NQ Performing Arts
Overview
Act. Sing. Move. Find out what you're made of!
Our NQ Performing Arts course is a year to develop as a performer, whether you've been on stage for years or you're just starting out.
You'll work across acting, singing, dance and movement, voice and devising, and learn the practical side too: stagecraft, screen acting, theatre studies and how to handle an audition.
You'll train in our studio spaces with staff who work professionally in the industry, and finish the year ready to progress to HNC Acting and Performance or HNC Musical Theatre.
Entry
Who can apply
Anyone with a passion for performing. Experience is useful but not essential, and you don't need an English qualification, though it's helpful to have one.
Your audition
You'll come in for an audition day with three parts: you'll perform, take part in a workshop with other applicants, and have a short interview about why you want to do the course.
What to prepare
Monologues from published plays. We'll confirm how many and how long when we arrange your audition, and we're happy to suggest pieces if you're not sure where to start.
On the day
Wear something you can move in. You're welcome to bring someone with you, though they won't be in the room.
Learn
You'll work across seven areas, building the full range of skills a performer needs.
Acting
From classical to contemporary, you'll explore different styles, genres and practitioners, and build a technique that works across them.
Voice and singing
We're recognised as one of Scotland's leading centres for voice and singing. You'll develop your voice for both speaking and performing, with specialist teaching.
Movement
Nearly every professional production now uses movement, so it runs right through the course, whether your focus is acting, musical theatre or dance.
Audition technique
You'll prepare for auditions properly, through workshops in dance, script and camera work, alongside voice, movement and singing classes. By the end of the year you'll know how auditions work and how to walk into one with confidence.
Devising theatre
Improvisation and collaboration are central to modern theatre. You'll create your own work in workshops throughout the year, learning to build a piece from nothing with other performers.
Stagecraft
You'll learn how performance actually works on stage, and how to tell a story an audience stays with, taught by staff who've worked in the industry.
Screen acting
Using professional camera equipment, you'll learn how performing for film and television differs from the stage, and get comfortable working to camera.
Where can I go from here?
Graduates of this course will be able to go directly into the following courses:
