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Different course options

Study mode

Full time

Duration

1 year

Start date

SEP-25

Key information
DATA SOURCE : IDP Connect

Qualification type

MA - Master of Arts

Subject areas

Music Performance / Playing

Course Summary

MA Writer-Performer-Producer helps you to push the boundaries of comedy writing and performance, and develop the skills required to create and perform your own, innovative work.

The course has been created as a stepping stone into commercial performing arts careers as advised by industry organisations that are part of the new talent supply chain. MA Writer-Performer-Producer teaches students how to develop their own content by writing scripts they can star in, whether it is a short film for narrowcast, a half-hour TV comedy pilot, an hour-long TV drama or a feature length play or film.

What to expect

  • Find your voice as a writer-performer: You'll hone your skills in both writing and performance to discover your own distinctive comedy voice.
  • Create: Develop memorable new comic characters to showcase your performing skills.
  • Navigate the industry: Learn how to seize – and create – professional opportunities for yourself as a writer/performer.
  • Portfolio: You will create a portfolio of performance and writing across media.
  • Stress-test your character development: Learn to enhance your writing and performance skills, through public scratch nights.
  • Showcase: Put your talents on show for industry at the end of your course.
  • Access to Wimbledon's shared spaces.

You will be taught across your units by industry professionals within broadcast departments, production houses and agency networks. They will work with you to build and hone your skills and develop your self-penned performance work so youre industry-ready by the end of the course. Youll benefit from guest lectures and workshops from a range of leading industry professionals: established writer/performers, producers, agents, directors and commissioners.

Modules

This unit will develop your skills as a live performer, focusing on playful and improvisational approaches for the creation of new performance and characters. Studio workshops examine and cultivate students’ approaches to character development, fostering a playful, creative and supportive environment in which to test new work.

Performances are tested at a series of public scratch nights that run alongside the unit, giving performers an opportunity to try out and develop original performance work in front of audiences. By the end of this unit, you will have developed a 10-minute solo character performance through a combination of workshop sessions, scratch nights, tutor and peer feedback and independent study.

Tuition fees

UK fees
Course fees for UK students

For this course (per year)

£14,000

International fees
Course fees for EU and international students

For this course (per year)

£29,990

Entry requirements

The standard minimum entry requirements for this course are:

  • BA (Hons) degree in either humanities or performance disciplines, including creative writing, script and theatre/media production
  • Alternative qualifications and experience will also be taken into consideration
  • Personal statement
  • Portfolio of written work and/or evidence of performing. This may include a writing sample or comic monologue performance.

 

Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:

  • related academic or work experience – for instance experience producing comedic scripts, stand-up comedy experience or other practical examples of engaging with the discipline
  • the quality of the personal statement
  • a strong academic or other professional reference
  • a combination of these factors.

University information

University of the Arts London (UAL) is one of the world’s leading and most prestigious arts universities, maintaining an internationally renowned list of alumni. Located in London, it is ideally positioned for students wishing to study a postgraduate qualification and gain valuable connections to a thriving creative sector. UAL ranks in the top 30 universities in the UK (Complete University Guide, 2025). With modern campus sites spread across...more