Drama at USW is rated top in Wales for overall satisfaction, learning opportunities, academic support. (NSS 2023)

CREATIVE CARDIFF

Cardiff is the hub of Theatre, TV, and Film production in Wales, and the UK’s third largest media cluster. The City offers many opportunities to watch, discuss, and contribute to work being made while you study. Students have worked on award winning shows such as ‘His Dark Materials’ (BBC), ‘Industry’ (HBO), and Sex Education (Netflix) as part of our commitment to support clear and sustainable career routes. Partnerships with theatre venues, producers, and community organisations offer opportunities in live performance, and applied arts. By graduation, you’ll have the skills for a wide range of pathways in the creative sector.

Performance in practice

Our Performance courses are all designed to provide you with the skills, confidence and support to create and deliver great performances. Theatre and Drama students devise and deliver drama workshops in partnership with community arts organisations, while our Performance and Media students create ground-breaking work across a wide range of media platforms, from online content to motion capture. Our partnerships with arts organisations across the region mean that we work on the ground on arts development projects with young people at all levels, from grassroots to professional theatre companies.

Closer to home, students can put their role-play and improv skills to the test by supporting USW student nurses, psychologists and police trainees during ‘blue light’ exercises that simulate major incidents.

Industry engagement

Industry partners contribute to the development, and delivery of our courses. They host work placements, direct productions, give masterclasses, and co-deliver public projects. Operating in variety of settings their expertise includes: Inclusive theatre (Hijinx, Taking flight), Welsh language theatre (Frân Wen), Participation & Engagement (yello brick), Community Development (Valleys Kids), Producing & arts management (Sherman Theatre, Riverfront Newport), Skills & career development (Screen Alliance Wales, Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival), Applied arts (Wales Arts Health & Wellbeing Network).

Learn from our experts

Our staff are industry-recognised and internationally respected academics, and creatives. They create world leading research, publish books, write scripts, direct, film, choreograph, and perform for stage and screen. The insights, expertise, networks of staff are shared with you through practical, and applied teaching throughout your studies.

On campus you will have access to our 160 seat theatre, studio theatres, rehearsal rooms, TV studio & control room, podcasting facilities, and innovation labs (virtual production and immersive theatre). As you learn how to use industry standard equipment, you will collaborate on public productions gaining skills and experiences to build your CV.

Theatre and performance graduates work in a broad range of roles such as: Performers, Directors, Producers, Show-runners, Researchers, Stage managers, Lighting designers, Artistic Directors, Scriptwriters, Community Artists, Creative Practitioners, Workshop facilitators, Drama teachers, and Videographers.