Foundation Degree qualification
Accredited by the National Council for Drama Training
Validated by the University of Kent
This intense two year acting training is for students whose previous experience at university or professional acting enables them to train at a quicker pace. Concentrating on process and development, this course nurtures students’ versatility as actors and prepares them to gain and sustain employment in the industry.
The course leads to a Foundation Degree. Click here for further information on the qualification.
Course Content
Year One
Technical classes represent 60% of the course content in the first year. Students undertake classes in acting, improvisation, voice, movement, singing, textual analysis and interpretation, Alexander Technique, physical theatre, dance and stage combat. Many of these classes focus on developing intuition and instinct.
Workshop performances cover Jacobean, Restoration, Russian naturalism and contemporary texts; they are closed to the public to encourage exploration and experimentation.
Television and film work begins at the end of the first year with an intensive introduction to screen acting.
Students also embark on their New Writing Project, which continues for the length of their course. Unique to LAMDA, it introduces students to a professional writer and director with whom they create a new play to perform publicly during their final year. Previous collaborators include Doug Lucie, Josie Rourke and Steve Waters.
Year Two
In the first term, technical classes concentrate on disciplines and skills specific to the contemporary performance industry, including screen acting, radio and microphone technique.
Students train with professional directors, editors and sound and camera operators to better understand the rigours of working in film and television. They also make their own short films and have screen audition practice.
During the remainder of the year, students perform public productions at The LAMDA Linbury Studio and in other professional London venues as part of our LAMDA at Large initiative (see pages 34-35). Some of these productions transfer to theatres elsewhere in the UK and Europe.
Technical classes support students throughout the final stages of their training.
Professional Preparation
Agents and casting directors are invited to attend all public productions. In addition, students present an industry showcase in a West End theatre each year. Those eligible to work in the USA are able to participate in LAMDA’s showcases in New York and Los Angeles.
Students attend lectures, master classes and open auditions with visiting industry professionals. Career guidance is provided by LAMDA’s careers team and an independentindustry consultant, Sarah Trevis.