Course
Overview


Our course recognizes theatre’s potential to bring about social change. We want you to be an accomplished facilitator, director and theatre practitioner. Someone capable of creating meaningful drama for, with and by different communities.
In this highly practical course, you collaborate with community groups, charities and the voluntary sector as you learn.
Accreditated By:

What You Will
Study
Facilitating and Directing 1
Through this module, you explore the key facilitation skills needed to work within the broad spectrum of Applied Theatre and Community Drama. You examine the anatomy of the drama workshop and learn about the role of games and exercises, as well as the development of your own facilitation style. Basic directing skills are introduced including picturisation and visual storytelling. You undertake a placement with a community group during which you analyse the group’s needs, leading to the proposal of hypothetical workshops and a recommended facilitation approach.
This module content is indicative.
Acting and Performing 1.1
In this module, you build a solid foundation of performance skills which support your development as a theatre practitioner. You learn how to use acting skills to create performance and communicate to specific audiences. Areas covered in the module include improvisation, story telling and characterisation. At the end of the year, you take part in a full-scale production of a set text play or novel for a schools audience.
This module content is indicative.
Acting and Performing 1.2
In this module you are introduced to the key concepts and practical application of Epic Realism, focusing on the work of Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator. Balancing theory with practice, you learn how to apply a variety of concepts to the creation and performance of theatre with a social or political purpose. Putting this into action, you participate in a group performance of an existing text, adapted to the Epic Realist style.
This module content is indicative.
Origins: From Ritual to Revolution
This module examines key theatre movements of Western theatre history and the origins of Applied Theatre and Community Drama. You learn about European theatre history from Antiquity to the Renaissance. Through a written essay, you analyse the impact of a specific historical theatre practice on contemporary theatre/drama. You also focus on the 20th century movements that have shaped contemporary Applied Theatre and Community Drama practice, and examine their social and political contexts.
This module content is indicative.
Pathways in Applied Theatre and Community Drama
This module provides an insight into key themes and practices in Applied Theatre and Community Drama. You are taught appropriate vocabulary and frames of reference for describing professional participatory work. Through a selection of case studies, you explore methods of applying this knowledge in order to categorise different activities. You compile a portfolio of your own case studies based on your own research.
This module content is indicative.
Voice and Movement
In this module, you develop your vocal and physical abilities to improve your expressivity and become a stronger performer and facilitator/director. You learn how the voice works, and study areas including breathing, release and control as well as pitch, range and inflection. You then apply these skills to a variety of texts. With movement, you explore relevant techniques and styles along with physical theatre methodologies to complement your acting skills. You learn to recognise areas for improvement in vocal and physical performance and how to design appropriate warm-up activities.
This module content is indicative.
The Professional 1
This module is designed to help you achieve sustained work in your chosen profession. You learn about the different elements involved in putting on an event, including planning, budgeting, rights and clearances and digital marketing. By working as part of a small team with students from other subjects to create a one-off event, you learn first-hand about the importance of collaborating and develop essential interpersonal skills including negotiation and persuasion. Through this module, you also learn to reflect on your own personal and professional attributes and skills. This self-development technique stands you in good stead throughout your professional career.
This module content is indicative.
Facilitating and Directing 2
This module builds on your understanding of facilitating and directing from Year 1. In facilitation, the focus broadens to participatory performance contexts and the development of workshops with community groups over an extended period. You continue to work on your personal facilitation skills and learn how to create dynamic relationships with participant groups, while further developing your critical awareness and self-evaluation skills. As part of the module, you undertake a placement with a community-based organisation in Merseyside. With directing, you progress onto directing scenes from existing texts, with an emphasis on developing productions suitable for youth groups.
This module content is indicative.
Theatre in Education
Through this module, you gain a solid theoretical and practical foundation in the use of theatre and drama within the UK education sector. You learn about the history and contemporary practice of Theatre in Education (TIE), and the UK education system. You then form small companies to research and devise performance and participatory activities for a specific age range before touring your TIE programme to secondary schools.
This module content is indicative.
Community Performance as Counter-Narrative
Through this module, you extend your facilitation and performance skills, applying them to a real community setting. You work with participants to create a short performance that offers a counter-narrative to mainstream versions of their history or identity. This will form part of a wider public performance. You use research and devising techniques and build an advanced working knowledge of concepts such as space, place and identity. As part of the project, you employ appropriate strategies for improving and developing each participant’s confidence and ability.
This module content is indicative.
