Acting

Acting is at once one of the oldest and most rigorously contemporary of the performing arts. The discipline asks you to inhabit other people's lives convincingly, to understand motivation and emotion deeply enough to make them visible and truthful on stage or screen, and to do this consistently, in collaboration with directors and other performers, often under pressure and in physically and emotionally demanding conditions. Training in acting develops not just performance skills but self-knowledge, listening ability, physical awareness, and the capacity to be genuinely present in the moment.

At the University of Chester, this four-year programme includes a foundation year and a year abroad, making it accessible to students who want to build their performance skills and academic foundations before entering the main degree, while also giving you an international dimension during your studies. You will develop acting technique through studio practice, working across a range of styles and traditions from classical text to contemporary devised work. Voice, movement, and physical training are central to the curriculum, as is the study of dramatic theory and the history of performance.

The year abroad allows you to experience acting and theatre culture in a different context, broadening your understanding of what performance can be.

Careers for acting graduates range across performance, teaching, and the wider creative industries. Stage acting in theatre of all scales, screen acting in film and television, and voice work are the most direct destinations. Many graduates also move into directing, producing, community theatre and applied performance, drama facilitation in education and health settings, and writing.

The skills developed, including empathy, communication, collaboration, and the ability to engage and hold an audience, also transfer to roles in marketing, training, law, and public life. Postgraduate study in performance, applied theatre, or drama education is an option for those who want to specialise further.