Why study this course with LJMU?
- This is a brand new degree designed to push the boundaries of technology in art and develop your performance skills
- 3 MINUTE WATCH: some of our students explain why you should apply for this degree
- Taught by an academic and technical team with decades of experience in drama and the performing arts, performance and technology
- Delivered in three dynamic strands: Performance, Socially Engaged Practices and Production
- Based in the Liverpool Screen School where you will have access to a dedicated performance theatre and sector-leading equipment
- Students will receive opportunities to collaborate with community partners, creating thoughtful and dynamic work that tackles a variety of social issues
- You will have access to the Production Unit Liverpool Screen School, a dedicated team which aims to make you an employable, highly skilled and confident graduate
About your course
Drama reimagined for the 21st Century - Discover the BA (Hons) Performance and Production at Liverpool John Moores University.
Are you passionate about bringing your creative ideas to life? Do you want to craft performances that not only resonate with audiences but also respond to the needs of communities? Are you excited to push the boundaries of technology in art and develop your performance skills across a variety of live performance and digital contexts including performing for film and radio?
If so, the BA (Hons) Performance and Production is the perfect fit for you.
The degree is divided into three dynamic strands: Performance, Socially Engaged Practices, and Production. These strands interweave, giving you a comprehensive understanding of how to create impactful work that speaks to diverse audiences and meets real-world needs.
Throughout your studies, you will deep dive into contemporary performance, discovering how today’s most innovative work is being created and produced. You will have the chance to develop your performance skills in both live performance and recorded settings; whether that’s through drama and acting, voice work, film, radio, podcasts or presenting. You will have opportunities to collaborate with community partners, creating thoughtful and dynamic work that tackles a variety of social issues. These collaborations will allow you to make a real impact, using your creativity to address the challenges faced by different communities while developing your skills in meaningful, hands-on projects.
Collaboration is a key component of this degree; you will have the chance to work with students from other departments across the university. This will broaden your perspective and deepen your understanding of creating and performing new work.
Technology is also at the heart of the teaching of the degree, empowering you to experiment with new mediums and enhance your creative work. You will explore how to blend the latest digital tools with traditional techniques to create performances that are relevant, engaging, and forward-thinking. You will also learn about industry workflows in film, radio and performance production.
Why study BA (Hons) Performance and Production
Watch as some of our students explain the new Performance and Production degree
Course modules
What you will study on this degree
Further guidance on modules
Modules are designated core or optional in accordance with professional body requirements, as applicable, and LJMU’s Academic Framework Regulations. Whilst you are required to study core modules, optional modules provide you with an element of choice. Their availability may vary and will be subject to meeting minimum student numbers.
Where changes to modules are necessary these will be communicated as appropriate.
Core modules
Contracts, Copyright and Intellectual Property
15 credits
15 credits
Students will gain confidence in their understanding of and engagement with UK Copyright Law, Intellectual Property legislation and the primary purposes of Contracts, as they relate to the Creative Industries and Performing Arts.
Content Creation
15 credits
15 credits
Students will gain a confident understanding of how secondary creative content is used and produced across the performing arts and creative industries. Students will also be taught, mentored, and guided in the application of specific contemporary creative digital skills, regarding the production and delivery of media content, relevant to the creative industries and performing arts.
Fundraising
15 credits
15 credits
By the end of this module students will have developed students will gain an understanding of and engaged with a variety of funding and subsidy opportunities and application processes. They will also be able to produce a balanced break even budget, giving them important skills that they will draw on during the rest of their careers.
Essential Management Skills
15 credits
15 credits
Students will become confident in the use of Critical Skills, including referencing, research, information analysis, presentation techniques and analytical objectivity.
The Contemporary Creative Industries
15 credits
15 credits
Students will develop an understanding and analysis of the contemporary creative industries and performing arts landscape.
They will learn about the industry's key organisations, leading practitioners and executives and recognise how cultural policies impact upon the creative industries and performing arts locally, nationally, and internationally.