Acting and Performing 2
This module aims to further your core skills in acting, devising, movement and voice. This supports your work as a performer, along with your development as a facilitator and director. You build on the skills you developed in Year 1, with a greater emphasis on self-directed deliberate practice. This helps you learn to evaluate different approaches and their appropriateness through your own and other’s performance work. You demonstrate your skills through devising and delivering a group performance, which takes into account factors such as space, location and audience.
This module content is indicative.
Intersecting Worlds
In this module, you explore the concept of ‘self and other’ and its influence on contemporary British society. You study a range of critical perspectives that look to explain, challenge or affect perceptions of ‘difference’ in a globalised world. Concepts covered include colonialism, nationalism, feminism and multiculturalism. These are introduced through lectures and seminars, leading on to your own research. You also work in small groups to create a short performance in response to one or more of these concepts. This module lays the theoretical foundations for practical work that attempts to address issues of marginalisation and exclusion within contemporary society.
This module content is indicative.
The Professional 2
This module focuses on developing your working knowledge and understanding of the management and evaluation of Applied Theatre and Community Drama projects. You learn a range of operational management skills including scheduling and basic finance planning and apply these to a live project. In preparation for your future career, you explore potential employment and enterprise opportunities as a freelance facilitator and/or director. You also look at issues which impact on self-employment such as tax and insurance.
This module content is indicative.
Theatre for Democracy and Advocacy
Through this module, you explore perspectives on democracy, the notion of the citizen artist and the use of theatre in advocacy and democracy. As part of a team, you work with a host organisation (usually a Local Authority) to create a piece of participatory Theatre for Democracy. During this process, you are supported with weekly taught sessions. The devised performance will allow the participants to present their concerns to an audience of local politicians and other decision makers After the performance, you develop an evaluation and deliver a formal presentation about the project, and reflect on your and your team’s process.
This module content is indicative.
Individual Final Project
This module is the culmination of your practical studies and you realise a project in full, from conception to evaluation. Your work will take place outside of LIPA, giving you a sustained experience of simulated professional practice. You are encouraged to develop your project within a specific Applied Theatre or Community Drama practice which challenges the parameters of your learning and reflects your own career aspirations. Carrying out activities to find, research and plan your project, your work should reflect the highest standards of practice. Your individual work is supported through a series of weekly skills classes to help maintain your performance and facilitation skills.
This module content is indicative.
Final Project Document
In this module, you plan and create a 5,000-word paper that supports your Individual Final Project. You explore a clearly defined theoretical position which relates to your final project and test this, using your own practical project as a case study.
This module content is indicative.
Drama Workshop
This module enables you to develop a stock set of skill-based drama workshops which you can adapt for different contexts and participant groups in your professional work. Each week focuses on two key drama skill areas and throughout the module you demonstrate your ability to plan a variety of workshops by preparing and delivering a one-hour workshop to address each skill.
This module content is indicative.
The Professional Facilitator/Director
In this module, you prepare for your professional practice. Part of your learning is spent developing a critical awareness of relevant policy and practice which impacts on Applied Theatre and Community Drama. The other half of the module focuses on a range of processes you are likely to encounter in your career, including the completion of funding bids. You participate in a series of masterclasses to help you make informed decisions about starting a business. To prepare you for finding employment or starting your freelance career after graduation, you take part in a practical interview or tendering exercise.
This module content is indicative.
How You Will
Study
-
Practical Workshops
-
Supervised projects with community groups
-
Independent community-based projects
-
Independent study
-
Group Work
-
Lectures
-
Tutorials
-
Masterclass
How You Will Be
Assessed
You are assessed regularly throughout the course and methods of assessment include in-class presentations, written assignments, portfolios and project-based performance. In your third year, you undertake a final practical project and an accompanying in-depth written research paper.
Practical/written work ratio
65% practical work / 35% written assignments
Validated By:


Brendon Burns
Head of Applied Theatre & Community Drama
A director, lecturer and facilitator, Brendon has 30 years’ experience leading major participatory and educational theatre projects in the UK, Europe and in West Africa. He trained as an actor at the Arts Educational School, London and later completed postgraduate research degrees in both Theatre in Education and Rhetoric. Previous posts include artistic director of Solent Peoples Theatre, Indefinite Article and First Draft Theatre and associate director posts at Proteus Theatre and The Haymarket, Basingstoke. As a playwright, he has written numerous original plays and adaptions, including the first conventional theatre adaptations of Margaret Attwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Brendon is a member of Stage Directors UK, a research associate of the Centre for Oratory and Rhetoric at Royal Holloway, University of London, and a fellow of the RSA.
