Middlesex has a long-established reputation for excellence in the field of design and technical theatre. You’ll join our community of designers, scenographers, technicians and academics, with access to the same high-quality digital resources and technologies. Throughout this MA course you’ll understand how changing practice in theatre and related live and digital events is making the industry more sustainable, global and inclusive.
Our MA in Creative Theatre and Entertainment Technologies is designed in partnership with industry employers for anyone with an interest in developing their career as a designer or technician in the events and entertainment industries, taking advantage of fast-paced changes in industry practices to develop knowledge and skills that are in high demand for employers.
You are able to choose from a range of specialist areas, including lighting & sound design and programming, scenic design and engineering, video design & digital visualisation, production management and many more; and collaborate with peers working in other disciplines to create innovative and original work. As part of your study, you’ll also have the opportunity to undertake a work placement and/or industry focused project.
Integrate distance-learning into your own creative practice, including full access to industry standard software such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Vectorworks, Logic Pro and many more included in your fees.
Throughout this MA you will study current and emerging tools, methodologies, approaches and developments in creative technologies for theatre and live events. You will explore professional contexts for creative practitioners and technicians, including key employability and collaborative skills, as well as the key principles and approaches to design and scenography for theatre, events, live and digital performance. The course will address issues around sustainability, inclusivity and global collaboration in the arts and creative industries.
This module will introduce you to a range of Creative Theatre Technologies at the forefront of theatre production fields including set, stage lighting, sound design and video projection, and develop your skills and understanding of these technologies while examining ways in which they might be relevant to your own practice.
Through this module you will establish an individual methodology for researching and communicating ideas and concepts, responding to an industry brief to develop a conceptual design. You will extend your awareness of key practitioners and design principles while developing your research and presentation skills.
This module will enable you to examine your own professional practice within the field of Creative Theatre Technologies and the creative industries more broadly. You will engage with a specialist investigation via placement or mentorship which will build your professional profile and increase your employability profile.
This module builds on your developing knowledge and skills in Creative Theatre Technologies by facilitating you to work collaboratively with your peers to conceive and realise a full-scale digital design project, which will be delivered live or asynchronously for a remote audience.
Independent Studio Project functions as a practical dissertation, where you will propose and undertake a Practice-as-Research project relevant to your individual interests and specialist practice, and which demonstrates comprehensive awareness and sensitive integration of creative, technical, environmental, social and ethical issues and how these intersect and underpin contemporary artistic practice.
This is a practice-based distance learning course, offering flexibility for working practitioners across the world and in different time zones. You will be taught through a combination of live and recorded seminars, workshops, tutorials and supervisions (e.g. via video conferencing, online chats and other digital interaction), supported by online resources which you can access at your own pace, and 24/7 remote access to a range of specialist and industry-standard technologies and software’s.
This MA has no exams you will be assessed via 100% coursework. Each module will require a submission to the MA Creative Theatre and Entertainment Technologies online logbook to assess progress and build an ongoing resource, which you can refer to throughout and after your programme. The final practical dissertation module will be student-negotiated, offering a choice in the discipline, form and content of this final project. During the programme, you will develop your online logbook with supporting materials, demonstrations, presentations, websites, etc.
You can expect to progress to a career in theatre and live/digital events such as scenic design and engineering, design and programming for lighting, sound and video, technical and production management, live and digital events and performance-making, art direction, as well as parallel careers in related disciplines such as film, media, fashion and other creative industries.
A large number of graduates have gone on to pursue freelance careers as well as forming their own companies, collectives and arts organisations.
You’ll have lifelong access to the university’s careers service MDXworks, and employability and career-development is embedded at every stage of your programme, including the two Theatre Industry modules.
Creative careers are some of the most future-proof in the economy, and they account for 2.3 million jobs in the UK. (Source: Creative Industries Council). A recent Theatre Workforce Review commissioned by UK Theatre and SOLT revealed a shortage of skilled technical workers, especially outside of London.
Josephine Machon (she/her) is the author of Immersive Theatres: Intimacy and Immediacy in Contemporary Performance, and is one of the UK’s foremost writers and practitioners in the fields of immersive and contemporary performance. She works in close partnership with leading practitioners such as Punchdrunk.
Meg Cunningham (she/her) is an immersive designer whose practice spans theatre, installation and themed entertainment. Her projects include the Walking Dead attraction at Universal Studios, Hollywood and the Legitimate Peaky Blinders festival in Birmingham.
We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.
Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.
Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.
At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.
