What are the opportunities and challenges of making theatre in the C21st? How can an academic appreciation of drama assist in the creation of theatre? What skills can the theatre scholar bring to the industry?
The MA Theatre programme aims to provide perspective on contemporary performance, with a focus upon dramaturgy and the importance of bringing together critical-thinking and creative practice. This approach aims to enhance career prospects by preparing students for a variety of roles. Whether your interests lie in playwriting, making theatre for young audiences, theatre research, or theatre reviewing, the programme offers the opportunity to explore a range of approaches to engaging with the theatre arts. The programme is part of the School of Creative Arts, which is itself housed in the Lincoln Arts Centre, a dynamic creative hub for artists and theatre-makers, in the heart of the city.
Optionality is a key feature of the programme within the structure of the MA, as students can choose a bespoke pathway through the programme with optional modules in Semester B and Semester C. Within the modules themselves, students can engage with a particular mode of assessment that is most suited to their interests and planning for their future career.
A focus upon dramaturgy, critical thinking, and creative practice
Designed to prepare students for a variety of roles and career options
Explore a range of approaches to engaging with the theatre arts
Take bespoke pathways through the programme with optional modules
MA Theatre is taught across the academic year through lectures, seminars, group workshops, and blended-learning strategies. It uses facilities including the performance studios of Lincoln Arts Centre, the University's online learning platform Blackboard, and the latest digital technologies, allowing the School to engage diverse learners through a variety of means.
Between scheduled sessions, students are expected to engage in self-directed study, supported by academic staff. This includes reading and responding to allocated and autonomously researched journal articles, book chapters, and relevant journalism, as well as watching video content and engaging with other materials, often suggested or made accessible through each module's online learning site. Students can also undertake regular formative assignments that are not assessed as part of their final grade, but are designed to have significant benefits to their learning.
Weekly contact hours on this programme may vary depending on the individual modules and the stage of study. Postgraduate-level study also involves a significant proportion of independent study exploring the material covered in lectures and seminars. As a general guide, for every hour spent in class, students are expected to spend at least four to five hours in independent study.
Why are critical skills important within contemporary theatre-making contexts? In what ways might those skills feed into theatre-making processes? How might we market ourselves as critical theatre-makers to attract the interest of arts-based educational institutes, organisations and industries? And how might we contribute meaningfully to the work of such bodies?
This module provides opportunities to apply critical practice to creative processes in mutually beneficial ways.
What features characterise contemporary theatre and performance practices? What factors have shaped their development in comparative national and international contexts? How have theatre and performance responded to contemporary society? What are the key issues facing arts practitioners and institutions today? And which theoretical frameworks might help us to understand the contemporary landscapes of theatre and performance?
This module examines these questions by offering a range of perspectives on performance from experts within and beyond the University of Lincoln.
How can we deepen our approaches to research? How might deep and specific approaches to research enrich the critical and creative work that we produce? What are the distinctions and overlaps between various research methodologies and the different final projects that they are capable of producing?
This module provides opportunities to see research practices anew: as creative and intellectual stimuli, and as integral to the production of original work.
What do different professional, cultural and theoretical contexts lend to our understanding of theatre? How might we analyse a piece of theatre deeply and communicate that deep knowledge in a range of ways? How might we write about theatre with clarity and precision for different readers?
This module examines and puts into practice a range of professional modes of writing about theatre: as scholars, as critics and as theatre-makers.
How do we write for theatre? How do we perform writing and how does our writing perform? How does what we write reflect who we are and the world in which we live? How might we give voice to the unspoken and speak truth to power? How might we find the words that events make us speak? How might words paint a thousand pictures?
Taking questions such as these, students have the chance to write a new piece of theatre and reflect on that process with a view to becoming a critical theatre-maker.
Making Theatre for Young Audiences challenges students to discover and develop –through studio-based, collaborative making –the fundamental methodologies of their own unique artistic practices, leading to a full-length performance at a professional venue.Making Theatre for Young Audiences aims to help students answer the following questions of their practice: • How can we explore and extend the boundaries of contemporary TYA performance making? • What are the significant conceptual and methodological questions that arise through making? • What does it mean to collaborate? What are the ethics and aesthetics of the ensemble? • How can practical methodologies be developed through studio practice to deliver a venue-based performance for young audiences?
This module gives students the opportunity to pursue a self-initiated Practice as Research project, based on an area of their choice, resulting in a piece of practical work and a critical reflection. Working under the supervision of a member of staff, each student undertakes a project which may be informed by their experience on the course. Their Practice as Research Project should demonstrate a deep understanding of the issues central to their chosen subject.
This module gives students the opportunity to pursue a research project, based on an area of their choice, resulting in a conventional dissertation taking the form of an extended piece of academic writing.