Burns, B. (2018). The dynamics of disagreement: facilitating discussion in the populist age. Education & Theatre Journal, 19, 124-131.
Burns, B., (2020). There will be disagreement! Theatre, democracy, and the most important skill we can teach our children. Education & Theatre Journal, 21, 10-15.
Burns, B (2021). Theatre for Democracy in Prentki, T. and Abraham, N. eds., 2021 The applied Theatre Reader. Second edition ed. London; New York: NY Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Burns, B (2021). Dialogue is Fundamental: The Techne of Drama Facilitation. In Choleva N. (ed.) (2021). _"It Could Be Me – It Could Be You" - Drama/Theatre in Education methodologies and activities for raising awareness on human rights and refugees. Athens: UNHCR/TENet-Gr.

Gillian Knox
Lecturer
Gillian is a highly experienced devised performance maker and artist, having worked in the sector for over 15 years. She is a founder member of the critically acclaimed Pigeon Theatre, which specialises in experimental, site-specific and interactive works and was an associate artist at Manchester’s Greenroom Theatre. Gillian’s current research is practice-led and focuses on applying documentary and verbatim techniques to creating fictive performances. Gillian believes that the best way to learn is through actually making work, enhanced by a firm understanding of critical theory and current practice and consolidated by critical reflection.

Sharon Nash
Lecturer
Sharon has worked extensively in formal and informal educational contexts for over 20 years, using theatre as a tool for empowerment and to promote learning and advocacy. As a facilitator, she has undertaken major projects for organisations including BBC Raw Stories, Hampshire County Council and the Hampton Trust. Her work has taken place in a variety of community settings including prisons, young offender institutions, pupil referral units, areas of urban deprivation, mental health units, sheltered accommodation and teenage mother and baby units. She has also co-directed a two- year storytelling project in Jasikan, Ghana that later toured to schools in the UK. Her experience offers real-life insight into how theatre and drama can be used to inform, present, represent or make a difference and how this can lead to meaningful employment after graduation.

Lisi Perry
Lecturer
Lisi has been a practising dance artist for over 25 years and is the founder and artistic director of COLLISION. She has worked with choreographers and companies including Scottish Dance Theatre, Motionhouse Dance Theatre and Jasmin Vardimon, touring and teaching regionally, nationally and internationally. Lisi directs and choreographs work in theatre and unconventional non-theatre spaces, including large-scale projects on beaches, in museums, police stations and parks, and has even involved JCB diggers. She encourages students to be fully engaged with a range of methodologies and approaches, whether they are familiar or unknown, and to immerse themselves in all aspects of their study.

Rosemary Berkon
Teaching Fellow
Rosemary is an actor, voice coach and community facilitator. She trained as an actor at ALRA and as a voice coach at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. As an actor Rosemary has toured nationally, performing at venues such as HOME theatre, The Leeds Playhouse, Theatre 503, The North Wall Arts Centre and Manchester Opera House. With a passion for new writing and outreach she has worked as a performer and facilitator to create original work that emphasises community engagement with various theatre companies including Odd Arts, Papatango, Quantum Theatre and Byteback Theatre.
She brings her experience as a performer and facilitator into her teaching, alongside her experience as a private coach, which sees her work with many different voices encouraging confidence and communication. She currently works with clients in preparation for auditions, public speaking (that has included TEDx talks) and at other drama schools.
Rosemary is fascinated by accents, how speech is made and the social implications of teaching this to actors. She is a member of The Voice and Speech Trainers Association, passionate about cutting-edge pedagogy and aims to work with a sense of community and inclusivity in her studio spaces.
Rosemary understands the resilience required to sustain a career in the theatre industry, she endeavours to share with honesty challenges from her professional experience and also her hopes for the future of the creative arts.

Dr Sam McKay
Lecturer
Samuel works across a number of exciting fields in the arts and culture sector, in recent years with organisations like Leeds Playhouse, Pockets Theatre, Chol Theatre, fairandfunky, Faceless Arts, Front Room Productions, and Red Ladder Theatre. He trained in Community Drama at LIPA (2014), before achieving an MA at Durham University in Culture and Difference (2015). He now holds a PhD from the University of Leeds (2019), where his research developed philosophies of applied theatre practice.
His main interests and experience lie in applied theatre and community arts, site specific theatre, queer theatre, and the development of new shows. He has led a significant amount of projects with refugees and asylum seekers, schools and young people, and developed innovative creative projects for older people. Beyond this he has skills and experience in project management, directing for non-traditional spaces, marketing and audience development, creative outreach, and monitoring and evaluation processes. He continues to make creative work with communities across the north of England and generates new ways of thinking through his research.
