A Guide for Prospective Candidates - Master of Arts (Theatre Performance)
Course Overview
The Master of Arts (Theatre Performance) by 100% research offers the opportunity to combine creative output with practice-based research. This can take a variety of forms including plays, productions, films or musicals. Students will be required to develop and present a live performance in a public venue and submit a critical commentary. The performance will normally be 50 - 60 minutes and the commentary 10,000 - 15,000 words. The equivalent combined word total is 35,000 - 40,000 words. The performance will normally be in directing, theatre making, dramatic writing or theatre design. It will embody the results of the research, including the contexts, theoretical influences, aesthetic elements and performance making processes of the project. The critical commentary will be an explication and analysis of the performance research project and will address methodological and theoretical issues that arise during the research investigation.
Entry Requirements
The minimum qualifications for admission to 100% research masters candidature are:
- a four year Australian or New Zealand bachelors degree with an overall result of H2A or above (normally with a research component in the fourth year) or
- an Australian or New Zealand masters preliminary qualification with a significant research component and with an overall result of H2A or above or
- an Australian or New Zealand coursework masters degree with a significant research component graded at Distinction or above, and an overall result of Distinction or above or
- an Australian or New Zealand research masters degree with an overall result of H2A or above or
- a qualification considered equivalent to one of the above.
An applicant's degree must be in Theatre or Performing Arts or related discipline, or the equivalent, which would normally be an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline and substantial documented professional experience.
Applying
All applicants must submit an Expression of Interest form to the faculty PRIOR to submitting an application which will include the following:
1. A representative selection of the candidate's performance work, in the practice genre in which the candidate proposes to work
2. A research proposal of 2-3 pages addressing the following headings:
- Research question
- Background to the research
- Aims of the research
- Methodologies of the research
- Examples of comparative practice as research and associated literature
- Proposed structure of the performance project
3. A covering letter explaining the candidate's interest in the degree and a C.V. outlining the candidate's professional interests, previous performance projects, and publications if any.
Note that work submitted in the portfolio for admission may not be part of the thesis submitted for examination.
Applications are accepted at any time of the year.