MA Applied Theatre

University of East London

The MA in Applied Theatre is a practice focused course exploring how socially-turned performance can be enacted for social justice. If you want to use performance for social action, education, or cultural intervention, this course offers the critical, social and creative tools to do so. The MA Applied Theatre is for those who are excited by the potential of performance to address social change in the areas of race, class, gender, economy, migration, health and ecology.The programme will:Develop your practices and ethics in socially-engaged performance contextsGive you the opportunity to facilitate and create live projects in non-theatre environments with diverse communities.Expand your understanding of social performance through workshops with experts in the field.Prepare you to plan, deliver and evaluate your own projects and, to deepen your critical understanding of the social contexts and cultural politics of your work.You will develop skills for composing and realising participatory arts projects that set-in-train dialogues in local communities; pedagogic and facilitation practices; collaborative skills in live projects; and, methods for cultural action.You will work practically with practitioners and companies through placements, reconsider definitions of performance in terms of how and where it takes place and be able to identify critical contemporary moments where the immediacy of performance can be used as a response.You'll be taught by a range of staff including professional practitioners and by experts who disseminate through publication. You will be prepared to plan, deliver and evaluate your own projects and, to deepen your understanding of the social contexts and cultural politics of your work.This programme will prepare you for a variety of careers in socially engaged theatre-making. Graduates will work in the creative industries through arts outreach or in social fields where creative interventions are supported such as health, care, and shelter via charities or in local government. Graduates are also encouraged to design and fund their own partnerships with communities and to pursue PhD study.