Screen Performance

Screen performance is a specialist discipline concerned with the specific craft of acting for camera, film, and television. While theatre performance and screen acting share fundamental principles of character, intention, and truthful behaviour, screen performance demands a particular responsiveness to the camera, an understanding of how performance is captured, cut, and assembled in editing, and the ability to work effectively within the technical constraints and collaborative dynamics of a film or television set. The discipline develops not just acting skill but the professional fluency to work confidently in front of the camera across a range of genres and formats.

At the University of Sunderland this part-time programme allows you to develop your screen performance skills at a pace that fits around other commitments. The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to encounter different acting traditions and screen performance cultures in an international context. You will develop a wide range of performance skills oriented specifically towards television and film, including audition technique, working with directors, understanding shot types and continuity, and performing in studio and location environments.

The programme develops the self-awareness and professional versatility needed for a media career in front of the camera.

You will develop technical acting skills, camera awareness, self-direction, the ability to take direction responsively, and the professional discipline that sustained screen work requires.

Graduates pursue careers as actors in film, television, online content, and related performance contexts, as well as in presenting, voice work, motion capture, and community arts. Many also work as drama facilitators, arts educators, and directors. Postgraduate study in screen acting, screen arts, or applied drama is a natural continuation for those seeking further specialist training.