original performance work.

Year Two

Radical Pedagogy in Action: You will explore how to apply your arts practice in social and participatory contexts. You will take part in a residency within a community which will result in an original piece of performance work and new site-based choreographic work. This stage of the programme focuses on your development as a socio-centric artist and how you engage with other people.

Year Three

An Ecology of Mind: The emphasis is on the researching artist. You will learn how to create text for performance, supported through individual mentoring by a performance tutor. Your research works towards a performance research document and a collaborative performance project exploring ideas relevant to your own performance practice. You also undertake a professional placement.

Year Four

Living a Sustainable Practice: In your final year you will work towards developing a sustainable arts practice that will syupport your development into your chosen professional field. You will make an original performance work for the Into the New festival. You will have the opportunity to select additional projects which focus on directing, arts in prisons, site-specific work or an international professional secondment.

Why choose us?

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is in the World Top 10 for performing arts education 2016, 2017 and 2018 (QS World Rankings)

Excellent staff-student ratio and small class sizes ensuring individual attention
Opportunities for artistic collaboration across RCS
86% of undergraduate respondents from the School of Drama are in employment or further study (HESA, 15/16)
World-class facilities and performing venues
Emphasis on preparing you for diverse careers in professional practice
Annual, sector-leading festival Into the New features student performance alongside international artists
Work opportunities include performance and professional collaborations with cutting-edge practitioners, companies, festivals and arts venues. Recent projects have included work with Imaginate, National Theatre of Scotland, Glas(s) Performance, Tramway, Buzzcut, Corali, Ruth Mills Dance, Caroline Bowditch, ArtsAdmin and Nic Green

Teaching staff

The CPP programme is delivered by a core staff team and a large number of visiting artists, choreographers, designers and educationalists. Unlike many other higher education institutions, contact time between students and staff is very high at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. You can expect to be working in RCS five days a week upon joining the programme.

We place great emphasis upon preparing you for professional practice and to do this you must achieve an ‘exit velocity’ by drawing upon your own fascinations and ingenuity.

Head of Contemporary Performance Practice and Performance Pedagogy

Deborah Richardson-Webb

Teaching staff

Facilities

CPP students have full access to the Royal Conservatoire’s award-winning facilities, including the Wallace Studios at Speirs Locks and the practice rooms and performance spaces in the Renfrew Street Building. Including five professional performing arts venues, a student IT Suite, dance studios and drama rehearsal rooms. The Whittaker library has one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of performance materials and you will also have access to thousands of electronic resources which you will find useful for the Critical and Contextual Studies strand of the programme.

CPP students will also often use rehearsal space at UKTheatre School and Scottish Youth Theatre and in 2016 CPP held the annual graduate showcase and festival, Into the New, in the historic Pearce Institute.

Graduate destinations

We place great emphasis upon preparing you for a range of diverse careers in professional practice, the programme is packed with work opportunities. Performance and professional collaborations with national and international cutting-edge practitioners, companies, festivals, and arts venues are central to the programme. Recent projects have included work with The Arches, the Macrobert, Libellule Theatre, Janice Parker, National Theatre of Scotland, Glas(s) Performance, the Tramway, Fish and Game, the British Red Cross, and Nic Green. Several students have gone on secondment to international locations such as the USA, Switzerland, Germany, India, and Zambia.

Our graduates are working as solo artists in the live arts sector; directors and performers in devised, community, or educational performance, and as freelance drama workers. A significant number of graduates have set up their own companies. Other graduates have undertaken further study at masters and doctoral level and also become drama teachers and specialists. Alumni from the programme include:

All of whom produce performance work internationally, and frequently teach or give workshops at RCS.

Images and video

Into the New 2017

The Into the New 2017 symposium, I only went out for a walk is inspired by the writings of 19th century naturalist and environmental philosopher, John Muir.

“I only went out for a walk

and finally concluded to stay

out till sundown,

for going out, I found,

was really going in.”

John Muir

Through a series of performance lectures, practitioners from an array of disciplines share their experiences of what can happen when an artist ventures out into the landscape beyond ‘the studio’. How does landscape shape the artist, the work, and the community? Can the ‘outside’ be brought back into the studio? Is it possible for the artist to break down the studio walls and inhabit a place of natural vulnerability? How do we create the potential for ecological change within the audience, the community and ourselves? What happens when we shift our perspective from ‘visiting the wild’ to ‘being wild’?