Samuel leads and delivers a number of modules that look to develop professional skills that will foster sustained work and employment beyond graduation, alongside their acting and performance skills as they relate to applied theatre practice. Some of these modules are project based, for example Theatre in Education, where he prepares students to work with young people in Merseyside in the delivery of their own participatory performances.
McKay, S. (2019) Dislocating Applied Theatre: Crossing the Borders between Practice and Context. PhD thesis, University of Leeds.
McKay, S. & Bradley, J. (2016). How does arts practice engage with narratives of migration from refugees? Lessons from ‘utopia’. Arts and Communities, Special Edition Arts, Activism and Human Rights, 8(1-2), pp.31-46.
What Our
Graduates Do
Our graduates work in theatre outreach programmes, prisons/probation service and within the education, youth and social work networks. Their career achievements have included:
Holly Campbell (2018)
Arts facilitator for indigenous community groups in New South Wales, Australia
Liam Smaje (2018)
Facilitator and workshop leader, he has worked with schools, refugees in Greece and ex-offenders.
Jake Liken (2016)
Founder, Community Objectives CIC
Florence McCudden (2016)
Outreach caseworker and kindergarten teacher in Ghana.
Shannon Merwick (2016)
Restorative justice facilitator at Remedi, Derbyshire.
Shannon Wild (2015)
Activities coordinator at a Liverpool care home for elderly people with dementia and director with Musical Youth.
Annie Neat Farnfield (2016)
Drama youth arts coordinator with Merseyside Youth Association
Ferne Collins (2015)
Runs her own Footlights theatre schools
Megan Hopper-Layton (2015)
Creative associate at Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books. Seven Stories won Best Lockdown Project at the 2020 Museums Change Lives Awards.
Asha Richardson (2015)
Runs charity Ankoma Outreach connecting schools in the UK and Ghana. She also runs a Razzmatazz theatre school in Penrith.
Kacey Baker (2014)
Activities coordinator with Cheshire Young Carers.
Machteld De Ruyck (2014)
Older peoples’ manager, Leeds Playhouse
Gwennan Mair Jones (2014)
Director of creative engagement at Theatr Clwyd, which won The Stage Regional Theatre of the Year Award for 2021 for its work during lockdown. She is also a member of Arts Council of Wales.
Educational qualifications are important but limited in what they can tell us about you.
Your natural ability, your fit with what and how we teach, your growth and your potential are also key factors in our admission process. We can’t evaluate these solely on your educational achievements, so no matter which course you are applying for, we look for the following attributes on your application and at the interview stage.
Additional Costs
As part of this course, there are likely to be some additional costs that are not included within your tuition fees. Many of these are optional. We’ve also included information about cost of living expenses in Liverpool in this section.
Books and equipment
All of the key texts for the course can be found in our Learning Resources Centre (LRC). There are, however, a couple of books that it may be useful to have a look at in preparation for starting the course. It is not compulsory to buy these but they will provide a good overview of some of the current issues in the field. We’ll send you recommendations for these before you enrol.
Classes will often involve practical activities and so it is important to bring clothing that you can move easily and comfortably in, for example joggers/leggings and a T-shirt. A set of blacks is also required - this is simply a set of plain clothes (joggers/leggings & T-shirt) with no logos, all in black. You should also have a pair of lace-up trainers for movement classes.
As a facilitator it is good practice to wear a wristwatch – it looks much more professional than checking the time on a mobile phone. A clear and easy to read watch is an everyday essential on the programme.
DBS check
An essential part of your studies involves placements with specific community groups. In order to facilitate your placements, you will have to undertake a criminal record check processed through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). As your placements may include working with children and/or vulnerable adults you will need an ‘Enhanced’ DBS check. We will process your Enhanced DBS check but you will need to pay the processing fee of £58 in order for us to do so. This was the fee for 2022 entry so may be subject to a small inflationary increase.
Class trips
As part of the various modules on the programme, some class trips may be offered to help support your learning. These are not compulsory, and whilst some trips may be free or subsidised, you may be required to cover some costs yourself. The opportunities offered will be different each year but past trips have included theatre visits, conferences and a tour of the Houses of Parliament.
In your third year, there is also usually the opportunity to take part in a class trip to Greece to work with students and community groups affiliated with the Hellenic Theatre/Drama Education Association (TENet-Gr). This is not compulsory, but if you do choose to take part you will have to make a contribution to the cost of your flights and accommodation. You should also factor in the cost of food and any other activities you may want to take part in while exploring Athens.
