BA (Hons) Acting for Stage, Screen & Digital Media
The BA (Hons) Acting for Stage, Screen & Digital Media undergraduate course offers rigorous and multi-faceted training that prepares you for the demands of the professional acting industry.
Through our range of specialist creative and artistic modules, you will graduate prepared for the ever-evolving requirements placed upon the contemporary actor.
This practice-based course gives you access to a wide variety of actor training methodologies and approaches to ensure you graduate as a flexible and adaptable artist, ready to embrace our multi-media profession.
You will undertake an intensive programme of technical development that is underpinned by a curriculum spine that focuses on your career and personal development. The programme offers in-depth actor training for theatre, film, TV and recorded media.
Through our option modules, you will also create a bespoke pathway of learning that gives you time to explore your specific areas of interest.
Our vibrant and innovative course continuously develops your individual artistry with opportunities to collaborate and perform with music and filmmaking students. Performance opportunities may include short films, documentaries, music videos, radio drama, community theatre, and contemporary and classical plays.
You will also have access to specialist masterclasses and workshops covering topics such as TV presenting, stage combat, puppetry and more. Lead by industry guests, these masterclasses allow you to gain extracurricular expertise and help you springboard into the acting profession.
At BIMM University Berlin, we believe the opportunity to work in the performing arts should be available to all and not prevented by, physical or cultural restrictions.
On successful completion of the BA (Hons) Acting for Stage, Screen & Digital Media, graduates will have the necessary skills to access a variety of roles with optimum technique and a high level of autonomy to enter the world of theatre, film and television.
This course is approved and awarded by BIMM University (UK).
Course Specification
Mode of Attendance: Full-time
Length of course: This course is taught as a three-year course at levels four, five, and six.
Awarding institution: BIMM University (UK)
Campus delivery: Berlin
Language of study: English
Final award: Bachelor of Arts (Hons)
Credits: (60 ECTS per year of study)// 360 FHEQ (UK) Level credits (120 FHEQ credits per year of study)
Application deadlines:
- 30 January 2024: Early application deadline
- 30 July 2024: Final deadline
Minimum Requirements
All applicants must successfully complete an entrance interview with BIMM University Berlin (details provided on application).
Academic entry criteria meeting a minimum of 64 UCAS points, equivalent to:
- General Higher Education entrance certificate (Award of Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife/ Abitur, or a Fachgebundene Hochschulreife/ Fachhochschulreife) with an overall average grade of 3.0, including a minimum grade of 10 on the English component (Leistungsfach) on the Abiturprüfung.
- 2 A-levels at Grade C or above, or BTEC Level 3 equivalent, and normally three GCSEs at a minimum grade C/4, including English Language.
- Please reference the International Entry Requirementswebpage for additional international qualification equivalencies. For applicants with significant prior professional experience and aged 18-years or older, offers may be made under the BIMM University Recognition of Prior Practice policy.
- Proof of English Language proficiency is required if English is not your first language. BIMM University Berlin requires equivalent to Level B2 CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).
Course Fees
As part of Europe’s most successful group of music colleges, BIMM University Berlin is uniquely positioned to offer outstanding value and quality.
We’re dedicated to giving our students the best creative education possible – which means accessing our globally successful first-rate lecturers in high-tech locations at the heart of Germany’s creative scene.
Such cutting-edge facilities can be expensive, but we make sure all BIMM University Berlin courses are great value for money – representing a practical and affordable investment for your future career in the creative industries.
Year 1
All students take the following core modules in their first year of study. Full module information is subject to approval.
The aim of this module is to introduce you to the different styles of vocal and character work that you will cover during your time at BIMM. Fundamental elements of vocal technique will be clarified and developed. Respectful and healthy exploration of each individual voice and voice type will be promoted. You will gain a fundamental knowledge of appropriate working practices necessary for professional acting work in all forms of live performance.
You will explore a variety of play texts, practitioners and characterisation approaches, building storytelling techniques essential for theatrical performance.