Working under the supervision of a member of staff, each student undertakes a project which may be informed by their experience on the course. Their Research Project should demonstrate a deep understanding of the issues central to their chosen subject.
† Some courses may offer optional modules. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by staff availability.
We want you to have all the information you need to make an informed decision on where and what you want to study. In addition to the information provided on this course page, our What You Need to Know page offers explanations on key topics including programme validation/revalidation, additional costs, and contact hours.
Modules draw upon an innovative range of assessment methods, including written essay, critical portfolio, script writing exercises, digital blog, funding form, prospective journal article, project pitch, panel discussion, individual and group presentation, and/or focused practical workshop or performance. Student progress is subject to continuous assessments on all modules in the programme in addition to final as-sessed outputs.
Assessment focuses on the demonstration of practical and theoretical engagement with research; articulation and demonstration of knowledge regarding a wide range of theatre performance; critical enquiry and analysis; and contextualising students' own work and the work of others within the field of historical or contemporary performance practice and scholarship.
Students on the MA Theatre play an active role in choosing the focus and, in some cases, even the modes of their assessments in consultation with relevant module tutors and in ways that align with their individual career goals.
MA Theatre benefits from the School’s association with the Lincoln Arts Centre, and the School is housed in the centre's building on campus. Lincoln Arts Centre is a public arts centre which attracts both professional companies and promotes the in-house work of the students and staff within the School community. Students on the MA Theatre course can enjoy the opportunity to contribute to the seasonal programme of the Lincoln Arts Centre.
The MA degree allowed me to appreciate and explore my discipline from a range of different forms and approaches which was extremely enjoyable and provided a challenging yet fruitful study experience. The opportunity to present our plays to a public facing audience among the company of professional playwrights was simply invaluable and is an experience that will stick with me for life.
Kate Newman
MA Theatre
The core work-based learning module, Dramaturgy in Practice, offers a choice of three placement pathways (industry, pedagogy, or online) giving students the opportunity to engage with artistic works in progress through placements in the industry regionally; with drama lecturers on practical undergraduate modules; or through digital collaborations. A list of possible placement hosts will be provided, but students are welcome to source their own. It will be up to students to liaise with their host, negotiate how they will work with them, and cover additional travel costs incurred.
Postgraduate Application Support
Applying for a postgraduate programme at Lincoln is easy. Find out more about the application process and what you'll need to complete on our How to Apply page. Here, you'll also be able to find out more about the entry requirements we accept and how to contact us for dedicated support during the process.
Applicants may be asked to attend an interview in person, via telephone, or online. Written evidence may be required in the form of a recent 500 word sample of critical or creative writing. It is expected that prospective candidates will have researched the course and be prepared to speak about it. Please contact the Programme Leader for further information: Dr Kelly Jones (kejones@lincoln.ac.uk).
Second class honours degree or above or equivalent professional experience. Professional experience in the industry might include five years as a theatre-maker playwright or working in the theatre industry.
If you have studied outside of the UK, and are unsure whether your qualification meets the above requirements, please visit our country pages for information on equivalent qualifications:
https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/entryrequirementsandyourcountry/
Overseas students will be required to demonstrate English language proficiency equivalent to IELTS 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each element. For information regarding other English language qualifications we accept, please visit the English Requirements page:
If you do not meet the above IELTS requirements, you may be able to take part in one of our Pre-session English and Academic Study Skills courses. These specialist courses are designed to help students meet the English language requirements for their intended programme of study.
You will need to have funding in place for your studies before you arrive at the University. Our fees vary depending on the course, mode of study, and whether you are a UK or international student. You can view the breakdown of fees for this programme below.
The University offers a range of merit-based, subject-specific, and country-focused scholarships for UK and international students. To help support students from outside of the UK, we offer a number of international scholarships which range from £1,000 up to the value of 50 per cent of tuition fees. For full details and information about eligibility, visit our scholarships and bursaries pages.
Postgraduate Funding Options
Find out more about the optional available to support your postgraduate study, from Master's Loans to scholarship opportunities. You can also find out more about how to pay your fees and access support from our helpful advisors.
Theatre graduates from this programme have gone on to work in the theatre industry in areas such as writing, devising, performing, dramaturgy, and otherwise making theatre. Graduates have formed theatre companies and worked with arts venues, either in administration, marketing, or backstage. Some have gone on to postgraduate research to become lecturers in further and higher education.
At the start of the programme, each student will be allocated a personal tutor who will be an academic member of staff within the School. Your personal tutor will provide a consistent point of contact throughout your time on the course and will meet with you at various points throughout the year to discuss your academic progress and to support you as you plan your postgraduate and career pathways.
For more information about this course, please contact the Programme Leader.
Mr Teo Ghil
tghil@lincoln.ac.uk
To get a real feel for what it is like to study at the University of Lincoln, we hold a number of dedicated postgraduate events and activities throughout the year for you to take part in.
