ObjectivesCSU’s Bachelor of Arts (Acting for Screen and Stage) is a highly specialised course in acting, designed for contemporary theatre and television industries.
Academic titleBachelor of Arts (Acting for Screen and Stage)
Course descriptionIncluding Bachelor of Arts (Acting for Screen and Stage) (Honours)
About the course
Studies in acting, voice, movement and acting for the camera offer a busy practical program to learn the skills a professional performer needs. These skills are then applied to mainstage, studio and theatre productions and are supported with an active program of television productions.
A streamed Honours year is available for those wishing to pursue advanced professional practice, including directing, or research-based higher degrees.
A Diploma of Education can also be studied for those who wish to teach drama in schools.
Where the course will take you
Graduates work professionally as actors in film and television, and on the stage including:
* feature films
* tele-features, mini-series, series drama, serial drama, comedies, infotainment programs
* television commercials
* mainstage metropolitan theatre companies
* alternative metropolitan theatre companies
* regional theatre companies
* theatre for youth and educational theatre projects
* voice-overs
Career flexibility is further enhanced by the attention the course pays to vocational activities such as:
* commercials
* hosting and compering television programs
* announcing
In addition many graduates work on a variety of related professions, including:
* casting consultants
* actors
* agents
* theatre administration
* producing
* directing
* dramaturgy
* playwriting
* primary and high school drama teaching
* event managing
* performance consultancy
Industry recognition
This course is recognised by the professional guild, the MEAA (Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance) which incorporates what was known as Actors' Equity. Though formal professional accreditation is not required to become an actor, recognition of the course by the MEAA assists the process of our graduates gaining the essential union card, without which they will not be able to gain award-rate contracts for paid employment.
Professionals teaching you professional skills
The course is taught by dedicated professionals with a wide range of industry experience. They are committed to the business of theatre and/or television, and are specialists in either acting (camera or stage), voice, or movement. All staff also have wide experience in directing, ranging from mainstream to experimental, from the classics to realism.
A visiting artist program brings professionals of national and international repute to work alongside staff and students, supplementing the skills of the regular staff. Contextual studies are taught by specialists in screen and theatre studies, and students also have regular contact with lecturers from the Television Production course.
Graduation requirements
To graduate, students must satisfactorily complete 192 points (normally equivalent to 24 subjects) for the Bachelor of Arts (Acting Screen and Stage) and 256 points, including a research dissertation/project, for the Bachelor of Arts (Acting Screen and Stage) (Honours).
Further study
Further study is available for graduates keen to extend their skills or train for related careers, such as:
* a one-year Graduate Diploma in Education for those wishing to train to be drama teachers in high schools
* the Honours course provides meritorious students with an opportunity for advanced professional practice as an actor, training as a director, or for research based study in performance or theatre
* Professional Doctorates for those wishing to pursue professional practice higher degree study
For those wishing to extend either their practical skills, move into directing, or develop a research profile, CSU also offers:
Master of Arts (Honours)
Doctor of Visual and Performing Arts
Doctor of Philosophy
Graduate comment
"I found that other institutions like to mould their actors into a specific style, unlike the CSU course, which encourages students to develop their unique abilities, and so producing individual graduates with their own specific strengths."