This module aims to build basic good practice by breaking down inhibition, freeing up imagination and creativity and facilitating confidence. During this module you will develop an initial understanding of basic dramatic principles including the rules of improvisation, physicality and body language and character development and status.
You will learn to address individual physical characteristics to enable you to reach your full potential alongside an understanding of how to perceive and express concepts and personal responses in order to develop aesthetically and artistically. There will be direct connection to promote the capacity of personal evaluation to develop technically and to encourage an understanding of the performer as an individual artist.
Movement classes will free up the body allowing you to express yourself as an actor using variety and flexibility.
During this module you will begin to explore the specific techniques required when acting for screen. You will learn the essential elements a professional actor needs to master to deliver a realistic and truthful performance while negotiating the technical demands of a television or film set.
The unique requirements of acting and performance within contemporary digital media such as radio, podcasts, YouTube, TikTok and much more will also be introduced.
The first Creative Industries & You module sets you on the right path towards pursuing your dream career in the creative industries. Whether you are focused on a particular career goal or considering multiple career options, you will broaden your knowledge of the opportunities available to you as a creative professional in your specific field.
In course groups, you will research career routes and examine the career journeys of inspirational creative professionals to determine key skills for success. In mixed classes, you’ll participate in activities to help you navigate life in higher education and the creative community, expanding your social networks. You will reflect on your progress, explore what motivates you, identify personal strengths and potential roadblocks, and support each other to develop realistic action plans to help you along your chosen path.
Supported by your Personal Adviser, you will create a Personal and Professional Development Portfolio, which you will adapt and develop throughout your studies at BIMM. This first iteration has been designed in bitesize chunks to help you develop independent learning skills, receive ongoing feedback and experience a range of different assessment methods.
This module also gives you the freedom to extend your learning by providing access to the Industry Skills Booster online courses, developed exclusively with industry employers, which you can select in accordance with career goals and identified areas for development.
You will build your skills working with text, being introduced to new playwrights, genres of writing and their related theatrical performance styles. You will further your exploration of different styles of vocal and character work, including accent training. You will continue to develop your knowledge of appropriate working practices necessary for professional acting work in all forms of live performance.
This module is intended to build on the technical skills already achieved but with strong emphasis on performance quality and expression, developing the student as an individual artist. You will undertake technical and artistic classes in improvisation and movement. The module ensures continued development of fundamental acting skills, building upon any existing knowledge and developing individual progress.
You will continue to develop an actor’s mind and body with reference to increasing flexibility and variety of characterisation. You will be able to address individual physical and emotional characteristics to enable character development to reach full potential alongside an understanding of how to perceive and express concepts and personal responses in order to develop aesthetically and artistically. There will be direct connection to promote the capacity of personal evaluation to develop technically and to encourage an understanding of the performer as an individual artist.
This module builds upon the key skills needed for acting for screen and digital media. You will work towards delivering sustained and varied performances across a range of genres and styles. You will perform on increasingly public platform levels when appropriate: small class groups, large class groups, year groups, and to the whole college. You will be encouraged to use the appropriate terminology and conduct background research of all material in order to develop a wider understanding of different genres, context and key practitioners.
Following on from your exploration of the creative community and career opportunities available to you in Creative Industries & You 1, this module will help you to develop a deeper intellectual understanding of the creative arts and industry structures. You will be challenged to investigate some key contemporary cultural issues relating to your professional field, developing a contextual understanding through research, questioning and debate.
This awareness will help you to make informed creative and business decisions in the future and articulate them sensitively, acknowledging the different perspectives and experiences of others. You will explore pivotal cultural moments that have shaped the creative industries, exploring the factors that make something ‘popular’, and how key cultural issues affect both art and business.
Reading, research and critical thinking skills will be developed to help you examine developments in the industry and the creative arts, communicating your arguments in a variety of formats. You will have an opportunity to meet with your Personal Adviser in a 1:1 tutorial to help you identify your strengths and areas for development, updating your PPDP and selecting relevant online Academic Skills Booster courses to support your path to academic success.
