BA Drama Queen's University Belfast

Drama at Queen’s combines history, theory and practice in an integrated and multidisciplinary approach, to discover why and how theatre works. Performance workshops and productions enable students to draw upon their reading of literary, cultural, historical and sociological studies to inform their practical understanding of performance. Students are also required to attend professional performances, and benefit from our exceptional links with the theatre sector in Northern Ireland and beyond. Visiting professionals lead workshops in specialist areas.

Drama Degree Highlights

Global Opportunities

Queen's University Belfast is committed to providing a range of international opportunities to its students during their degree programme. Details of this provision are currently being finalised and will be available from the University website once confirmed.

Industry Links

Students have the opportunity to undertake a work placement in Year 3. This is a significant learning and employability enhancement opportunity. Drama at Queen’s has unparalleled links with the local theatre sector and collaborates extensively with leading arts organisations and theatre companies, such as the Lyric Theatre, Prime Cut Productions, Kabosh, Tinderbox and Bruiser theatre companies as well as Belfast Festival and the Linen Hall Library, all of whom have helped us develop a vital professional practice dimension as part of our overall provision.

World Class Facilities

Our main teaching space, the Brian Friel Theatre (www.brianfrieltheatre.co.uk), is one of the best-equipped theatres in Belfast with a 120-seat studio theatre, rehearsal room, dressing rooms, green room and workshop, housed in the Drama and Film
Centre which also comprises the Queen’s Film Theatre.

Internationally Renowned Experts

Our staff expertise encompasses both professional and scholarly aspects of Drama and theatre practice, with many of our team acknowledged internationally as experts working at the cutting edge of research in their fields. Our Chair of Drama, Professor Richard Schoch, is a leading scholar of Shakespeare engaged in research collaborations with the Folger Library and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. Richard has won various awards including the 2013 Oscar Brockett Essay Prize from the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) and his books have been shortlisted for the Barnard Hewitt Award (ASTR) and the Theatre Book Prize (Society for Theatre Research, UK).

Student Experience

Extracurricular performance opportunities are offered by the Tyrone Guthrie Society and the student Drama Society, which have taken productions to student festivals in Ireland and the UK. Productions have also been taken to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and to festivals in Belgium and Italy.

Studying for a Drama degree at Queen’s will assist you in developing the core skills and employment-related experiences that are valued by employers, professional organisations and academic institutions.

Employment after the Course

Graduates from this degree at Queen’s are well regarded by many employers and over half of all graduate jobs are now open to graduates of any discipline. Many students also apply the skills they develop through the degree entrepreneurially to create their own work opportunities and the University runs a number of extracurricular programmes in entrepreneurship.

Although the majority of our graduates are interested in pursuing careers in the theatre or in teaching, significant numbers develop careers in a wide range of other sectors. Graduates of Drama at Queen’s have gone on to work in professional theatre locally in Northern Ireland and throughout Great Britain and across the world, for example on the production of the recent JK Rowling play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on both the West End and Broadway, and on a number of film and TV productions including Game of Thrones.

Course Structure

Learning and Teaching

On the BA in Drama we provide a range of learning experiences which enable our students to engage with subject experts, develop attributes and perspectives that will equip them for life and work in a global society and make use of innovative technologies and a world class library that enhances their development as independent, lifelong learners. Examples of the opportunities provided for learning on this course are:

E-Learning Technologies

Information associated with lectures and assignments is often communicated via a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called Canvas. A range of e-learning experiences are also embedded in the degree through, for example: interactive group workshops in a flexible learning space; podcasts and interactive web-based learning activities; opportunities to use IT programmes associated with design in practicals and project- based work etc.

Lectures

Introduce basic information about new topics as a starting point for further self-directed private study/reading. Lectures also provide opportunities to ask questions, gain some feedback and advice on assessments (normally delivered in large groups to all year group peers).

Personal Tutor

Undergraduates are allocated a Personal Tutor during Years 1, 2 and 3 who meets with them on several occasions during the year to support their academic development.

Practicals

Where you will have opportunities to develop technical skills and apply theoretical principles to real-life or practical contexts. You will be expected to attend two practical workshops per week for modules DRA1003 and DRA1004.

Professionally Directed Theatre Production

In Year 2 students are able to participate either as actors or in a production role in a professionally directed theatre production.

Self-directed study

This is a vital part of life as a Queen’s student when important private reading, engagement with e-learning resources, reflection on feedback to date and assignment research and preparation work is carried out.

Seminars/tutorials

Significant amounts of teaching are carried out in small groups (typically 10-20 students). These provide the opportunity for students to engage with academic staff who have specialist knowledge of the topic, to ask questions of them and to assess their own progress and understanding with the support of peers. You should also expect to make presentations and other contributions to these groups.

Supervised Projects

In Year 3, you will have the opportunity to carry out a significant piece of research or a practical production on a topic or practical methodology that you have chosen. You will receive support from a supervisor who will guide you in terms of how to carry out your research or production and will provide feedback to you on at least two occasions.

Work placements

Students have the opportunity to undertake a work placement in Year 3. This is a significant learning and employability enhancement opportunity

Assessment

Details of assessments associated with this course are outlined below:

Assessment is by performance, presentations, and written coursework. There are no end of semester examinations in Drama. The way in which you are assessed will vary according to the Learning Objectives of each module. Details of how each module is assessed are shown in the Module Outline Document which is provided to all students.

Feedback

As students progress through their course at Queen’s they will receive general and specific feedback about your work from a variety of sources including lecturers, module co-ordinators, placement supervisors, personal tutors, advisers of study and your peers. University students are expected to engage with reflective practice and to use this approach to improve the quality of their work. Feedback may be provided in a variety of forms including:

• Feedback provided via formal written comments and marks relating to work that you, as an individual or as part of a group, have submitted.
• Face to face comment. This may include occasions when you make use of the lecturers’ advertised “office hours” to help you to address a specific query.
• Placement employer comments or references.
• Online or emailed comment.
• General comments or question and answer opportunities at the end of a lecture, seminar or tutorial.
• Pre-submission advice regarding the standards you should aim for and common pitfalls to avoid. In some instances, this may be provided in the form of model answers or exemplars which you can review in your own time.
• Feedback and outcomes from practical classes.
• Comment and guidance provided by staff from specialist support services such as, Careers, Employability and Skills or the Learning Development Service.
• Once you have reviewed your feedback, you are encouraged to identify and implement further improvements to the quality of your work.