The Jones

Enconium

Into the New

Terrible News, Terrible Weather

One Night Only

Fees and scholarships

Tuition fees for academic year 2020-21

Scottish/EU Students – £1,820
Rest of UK (RUK) Students – £9,250
International (Non EU) – £17,685

Scottish/EU students

The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) will pay tuition fees for all eligible full-time Scottish-based and other non-UK undergraduate EU students, who are studying in Scotland at degree level for the first time. Students should apply to SAAS for payment of tuition fees even if they are not applying for any other means of support. Eligible students can also apply for student loans through SAAS . For further advice and to check eligibility contact SAAS directly on 0300 555 0505 or visit their website .

Rest of UK students

Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland studying in Scotland will be eligible for the same funding/loan package that they would benefit from if they attended an institution in their home country. For further advice please visit student finance England , student finance Wales , or student finance Northern Ireland as appropriate.

International students

Students from outside the EU typically fund higher education by a variety of resources, depending on the home country. More specific information on funding options relevant to specific countries can be found here .

Scholarships

Any potential student who auditions for a place at the Royal Conservatoire will automatically be considered for a scholarship. They are awarded on a combination of talent, potential and financial need. More information about Scholarships is available here

Sources of external funding

For more information about alternative funding sources, including external scholarships and bursaries, please visit here.

The Conservatoire’s International and Student Experience team are available to advise and assist applicants and current students in respect of queries about funding your studies at the Conservatoire. Please email or telephone +44 (0)141 270 8281/ +44 (0)141 270 8223 for further information.

Entry requirements

Our admissions processes are designed to be fair, transparent and efficient. The audition/interview approach serves the dual nature of allowing the panel to assess first-hand an applicant’s suitability for their chosen programme and it also affords the applicant the opportunity to gain a deeper insight into the nature of that programme and the opportunities offered by the RCS.

In arriving at its recommendation, the audition/interview panel will take account of all aspects of the applicant’s profile i.e.:

General Academic entrance requirements

Scottish Highers – 3 passes (grade C or above)
A Levels – 2 passes
International Baccalaureate – minimum score of 24 with 3 subjects at Higher Level
Recognised equivalences (EU and International Entry Requirements)

We welcome the Scottish Baccalaureate and will accept combinations of Highers and Advanced Highers.

We offer a flexible approach to students taking Higher over more than one academic year and/or who achieve their qualifications in more than one sitting.

Subjects required

Within the minimum academic entrance requirements listed above, the subjects required are:

English or Drama at Higher, Advanced Higher or Advanced level or equivalent

Language of Study

The language of study is English. Applicants who first language is not English will be required to provide evidence of proficiency in English. We accept the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Level 7.5 (with a score of 7.5 in speaking) is required.

Direct Entry

Applications for direct entry beyond Year 1 will be considered on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the Royal Conservatoire’s Recognition of Prior (Experiential) Learning policy. If you wish to apply for direct entry, please mark the point of entry on UCAS Conservatoires application as 2 or 3.

Non-standard Entry

We welcome applications from individuals whose academic qualifications or English language qualifications do not match (in terms of equivalence) or fall short of the normal entrance requirements, where specified*. Having satisfied the Audition Panel that they meet the selection criteria and demonstrated that they have the capacity to pursue the proposed course of study, such applicants will be considered through examination of contextualised data provided in accordance with the Non-Standard Entry Policy. The appropriate Head of Department/ Programme will make a case in support of the applicant for consideration by the Directors of the Schools and Convener of the Quality and Standards Committee.

*Note that UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) imposes minimum English Language qualifications in respect of international (non-EU) applicants who require a Tier 4 Visa to study in the UK.

Mature Students

RCS welcomes applications from mature students, i.e. students over the age of 21 at entry to the programme. Whilst the selection procedures will still be applied, consideration will be given to appropriate artistic experience not normally expected in school leavers, which is deemed to compensate for any lack of traditional entrance qualifications. Successful mature applicants, as for all other applicants, must convince auditioning panels that they have the ability and potential to cope with the demands of the programme. Their progress, especially in the early stages of the programme, will be closely monitored and appropriate advice and support given.

Auditions

The BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice is a practical programme so entry is dependent upon a practical audition as well as academic qualifications. These notes are intended to give you some helpful information and advice – please read them carefully.

