Validated by University of East Anglia

Two years (Part-Time)

Mountview’s MA in Theatre for Community and Education is a creative and challenging exploration into the power of socially engaged theatre.

In a society where access to the arts is at risk of being marginalised, this course develops the next generation of interdisciplinary theatre practitioners who will lead the way in providing meaningful arts experiences that address social, political and educational issues in a broad range of settings.

The holistic programme invites creative reflection into the power of storytelling for social transformation, considering the role of arts in education, migration and exile, health and building communities. Students address complex issues in critical and creative ways, engaging with collaborative and reflective practice.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, including professionals working in youth, community and/or education settings and performers looking to develop and diversify their career.

Graduate Destinations

The course equips graduates for versatile and impactful careers both in the UK and internationally, and alumni have gone on to work in a range of areas including:

• Launching their own arts companies
• Leadership positions within major cultural organisations
• Workshop facilitators and practitioners in higher education environments
• Public sector positions related to youth participation
• Working on international arts-based programmes

Graduate destination organisations include: BBC, British Film Institute, British Youth Music Theatre, Bush Theatre, Clod Ensemble, Complicité, Creative Futures, Kindred Collectiv, Lambeth Council, Magpie Dance, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, The Northwall Arts Centre, Theatre Peckham, The Multistory Orchestra, Turtle Key Art, Wales Millenium Centre, West End in Schools and Westway School of Performing Arts.

Course Leader and Guest Practitioners

Maria Askew, Head of MA Theatre for Community and Education

The course is led by Maria Askew, an award-winning theatre director, facilitator and performing artist, alongside a range of highly experienced practitioners and visiting tutors. Lecturers hold expertise in a variety of areas such as applied theatre, co-creation, youth led work, dramatherapy, critical consciousness, marketing and communications, international politics, funding community projects, and theatre in the criminal justice system.

You can read an interview with Maria Askew and other course tutors here.

Teaching is also delivered by representatives from a range of world class organisations such as Clean Break, Brixton House, Unicorn Theatre, Turtle Key Arts, Access all Areas, Clod Ensemble and Candoco Dance Company.

Guest practitioners include:

• Ameera Conrad
• Andrea Spisto
• Helen Tovey
• Lerato Islam
• Monique Baptiste Brown
• Rina Mushonga
• Saul Hewish

Guest lecturers listed are a sample of many practitioners and organisations you will work with on the course and are subject to change.

Course Content and Delivery

There is one day of in-person teaching each week, with one additional Friday and Saturday each term.

Throughout the course students develop skills in critical thinking, facilitating, devising, leading, producing, discussing and teaching creatively and imaginatively. Study involves workshops, lectures and seminars as well as independent collaborative and solo practice/research. Students are assigned weekly reading materials to digest course themes and engage in learning through independent study.

The course takes a dialogical approach to education and students are regarded as agents of their own learning. Reciprocal and collaborative learning is embedded into course practice. Students are provided with opportunities to design and lead practical workshops for one another, to bring topics for facilitated discussion with their Course Leader and to choose areas of focus for specific assessments, based on their interests and experiences.

Practical areas of study include:

• collaborative and ensemble techniques
• decolonial feminist approaches and anti-oppressive practices
• forum theatre
• arts for wellbeing
• ritual theatre
• trauma awareness
• devised theatre
• facilitating in multilingual multi-faith spaces
• inclusive practice
• ethics in artistic practice

Students gain practical experience running workshops in schools, both locally in the Peckham area and further afield – previous locations include Spain and Nigeria.

During students’ dissertation process, they can gain practical experience with professional organisations. Previously students have opted to participate in placements within a variety of world-class arts organisations such as Royal Court Theatre, Harris Academy Peckham, The Migration Museum, Springboard Youth Academy, Tate Modern and Theatre Peckham.

Assessments are varied and include essays, talks, education packs, presentations, and workshop samples.

Showcase

The final dissertation project is defined by the individuals’ specific area of interest and can be practice-based or written. Previous projects have involved collaboration with a range of communities and organisations, and research has been presented through a variety of mediums including workshop facilitation, performance, dance, educational toolkit and video content.

Previous project titles include:

• African Arts: Introducing Theatre to the Cultural and Creative Arts Curriculum, A Nigerian Case Study
• Creative Transformations in Dementia Care: Enhancing wellbeing for people with dementia through theatre and storytelling
• Feel Good Inc: Socially Prescribing arts-based workshops to build confidence and enhance wellbeing for young adults with invisible illnesses
• From Oppression to Healing: Dramatic practice for facilitating critical awareness and healthy relationships in young people
• Migration Monopoly’: Making sense of uneven migratory experiences with young people through arts
• School of Revolution: Facilitating socio-political consciousness and agency through theatre for young people in the classroom today
• The Dancing Classroom: Dance as a teaching mechanism and its integration into the UK curriculum
• “The Heroes We Didn’t Clap For: Lessons from Lockdown”. How arts-based approaches improved young people’s mental health during COVID-19
• ‘Who do you ride with?’: Transcending youth violence through theatre and arts in the West Midlands

This course will run subject to re-approval by the University of East Anglia (UEA). This means the course is currently going through UEA’s process to confirm the course will lead to a UEA award.  Course re-approval will take place in the Summer term 2024 and is expected to be confirmed by August 2024. All courses validated by UEA are revalidated every five years through this re-approval process.