Bachelor of Creative Arts - PERFORMANCE (THEATRE)

Course Description

The Performance (Theatre) program in the Bachelor of Creative Arts (BCA) degree at the University of Wollongong offers specialist streams in dramaturgy, interpretative theatre and devised theatre/writing for performance.

The aim of the Performance (Theatre) major is to develop a practice-based understanding of collaborative theatrical processes. Practical classes cover a wide spectrum of theatre skills including voice (speech and singing), movement, dance, production techniques and improvisation.

For first year students, on-stage performance consists of scene work and in-house projects. In second year students perform in black box projects (simple production value performances). Students in first and second year may also engage in creative roles for senior year productions.
In third year students perform to a wider audience at any of the theatres on campus, or at other Illawarra Performing Arts theatres in Wollongong as the program maintains close associations with regional organisations. It may also be possible for students to undertake a secondment within the theatre industry in either Wollongong or Sydney.

Students enrolling in the BCA and BCA double degrees are required to complete:

1. A Major Area of Study in the BCA
The major study is comprised of compulsory subjects which focus on practice and includes compulsory history and theory subjects.

and for students enrolled in a BCA double degree only:

A major area of study in the second degree (for information, please refer to the other Faculty from which the second degree will be taken).

2. Elective Subjects
In addition to subjects required for their major study area/s, students choose elective subjects which make up the total credit point requirement for the degree/s. A limited range of electives are offered by the Faculty of Creative Arts. However, students are encouraged to take advantage of the full range of subjects offered within the University. Please note that elective subjects may be limited in double degree programs.

Degree Structure

Each subject is allocated a credit point value. Generally, subjects that take a full year to complete (annual subjects) are valued at 12 credit points, while subjects undertaken for one session (sessional subjects) are, on average, valued at 6 credit points. Normally a full-time student undertakes 48 credit points per year. Thus a degree requiring 144 credit points, such as the BCA, will normally takethree years to complete (3 x 48 credit points).

Compulsory subjects (totalling 108 credit points) are required for a major study in Performance (Theatre).

The course structure of the Bachelor of Creative Arts - Performance (Theatre) is currently under review. Please contact the Faculty of Creative Arts for further details.

The following is a brief example of how the course will be structured:

First year

12 credit points of Performance Techniques

12 credit points of Skills

12 credit points of Theory

Second year

12 credit points of Performance Techniques

12 credit points of Skills

12 credit points of Theory

Third year

12 credit points of Performance Techniques

12 credit points of Skills

12 credit points of Theory

Single degree BCA students must also include 36 credit points of electives in their degree of which no more than 18 credit points should be at 100 level.