Three Year Acting Course

This is a dynamic and demanding course based on the values of classical acting, adapted to suit the needs of the contemporary world and the artists of today.

The course is practical, not theoretical and provides a thorough training in vocal, physical and imaginative techniques which will support you in discovering your full creative potential. Our approach will provide you with the ability to continue learning and developing beyond these three years and throughout your professional life.

As a year group company you will be taught in classes and through regular one-to one tutorials across all of the core disciplines. You will have many opportunities to work collaboratively with leading directors, writers and designers from theatre, film and television as well as meeting key industry casting directors and agents.

You will be taught in group classes and through regular one-to one tutorials across all of the core disciplines. You will have many opportunities to work with leading practitioners from theatre, film and television as well as key industry casting directors and agents.

In your final year you will make your transition into the performing arts industries by spending your final term in London making work with directors and writers and performing at venues in London.

What does this course offer you?

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for the student who wants to explore their creativity in acting, voice and movement in preparation for a career in theatre, screen and audio.

How can you fund your training?

There is government funding available for students who are accepted on to this course. The Dance and Drama Awards Scheme and Advanced Learner Loans will support both course fees and living costs. Additional bursaries are also available.

Please see all details of the different funding options and fees on the Fees and Funding Page. 

Three Year Acting Course Content

Throughout the course you will have contact with, and feedback from, people working in the industry including Theatre and Film Directors, Casting Directors and Agents as well as graduates of the School who are working across the performing arts.

In this year you will concentrate on foundation exercises in acting, movement and voice that will be the building blocks for shaping your approach to being a creative actor. You will spend time exploring yourself and your identity as well as the dynamics of human behaviour.

Our tutors are all specialists in their field and draw from the approaches and techniques of Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, Michael Chekhov, Linklater, Laban and Lecoq among others. The first performances that you will share will be work you have made to express your creative voice. You will have an introduction to film and you will begin to build your vocal technique through song.

The first year ends with a full scale production.

In the second year the emphasis shifts to the rehearsal process, looking at how to work creatively and effectively in the rehearsal room with different directors. You will develop your skills in approaching diverse texts with lots of opportunities to explore the context and relevance of a range of classical and modern plays across four productions in the year.

The work on freeing your voice and building confidence in your physical expression will continue throughout this year. You will be encouraged to be open, playful and imaginative through ensemble work in clown and mask. Acting for screen will include mock shoots and the opportunity to devise and create a film.

Your final year of this three year acting course is about applying your craft in performance with flexibility and confidence.

You will work towards entering a career in the performing arts by building your knowledge and experience through talks and workshops with leading practitioners and meetings with key industry professionals. You will acquire skills in auditioning, film and television castings and in self-taping and you will showcase your skills in the production of film and audio show reels as well as an industry-targeted Showcase at a theatre in London.

For your final term you will consolidate your skills through a programme of creative development projects with directors and writers as well as rehearsing and performing a new theatre commission in a London venue.

Moving to London for the final term of the course means you will be where many employment opportunities for actors start.

You will be in the rehearsal room for 4 weeks with the writer and director of a new commission for the stage. You will perform this world premiere in a London theatre. In the past three years our graduating students have been part of the professional programme at Soho Theatre, Southwark Playhouse and New Diorama Theatre.

You also take part in a series of creative projects with a range of theatre companies and theatre makers. This is an extraordinary opportunity to be working with some exceptional artists in the development of real life creative projects that may have a future life.

Finally you will be meeting with casting directors and agents for one to one meetings that will build your confidence and give you the skills and knowledge you need to make your transition into the profession.  

The Oxford School of Drama

Qualification

This course is validated by Trinity College London and regulated by Ofqual. 

It is Level 6 on the Regulated Qualifications Framework.

Equity membership is awarded to all students who complete this course.

The Oxford School of Drama

Directors who have recently worked with students on the Three Year Course include:

Writers who have been commissioned to write for students in their final year include:

Graduates from the Three Year Acting Course include:

In recent years graduates of The Oxford School of Drama have secured their first acting jobs with employers such as Netflix, HBO, BBC, Sky, ITV and BBC Radio and on stage in the West End and for The National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Hampstead Theatre, English Touring Theatre, Royal Court, Chichester Festival Theatre, Theatre Centre, Half Moon Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Glasgow Citizens Theatre and Eastern Angles.

Course Videos

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Third Year 2021 Film

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Third Year 2022 Film

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Third Year Film Trailer 2023

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