Celebrating the past in the present...

Our second in the series of drama at higher education blogs...thanks to Alex...

Alex Palmer - Studying Drama at the University of Exeter.

My experience of studying drama has been brilliant. The course here in Exeter has a great divide between the academic/ theory based work (which is normally one lecture and then a follow-up seminar a week) and then practical work which is structured into 3 three hour long sessions. 

The beauty of the course here is that no matter if you are interested in the theory or the practice, they are never very far away from each other. When you are in a lecture learning about a practitioner, you are thinking also about putting the theory into practice on stage or in a session. Also, whilst in a practical session you are always thinking about the theory behind what you are doing.

The course gives a great grounding in all sorts of theatre practices. You learn pretty much all the influential practitioners of the 20^th and 21^st century. Also, you learn how to analyse performance – which was especially exciting for me as I have aims of becoming a director. And this is just first year! But it’s not all theory! The diverse range of staff here offer so many choices in what you want to do practically!

Not only do you get a broad choice of modules because the department is so large, you also are assured that they are going to be quality as the staff at Exeter are world-leaders at what they do.

No matter what you want to go into the course is so broad and you have the option to keep it broad, or choose your modules (in year 2+3) specifically tailored to you. From the degree, people have gone onto be TV presenters, journalists, directors, producers, and practitioners or have got in to drama school. What attracted me to the course specifically was the amount of theatre companies that came out of the course and the societies. Companies such as ‘PunchDrunk’ (an immersive theatre company), ‘Wrights and Sites’ (a site specific theatre company) and ‘Theatre Alibi’ (mainly working with children’s theatre).

The societies also have a lot to offer, even if you’re not studying drama, anyone can get involved. There is a ‘Writers Bloc’ where you can decide to write, direct or perform in an original piece of work – performed to the public every fortnight. (this is really easy to get involved with!) There is also a ‘COMPROV’ night based at the Bike Shed theatre, run by Exeter students, which is an improvisational comedy night held once a month. And there are obviously the theatre companies (societies) that anyone can get involved with; the biggest being EUTCo (Exeter University Theatre Company) and they put on straight plays that are played to the paying public at the Northcott Theatre (Exeter’s biggest theatre) – with EUTCo you can do pretty much anything from perform, to direct, to stage management, to producing, to painting the set!

You are never far away from theatre and performance in Exeter, you can choose how much or how little you want to throw yourself into things, the department is great and the societies and opportunities for students is superb!