Marketing
15 credits
15 credits
What is marketing? How do we connect with audiences in a way that is authentic, planned and most importantly, relevant? How do you begin to gain attention for your artist, show, project or event? Marketing is a sales tool, but it is also something that needs to be creative, engaging, unique and visible. In this module, you will study marketing theory and develop your understanding of concepts, tools and campaign planning. You will examine case studies, looking at examples of marketing campaigns with a focus on target markets and reaching that all important target audience.
The invaluable tools you will learn will be adaptable to whichever path you take for your chosen future career and a key preparation for studying marketing strategy at Level 5.
Practical Creative Project
30 credits
30 credits
Under the guidance of their module leader, students will form small groups, and collaboratively devise, design, manage and deliver a limited but engaging, practical creative project, of any sort, appropriate to the creative industries and performing arts sector.
The design and format of their project will be negotiated with their Module Leader, in line with the Learning Outcomes.
Students will also be supported in both identifying and involving themselves with a range of other collaborative practical creative projects, both internal and external to LIPA.
Core modules
Marketing Analytics
15 credits
15 credits
Word of mouth is still cited as the biggest influence on a consumer's cultural decision making, but how do you know when youve created that buzz and more importantly, once you have, how do you know its working? This module will introduce you to the types of research and marketing methods that professional creative industries and performing arts managers use when designing and analysing their own marketing campaigns. You will work with various online insights platforms and more importantly, be guided on how to ask the right questions of the data in front of you.
The digital world is a crowded marketplace, and as the international marketing expert Seth Godin said, You cant be seen until you learn to see.
Business and Enterprise
15 credits
15 credits
Students will be introduced to business concepts that are relevant to small to medium sized commercial enterprises operating within the creative industries and performing arts.
A particular focus will be on, establishing a start-up business, methods of financing, managing the legal requirements set by the UK Government, and the important relationship between copyright legislation and the viability of SME organisations operating in the creative industries and performing arts.
Strategic Marcomms
15 credits
15 credits
Building upon the Level 4 Understanding Marketing module and looked at from the perspective of the Creative Industries and Performing Arts, students will learn and apply the key steps to developing a strategic marketing plan and expand their knowledge of broader marketing techniques and their cultural context. The course also introduces students to brand identity, messaging and communication, e-marketing, pricing strategy and PR practice.
Personal and Professional Development for Managers
15 credits
15 credits
Students will be guided, mentored, and taught how to engage with their own personal and professional development, helping them construct a flexible and coherent strategy, in respect of their own learning and career aspirations.
A series of guest seminars with professional industry executives will also contribute to students' understanding of management as it exists within the creative industries and performing arts.
Practical Management Project
30 credits
30 credits
Building on their learning and experience at Level 4, students will be taught, guided, and mentored in understanding, analysing and applying the skills, strategies and managerial creativity, required to successfully produce and deliver a practical project, of any sort, appropriate to the broad creative industries and performing arts sector.
Optional modules
Legal, Safe and Sustainable Events and Projects
15 credits
15 credits
This module will equip students with the requisite skills, competencies, and knowledge to effectively design and deliver well planned and appropriately resourced legal and safe events and projects across the Creative Industries and Performing Arts.
This module will be delivered utilising a range of teaching and learning strategies to include:
- Lectures to introduce key issues and concepts
- Workshops, and a range of innovative classroom and online methods, incorporating application of concepts to different situations, utilising group activities where appropriate
- Site Visits
- Engagement with sector professionals
- Self-directed study.
Managing Live Events
15 credits
15 credits
This module will equip students with the requisite skills, competencies, and knowledge to effectively plan and deliver creative industry and performing arts events and projects that account for all stakeholder and audience needs
This module will be delivered utilising a range of teaching and learning strategies to include:
- Lectures to introduce key issues and concepts
- Workshops, and a range of innovative classroom and online methods, incorporating application of concepts to different situations, utilising group activities where appropriate
- Site Visits
- Engagement with sector professionals
- Self-directed study.
Music Industry Management
15 credits
15 credits
In this Module students will gain the knowledge, insight, and skills needed to analytically devise, design and deliver a coherent and constructive, music industry management project of their own choosing.
The assignment project will be mentored and supervised by the Module Leader and will facilitate the development of the students' personal and professional resilience, planning techniques, research methods and creative managerial acumen, with a specific focus upon the Music Industry.
