Acting and Performance

Acting and performance is the study and practice of one of the most ancient and vital of human arts. Theatre and performance have served as vehicles for communal storytelling, political commentary, psychological exploration, and the celebration of human experience across cultures and throughout recorded history. Training as an actor means developing your body, voice, imagination, and psychological sensitivity as instruments of creative expression, learning to inhabit other lives with authenticity and to connect with audiences in ways that are immediate, powerful, and real.

At Sheffield Hallam University, this programme includes a foundation year and is offered on a part-time basis, making it accessible to students who are balancing their training with other commitments, including those who are already working in related fields. The part-time structure allows you to develop your practice more gradually, which suits the deeply reflective and iterative nature of serious acting training. The programme is located within Sheffield's Creative Industries Quarter, which gives it direct access to a vibrant professional creative environment, with extensive links to local and regional partners across theatre, film, television, and the wider performance sector.

You will immerse yourself in the world of acting and performance, collaborating with peers, developing critical skills, and showcasing your work as part of your preparation for professional life.

Sheffield has a strong creative and cultural ecology, and the programme benefits from proximity to a range of professional producing organisations and performance venues that give students access to professional contexts from early in their training.

Graduates work as actors across theatre, film, television, and radio, and in related performance roles including physical theatre, movement direction, and community drama. Many combine performance with teaching, arts facilitation, and other creative work. Postgraduate study in acting, directing, or theatre practice is a further route for those who wish to develop their skills or move into academic and professional training roles.