BA Production Arts and Design

You will be required to identify your chosen major study subject at the point of application and your interview experience will be tailored to this choice. The five major subjects are;

• Set Construction
• Scenic Art
• Props Construction
• Costume Construction
• Set & Costume Design

As well as an interview with two members of programme staff (approx. 30/40 minutes), you will also be offered a short tour of the Production Arts and Design facilities with a current student (15/20 mins)

At your interview, the panel will ask you about your previous experiences and your interests and hobbies and they will also want to discuss your portfolio and your response to the tasks (below).

It is important that you show us your previous work as well as your response to these tasks. Without this, we will not be able to proceed with the interview.

The interview process is designed to ensure that you have every opportunity to demonstrate a commitment to your specialist subject and evidence your experience of the performing arts. The interview also allows the panel to satisfy themselves that you have the potential to develop the relevant skills and qualities necessary to succeed both on a degree-level programme and ultimately in a highly competitive profession. This could include:

• Creative skills
• Technical skills
• Analytical and reflective skills
• Communication skills
• Collaborative skills
• An ability to work independently
• Professional standards

Candidates should bring all relevant work to the interview including their portfolio and, where relevant, examples of work such as costumes, small props, painted samples etc.

Prior to attending the interview (in-person or online), you are required to set up an Acceptd account and complete the tasks below:

It is important that you show us your previous work (portfolio) as well as your response to these tasks. Without this, we will not be able to proceed with the interview.

If you have not already done so, please set up an Acceptd account: https://app.getacceptd.com/rcs

• “About You” questionnaire (completed online via Acceptd)
• Upload a digitised version of your portfolio to Acceptd
• Production / Performance Presentation (See below)
• Creative Technical Response Project (See below)

These tasks must be completed A MINIMUM OF THREE WORKING DAYS in advance of the interview so that the panel can properly interrogate them in advance of your interview. You will be required to digitise this work and upload it to ‘Acceptd’.

The interview will focus primarily on the evidence you provide of your suitability for the programme and so we will need to see the following:

Each candidate is seen as an individual, and a holistic view is taken of your unique mix of qualities; therefore, the panel will be most interested to see any evidence of interests or experience to-date. Due to time restrictions, the panel will wish to see quality rather than quantity, so pick examples of your work that best illustrate your suitability for the programme. Your portfolio of work should evidence your suitability for study in you chosen specialism and take any form you chose. As well as evidence of the set tasks noted below, this could include:

• Physical examples of work
• Photographs of previous work
• Models (3D renderings, images, etc.)
• Technical drawings and ground plans
• Audio/video files
• Other relevant production documentation

You are asked to attend a performance of a production of your choice and be able to discuss your observations of this production with the panel. Ideally this should be a live production but, if this is not possible, a recorded or streamed stage production can be used.

This should be a recent professional production if possible but must not be one you have worked on. This may be an opportunity to challenge yourself by choosing a type of performance or venue that you have not experienced before. Remember we want to hear you talk about this so feel free to use notes to help you but do not write an essay to read out.

You should endeavour to give a clear account to the interview panel of the production elements such as the overall set & costume design, staging, costume, props, lighting, sound, and stage technology. Whilst an overview of the directing or performances is sometimes useful, this is not what we want you to focus on.

Remember that as a member of the audience your opinion is valid and should be used to comment on the overall effect of the production and whether there was any specific element that you personally liked or disliked. You may also be asked to comment on how you would have approached certain elements differently, given the chance.

It is often helpful to provide supplementary evidence of your visit such as publicity material or personal notes and sketches to illustrate a point.

Choose one of the following plays:

1. Cloud 9 – Caryl Churchill
2. Fences – August Wilson
3. Leave Taking – Winsome Pinnock
4. A View from the Bridge – Arthur Miller
5. Nine Night – Natasha Gordon
6. Cost of Living – Martyna Majok
7. ‘Master Harold’….and the Boys – Athol Fugard
8. Translations – Brian Friel
9. Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off  -  Liz Lochhead
10. Topdog/Underdog – Suzan-Lori Parks

Source a copy of the script and study it with a view to communicating how you would address the production elements of this play relevant to your chosen major study subject (you do not necessarily need to cover the whole play).

Assessment of this project is based on your ability to apply yourself to a given task and your ability to discuss and demonstrate practical and creative solutions to the production challenges.

What you need to do:

You should consider this task in relation to your identified major study subject and the design and/or practical staging challenges raised by the script for that area.

• Production Arts applicants should research previous productions and use existing designs to facilitate this task rather than spending unnecessary time on the design itself.
• Scenic construction applicants should consider the potential set building and possible methods / materials of construction.
• Scenic art applicants should consider the possible paint finishes they want to achieve and how they might do this.
• Props construction applicants should consider any potential for prop makes and how they might create these.
• Costume construction applicants should consider the potential costume makes and how they might create these.
• Set and Costume Design applicants should provide physical evidence of design solutions by means of a model box, costume designs and other related drawings. This should be accompanied by evidence of your ideas and the development of your designs.