Popular Music - Context and Culture
15 credits
15 credits
In this Module, students will be provided with an engaging and contextual insight to the development of post 1950 Western mainstream popular music culture.
Looking at Western popular music, from both an aesthetic and cultural perspective, students will advance their knowledge and understanding of the developments which have shaped, and continue to shape, the creation and consumption of mainstream popular music across the West.
Original Production
15 credits
15 credits
Students will be guided by the Module Leader in their engagement with this Module's 'Original Production' management assignment. Students will be encouraged to manage creatively and resiliently, within limited means, in order to ultimately deliver an engaging and creative theatre or screen output.
Producing for Theatre and Screen
15 credits
15 credits
This module will introduce students to the fundamental aspects of producing professional Theatre and Screen work.
Building upon much of the students' prior learning, they will be guided in the essential preparation and research work needed for producing an original production.
Students will negotiate with the Module Leader as to whether their preparation and research work will be completed in a group or on an individual basis.
Core modules
Management Research Paper
60 credits
60 credits
A research project, that enables students to gain a deeper understanding of, and engagement with, a contemporary issue from within the creative industries, performing arts and entertainment sector.
Students will be guided and supported in choosing their own research question.
Options on how students will conduct their research and present their findings will be negotiated with the Module Leader, their assigned Supervisor and the Head of Department, in line with the module's Learning Outcomes.
Contemporary Issues In Management Conference
15 credits
15 credits
This Module will enable students to gain the skills, knowledge and understanding required, to confidently present the outcomes and findings of a research project to a lay audience.
Optional modules
Enterprise Project
45 credits
45 credits
Students, guided by the Module Leader and their assigned Supervisor, will embark upon a semester long Enterprise Project, focussed on the development of their own enterprise concept or business idea, located within the broad creative industries, performing arts or entertainment sector.
Industry Placement
45 credits
45 credits
Students, guided by the Module Leader and their assigned Supervisor, will embark on a Semester long placement, based within the broad creative industries, performing arts or entertainment sector.
Your Learning Experience
Excellent facilities and learning resources
From the moment you join the course, we will be exploring the endless possibilities in contemporary performance making.
From day one, you’ll be introduced to a wide range of creative techniques and ideas, giving you the freedom to experiment and discover what truly excites you.
By the time you reach your final year, you’ll have honed the skills and tools needed to specialise in an area you’re passionate about, bringing your unique vision to life through your final project.
Assessment varies depending on the modules you choose, but will usually include a combination of exams and coursework.
We appreciate that all students perform differently depending on how they are assessed, which is why we use a combination of assessment methods.
The programme uses a varied range of assessment process to enhance and strengthen the student experience, including the practical production of performances and artefacts (both digital, live and a mixture of both), essays (both written and recorded), presentations, journals and reflections.
Where you will study
The School is based in the Redmonds Building, in the heart of the bustling Mount Pleasant Campus and Liverpool's growing Knowledge Quarter. The building is home to high quality lecture theatres and seminar rooms, TV studios, radio suites, green screen, editing rooms and news rooms, social spaces, and a cafe. It is only a short walk from LJMUs Aldham Robarts Library, which contains all the resources you will require for your studies.
Performance and Production students also have exclusive access to the John Foster Drama Centre, where you will holding performances, rehearsals and castings. The Drama Centre has been home to LJMU's Drama teaching for a number of years and has hosted a wide variety of performances, it has dressing rooms, a cafe bar and wardrobe rooms so you will be immersed in a real-world drama environment for the duration of your studies.