Cost of living
Wherever you choose to study, you'll have to budget for accommodation and other everyday living expenses, such as food and bills.
Liverpool represents great value for students. Accommodation costs are low in comparison with other places in the UK, particularly the South East. The city's shops and entertainment venues also have lots of student discounts.
We’d recommend completing a simple budget plan to predict your income and outgoings. This should include accommodation, bills, insurance, TV licence, food, laundry, clothes, books, travel and socialising. How much you'll want to spend on a lot of these is completely personal.
There is lots of advice available online about budgeting,:
- UCAS budget calculator is a great tool to help you balance your in-comings and out-goings.
- SaveTheStudent provides useful information on student money resources, including loans, budgeting, and scholarship sources.
Most UK students will be able to take out a maintenance loan to assist with living costs and there are some grants available. We also offer some bursaries. To find out more, please see Student Finance and bursaries.
Because our courses are intensive and we have a busy season of student performances, options for part-time work during our teaching periods can be limited. However, many of our students gain flexible part-time work, in performance venues, shops, restaurants and bars. We also provide casual work opportunities for our students ranging from stewarding work on our productions to working with young people to help us widen access to our courses. The long summer break is when many of our students choose to work
Additional Costs
As part of this course, there are likely to be some additional costs that are not included within your tuition fees. Many of these are optional. We’ve also included information about cost of living expenses in Liverpool in this section.
Books and equipment
All of the key texts for the course can be found in our Learning Resources Centre (LRC). There are, however, a couple of books that it may be useful to have a look at in preparation for starting the course. It is not compulsory to buy these but they will provide a good overview of some of the current issues in the field. We’ll send you recommendations for these before you enrol.
Classes will often involve practical activities and so it is important to bring clothing that you can move easily and comfortably in, for example joggers/leggings and a T-shirt. A set of blacks is also required - this is simply a set of plain clothes (joggers/leggings & T-shirt) with no logos, all in black. You should also have a pair of lace-up trainers for movement classes.
As a facilitator it is good practice to wear a wristwatch – it looks much more professional than checking the time on a mobile phone. A clear and easy to read watch is an everyday essential on the programme.
DBS check
An essential part of your studies involves placements with specific community groups. In order to facilitate your placements, you will have to undertake a criminal record check processed through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). As your placements may include working with children and/or vulnerable adults you will need an ‘Enhanced’ DBS check. We will process your Enhanced DBS check but you will need to pay the processing fee of £58 in order for us to do so. This was the fee for 2022 entry so may be subject to a small inflationary increase.
Class trips
As part of the various modules on the programme, some class trips may be offered to help support your learning. These are not compulsory, and whilst some trips may be free or subsidised, you may be required to cover some costs yourself. The opportunities offered will be different each year but past trips have included theatre visits, conferences and a tour of the Houses of Parliament.
In your third year, there is also usually the opportunity to take part in a class trip to Greece to work with students and community groups affiliated with the Hellenic Theatre/Drama Education Association (TENet-Gr). This is not compulsory, but if you do choose to take part you will have to make a contribution to the cost of your flights and accommodation. You should also factor in the cost of food and any other activities you may want to take part in while exploring Athens.
Cost of living
Wherever you choose to study, you'll have to budget for accommodation and other everyday living expenses, such as food and bills.
Liverpool represents great value for students. Accommodation costs are low in comparison with other places in the UK, particularly the South East. The city's shops and entertainment venues also have lots of student discounts.
We’d recommend completing a simple budget plan to predict your income and outgoings. This should include accommodation, bills, insurance, TV licence, food, laundry, clothes, books, travel and socialising. How much you'll want to spend on a lot of these is completely personal.
There is lots of advice available online about budgeting,:
- UCAS budget calculator is a great tool to help you balance your in-comings and out-goings.
- SaveTheStudent provides useful information on student money resources, including loans, budgeting, and scholarship sources.
Most UK students will be able to take out a maintenance loan to assist with living costs and there are some grants available. We also offer some bursaries. To find out more, please see Student Finance and bursaries.
Because our courses are intensive and we have a busy season of student performances, options for part-time work during our teaching periods can be limited. However, many of our students gain flexible part-time work, in performance venues, shops, restaurants and bars. We also provide casual work opportunities for our students ranging from stewarding work on our productions to working with young people to help us widen access to our courses. The long summer break is when many of our students choose to work