Screen Performance with Integrated Foundation Year
Screen performance is the practice and study of acting for camera, covering the specific skills and techniques that make performance effective in film and television rather than on stage. While the craft foundations of acting, including characterisation, voice, physicality and emotional truth, are shared across all performance contexts, screen performance has its own demands: the scale of expression, the relationship with the camera, the structure of production, the way scenes are shot out of sequence and the role of close-up in revealing interior life. Understanding these specifics is what distinguishes screen performance training from general drama.
At the University of Sunderland, this four-year full-time programme includes an integrated foundation year, which provides a supported and accessible entry into degree-level study. Whether you are returning to education after a break, building your confidence before progressing to the main degree, or looking for a gentler transition into university work, the foundation year gives you the creative and academic grounding you need. The programme also includes a year abroad, providing an opportunity to experience performance training or production culture in a different country, which broadens your perspective and can open new professional networks.
You will develop your craft as a screen actor through practical work, workshops, rehearsal, filming and critical analysis of performance across film and television. You will study acting technique, script analysis, industry contexts and the production environments in which screen actors work. Your development as a practitioner is supported by critical and reflective engagement with performance theory and screen culture.
Graduates go on to work as actors in film and television, or in related roles in casting, directing, production, drama teaching, arts administration and community arts. Some go on to further professional training or postgraduate study in acting or screen arts.