The selection process

The selection process has three stages: the workshop, the written exercise and the interview. Each stage is concerned with gathering information which will give us the best possible indication of your suitability for the programme. It also gives you time to discover whether we are right for you! The timetable for the day is as follows:

10am-1pm

Group workshop with all candidates
Selection panel members: The Head of Performance Pedagogy and other CPP lecturers.

1pm-2pm

Lunch

2pm-5pm

Individual interview for those selected Selection panel members: The Head of Performance Pedagogy and other CPP lecturers.

The written exercise

On the day of the audition you should bring a short performance analysis that you have written. You should submit your performance analysis when you arrive at RCS. You are invited to write about a live performance event you have seen recently, saying what you found effective about it and why. You are asked to explain why this performance was an important experience for you. The written performance analysis will give us an indication of your ability to communicate your ideas about performance in good written English. You are advised to write about a live performance event which you feel strongly about. Your performance analysis should be no longer than 500 words and must be all your own work.

The workshop

The workshop will take place in the morning. It lasts approximately three hours and involves all candidates. Three lecturers, normally including the Head of Performance Pedagogy, will work with you. We try to make this stage as non-competitive as possible, because we would like the opportunity to see you working with other people. You cannot prepare for this session other than by being determined to participate and enjoy yourself! The workshop will include exercises and activities, which will allow us to see some of the following:

your performance skills
your vocal skills
your movement skills
your listening skills
your ability to work co-operatively and collaboratively with others
your creativity and imagination

During the workshop you will also be invited to present a short pre-prepared performance piece.

The performance

You will be invited to prepare an original, devised performance piece, using as a starting point, your selection from a number of pictures which will be sent to you with your invitation to attend for an audition. You may, if you wish, choose elements from any or all of the pictures. They are random pictures but you may see a connection between them and wish to explore that.

The piece must last no more than three minutes, so rehearse and time yourself.

It does not have to be naturalistic or ‘tell a ‘story’.

The main thing to avoid is performing a ‘talking head’. In other words, don’t just perform a spoken monologue in character without any of the ideas below. Try, as far as possible to turn your ideas into performed images.

Try to give your piece a structure (even though it’s only three minutes) for example, you may begin and end with the same ‘moment’ in time.

Your piece may include one, some or all of the following:

Real objects: e.g. teapot, iron, hat, suitcase, clothing, etc.
Symbolic objects: e.g. cross, flower, mask, etc.
Spoken word: e.g. text you’ve written yourself, text from a play, text from a poem, a newspaper article, a politician’s speech, etc.
Action and movement: e.g. gestures, everyday activity, found activity (copying the way someone you see in the street walks, an air hostess giving emergency instructions, someone dancing in a club etc.), dance etc.
Music: e.g. a song sung live, music and/or sound recorded onto MP3 or CD, music played by you on an instrument, etc.

It may not include any flames, candles or burning of items. If you anticipate that your performance will be messy, it is essential that you bring everything that you will need to clean up after yourself quickly and effectively.

Following the workshop you will be given time to have lunch, to see the School of Drama’s facilities and to talk to students about life at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Over lunch a list will be posted indicating those we would like to see for an interview.

The interview

The interview will take place during the afternoon of the same day, normally conducted by the Head of Performance Pedagogy and other CPP lecturers. The interview will look for, amongst other things:

your ability to communicate your ideas about performance
your understanding of contemporary performance work
what you want to do in performance in the future
what your previous experiences of performance have been
why you think performance matters in the world today

You will also be given the opportunity to present a portfolio or other evidence of your experience and interest. In the interview don’t try to give the replies that you think we want or think will impress us. Be yourself, and answer honestly. This is also your opportunity to see if this programme suits you, so please ask us questions.

UK Auditions

We will also be holding auditions in London and Manchester for BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice in March 2020. Audition spaces are limited and are allocated on a first come, first served basis. For more information on our UK auditions, please e-mail our Admissions team at admissions@rcs.ac.uk.

Where	When
New York	TBC
Chicago	TBC

Last decision by	Your reply date is
3 January 2020	3 January 2020
16 March 2020	14 April 2020
14 July 2020	30 July 2020
4 August 2020	8 September 2020
After 4 August 2020	22 September 2020

BA Acting

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BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice

Introduction

BA Contemporary Performance Practice is for the rebel artist.*