Acting and Drama

Acting is a craft that asks you to inhabit other lives with truth, specificity, and commitment, communicating the inner life of characters through voice, body, and imagination in ways that engage audiences on stage and screen. Drama as a broader discipline extends that craft into the analysis, history, and theory of performance, asking how theatre has functioned across cultures and periods and what the making of performance tells us about human experience. Studying both together means you develop as both a practitioner and a thinker about theatre.

At Liverpool Hope University, this four-year, full-time programme includes a foundation year for those who need to build their academic and performance foundations before the main degree. The programme is designed to equip you with the skills, knowledge, and creativity to thrive on stage and screen, preparing you for the demands of professional acting across theatre and film contexts. It includes a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, all of which extend your professional experience and cultural exposure well beyond the studio and the classroom.

Graduates from acting and drama programmes pursue careers in professional theatre and screen performance, in applied theatre and community drama work, in arts education, and in the broader creative industries. Many graduates build portfolio careers combining performance with other creative work including directing, writing, and producing. The skills developed through acting training, including communication, empathy, resilience, collaboration, and the ability to present with confidence, are also valued in professions well beyond performance, including teaching, training, human resources, and public-facing communications roles.

Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in performance, directing, or drama education.