College is to open a new 'total performance school'
Wimbledon College of Arts will be almost tripling in size during the next four years as the University of Arts London (UAL) sets up a ‘total performance school’ at the college.
The new school will bring together all the main performance disciplines in 2019, enabling students to work in teams to design, perform and manage theatre, performance and other live events to a professional level.
UAL says it will enable the university to be at the cutting edge in:
• interactive and immersive technologies, including gaming, virtual, augmented and mixed reality
• the live experience economy, including festivals, live events and major attractions
• the technical arts, including special effects, sound art and animation.
Wimbledon’s total performance school will be built around a core BA and MA offer in acting, technical arts (including lighting, sound, special effects, modelling, animatronics and robotics), events and stage management, production and design for costume, for screen, and for theatre.
Three new courses will be launched to support the college’s expansion to 1,100 students (almost tripling in size) by 2022. And the total performance school will be structured into two programme areas – with digital an integral part of all courses:
• Acting for Theatre and Performance will focus on actor training as an end in itself, and as a route to theatre-making, applied theatre within a social context, directing and writing
• Design and Technology for Theatre and Performance will develop students who want to be designers of technical immersive environments, theatre technicians and stage managers.
The college, based in Merton Hall Road, will equip students to start up emerging performance companies on graduation, contributing to employment and the vision of a world-class cultural district in the area.
David Crow, UAL Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon, said: “The total performance school builds on Wimbledon’s rich history of theatre and design since 1932, the college’s global industry partnerships and South London’s wider investment in performance. The intersection between new technologies and performance is an incredibly exciting space and our ambition is to create the right environment to nurture bold, talented, innovative future performers.”
“Acting at Wimbledon will integrate performer training with interactive and immersive technologies, differentiating UAL’s offer from competitor institutions. Wimbledon’s course structures will equip students to start up small theatre and performance companies on graduation.”
May 23, 2018