Year 2
A range of option modules can be selected in Year 2 subject to availability and student demand. Full module information is also subject to approval.
During this module will fully realise a character through the performance of a contemporary text. Key skills and techniques essential for contemporary performance will be explored practically and embedded throughout the module, culminating in a staged performance of a contemporary play to an invited audience.
This module focuses on the application of your acting technique for a multi-cam setup. It aims to establish core skills and techniques and build upon the groundwork from your first year of training. You will explore the audition process, including audition etiquette, technical understanding, research & preparation and self-taping.
The creative arts have the power to bring people together, unite communities, support mental wellbeing, raise awareness of social issues and above all, bring joy to many people around the world. In Creative Industries & You 2, you will discover how you can turn your passion and talent into a collaborative project with a positive impact on society. Employing research and networking skills, you will develop a greater understanding of a charity, cause or campaign. In teams of students from all courses, you‘ll select a cause and identify a way to support its key objectives, either by raising awareness, raising funds or contributing as volunteers. You will be introduced to your college’s partner charities but you are also able to find your own, or work independently of an existing organisation.
Through this collaborative project, you’ll develop essential interpersonal and communication skills, experimenting with various digital tools for enterprise. You’ll reflect on your own values, applying theories of human psychology to explore how to get the best out of yourself and each other. Building on your industry research skills, you will assess your target audience and define clear SMART targets for your project that will enable you to execute an element of the strategy and evaluate its success. In teams, you will spend time working on your project both in class and in your own time, developing effective collaborative working methods.
You’ll record your project activity in your Personal and Professional Development Plan, reflecting on how you have developed and changed over the course of your first year and a half at BIMM
This module continues the exploratory work you began in Context & Culture of the Creative Industries. You will directly apply ideas to your own discipline and development, selecting an area of investigation relevant to your own practice, and communicating your argument via your medium of choice.
The concepts you encounter will actively critique claims to authenticity and originality; themes you will encounter frequently throughout your career as a Creative Professional. You will debate artistic production, the motivations for it, and the problems of creative autonomy.
You will investigate relevant contemporary cultural issues and theories relating to society, race, gender, technology, and the environment to develop your contextual understanding of how these relate to your own creative practice, professional values, and sense of personal agency.
You will be encouraged to meet with your Personal Adviser in a 1:1 tutorial to help you reflect on the strengths and areas for development identified in your PPDP in the first year, tracking your academic progress and setting new actions that will support you to achieve your best work. The research methods and study habits you develop throughout this module will prepare you for next year’s Final Project, in which you will self-direct a significant piece of academic, creative and/or professional practice.
. Working with your Personal Adviser you will identify objectives, opportunities and actions that will help you stay on the path to success for the second half of your journey towards becoming a Creative Industries Professional.
This module will hone your skills in the delivery of classical text. Key skills and techniques essential for classical performance will be explored practically and embedded throughout the module, culminating in a staged performance of a Shakespeare play to an invited audience.
This module continues the exploratory work you began in Context & Culture of the Creative Industries. You will directly apply ideas to your own discipline and development, selecting an area of investigation relevant to your own practice, and communicating your argument via your medium of choice.
The concepts you encounter will actively critique claims to authenticity and originality; themes you will encounter frequently throughout your career as a Creative Professional. You will debate artistic production, the motivations for it, and the problems of creative autonomy.
You will investigate relevant contemporary cultural issues and theories relating to society, race, gender, technology, and the environment to develop your contextual understanding of how these relate to your own creative practice, professional values, and sense of personal agency.
You will be encouraged to meet with your Personal Adviser in a 1:1 tutorial to help you reflect on the strengths and areas for development identified in your PPDP in the first year, tracking your academic progress and setting new actions that will support you to achieve your best work. The research methods and study habits you develop throughout this module will prepare you for next year’s Final Project, in which you will self-direct a significant piece of academic, creative and/or professional practice.
This module is the final step in your journey and will support you as you look to enter your chosen field as a creative professional. Drawing on evidence from throughout your time here. you will critically self-evaluate your personal learning journey and industry engagements to date. You will explore concepts and theories of personal and professional development to support, challenge and test your assumptions, to determine your readiness for work in the creative industries. You will have the opportunity to discuss this with your peers and learn from your collective experiences in both small degree path groups and large mixed discipline sessions.
With this position in mind, you will then be challenged to create and consolidate creative assets to give you the edge over the competition in your chosen field. Specialist workshops will be offered throughout the module, informed and delivered by our wide-reaching connections and specialist lecturers in the creative industries. This culminates in the creation of a portfolio which tells the story of your personal and professional journey so far, communicating your unique professional identity and future career plans in the creative industries.
Year 3
A range of optional modules can be selected in Year 3 subject to availability and student demand. Full module information is also subject to approval.
In this module, you will undertake a significant project of your own choosing. It’s your chance to explore your passion within the industry and creative arts: experiment, take risks, strengthen your skills and create a product/cohesive portfolio of work that you are proud to showcase at the end of your degree. This module will support you in consolidating the broad learning and development from the course so far, building a bridge into the industry, the workplace and future opportunities. You will be supported to self-direct your own learning through a series of lectures, seminars and 1:1 tutorials with expert supervisors.
This module is the final step in your journey and will support you as you look to enter your chosen field as a creative professional. Drawing on evidence from throughout your time here. you will critically self-evaluate your personal learning journey and industry engagements to date. You will explore concepts and theories of personal and professional development to support, challenge and test your assumptions, to determine your readiness for work in the creative industries. You will have the opportunity to discuss this with your peers and learn from your collective experiences in both small degree path groups and large mixed discipline sessions.
With this position in mind, you will then be challenged to create and consolidate creative assets to give you the edge over the competition in your chosen field. Specialist workshops will be offered throughout the module, informed and delivered by our wide-reaching connections and specialist lecturers in the creative industries. This culminates in the creation of a portfolio that tells the story of your personal and professional journey so far, communicating your unique professional identity and future career plans in the creative industries.
This module is intended to extend and solidify a range of performance and technical skills acquired throughout Level 4 and 5. You will continue to undertake technical and artistic classes in acting, voice, and movement. The module ensures a progressive and challenging development of acting skills, building upon existing knowledge and developing individual progress and establishment as a well-rounded actor. You will display active practice in understanding professional convention within stage and screen acting and will appreciate the correlation and interdisciplinary qualities and skills needed in technical and performance skills.
You will be immersed in a professional film set environment, appearing in a short film to be screened at the Everyman Theatre. You will gain experience of film set etiquette and the demands placed upon the actor during a shoot. You will have an active role in creating the film and be involved in storyboarding, pre- and post-production.
You will demonstrate your text, vocal and physical skills in a showcase of your stage acting techniques through script analysis, building the world around your character and working with physical, behavioural, and psychological characteristics.
You will be equipped to address individual physical and emotional characteristics to enable you to enter the professional environment as a well-rounded and skilled artist. You will be able to perceive and express concepts and personal responses in order to develop aesthetically and artistically. There will be direct connection to promote the capacity of personal evaluation to develop technically and to encourage an understanding of oneself as a performer and individual artist in a mature fashion.
This module consists of audition, development, rehearsals and performance of a production in a professional theatre. You will audition for your role in line with current industry practice. In the auditions you will be expected to choose and perform your material with an intelligent understanding of necessary style and a confident and accomplished delivery. You would be expected to have studied the given material and be able to perform it with the ability to convey character, style, and intention. All auditions will be performed in front of the artistic team for the productions, in keeping with industry practice.
You will engage creatively and critically with the skills and processes of performance and production. You will be expected to demonstrate a highly skilled, engaging, and sophisticated performance with a clear ability to convey storytelling to the audience. This module adheres to a professional working environment; the audition process, rehearsal period and the performance will replicate, as far as possible, a professional engagement.
Any questions?
For any questions regarding our courses or if you’d like more information on how to apply to BIMM University Berlin, please contact our Admissions Team on +49 (0)30 311 99 186 or email admissions@bimm-institute.de.