Course tutors
Simon has enjoyed a connective career as an academic, as well as a researcher, illustrator, performer and writer. His Phd considered cartography, Self and Other in performance, examining identity and place. He has exhibited, directed and performed in international contexts for 30 years, as a painter and performer, making short films, photographs, installations and transporting audiences over mountains at night with performance and music. Recent publications explore the efficacy of pain and suffering in pilgrimage, in addition to the mind/body experience, published in The Performances of Sacred Places: Crossing, Breathing, Resisting, Silvia Battista (Ed.), Intellect) as well as an Audio-Paper published online for Walk-Listen-Create, ‘the home of walking artists’ (walklistencreate.org ) and a journal article in Performance Research looking at the Kailas Pilgrimage, A Mountain as Multiverse : Circumnavigating the realities and meta-realities of a Kailas pilgrim (On Mountains - Volume 24 Issue 2 pp. 16-23). Simon is a dedicated Scout Leader teaching outdoor skills to young people, recently returned from the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea, and a trained Lowland Leader, having also been a DofE Award Manager. Professor and Head of Subject for Creative Writing and Drama, Simon co-leads City Lab in the Institute of Art and Technology.
BA (Hons) Performance and Production was validated with seven commendations including for its consultative engagement with industry, the teaching team, the programme design and employability. When designing the degree, we engaged with a wide range of external stakeholders, including Invisible Wind Factory, Focal Studios, 20 Stories High, Unity Theatre, Shakespeare North, Big Heritage, Noel Jones (Projection Artist), Adam Bee (large scale touring theatre Chief Technician), P&O Cruises, Culture Liverpool, and Liverpool City Council—Community, Neighbourhood, Events, and Heritage teams. All stakeholders agreed that the programme is timely, relevant, and addresses the needs of the artistic and cultural sector. Many commented on the collaborative nature of the design and its emphasis on interdisciplinary practice, noting how this approach mirrors the current artistic landscape.
Career paths
Opening doors to a wide range of careers
This is a brand new type of Performance degree.
BA (Hons) Performance and Production has been designed to be collaborative, industry-facing and versatile, deriving from the high quality pedigree of decades of teaching in drama.
It aims to help you to open doors to a wide range of exciting career opportunities in the arts and beyond, setting you up for a successful future after graduation.
Throughout the Performance & Production programme, we have embedded comprehensive projects where you will apply your skills in real-world scenarios. These projects will involve collaboration with industry partners, providing you with practical experience and professional connections. A series of workshops focused on career development are integrated into the final year curriculum; topics will include CV writing, interview techniques, networking strategies, and job search skills. These workshops are tailored to the specific needs of the performance and production industries.
We have established strong partnerships with leading companies and organisations in the performance and production sectors. These partnerships facilitate a range of internship and placement opportunities for our students, allowing you to gain hands-on experience and develop professional skills. Many modules include industry-based projects where you will work on real-world challenges provided by our industry partners. These projects simulate professional work environments and will help you to develop practical skills and industry knowledge. We offer dedicated professional practice modules that focus on work-based learning. These modules include placements, live briefs, and industry collaborations, ensuring students gain substantial work-based experience throughout their studies
Students will have access to the Liverpool Screen School's Production Unit (PULSS), a specialist work-based learning team dedicated to ensuring Screen School students receive opportunities to undertake paid and unpaid work during their studies. PULSS provides assistance on developing CVs, job applications and careers advice.
Student Futures - Careers, Employability and Enterprise Service
A wide range of opportunities and support is available to you, within and beyond your course, to ensure our students experience a transformation in their career trajectory. Every undergraduate curriculum includes Future Focus during Level 4, an e-learning resource and workshop designed to help you to develop your talents, passion and purpose.
Every student has access to Careers Zone 24/7, LJMU's suite of online Apps, resources and jobs board via the LJMU Student Futures website.
Tuition fees and funding
Fees
The fees quoted above cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as library membership and student IT support with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources including programme-appropriate software and on campus Wi-Fi.
Financial Support
The University offers a range of scholarships to support students through their studies. You'll find all the information you need on our specialist funding pages, including details of the Student Support Fund and other activities to support with the cost of living.
Additional Costs
In addition to fees, students should also keep in mind the cost of:
- Accommodation
- Travel costs including those for placements, visas and travel for studying abroad and field trips unless paid for by LJMU
- Stationery, IT equipment, professional body membership and graduation gown hire
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees in accordance with any changes to the maximum allowable fees set by the UK Parliament. In the event of such a change, any fee increase will be subject to a maximum cap of 10% of the total course cost as originally stated at the time of your offer.
Entry requirements
Please choose your qualifications below to view requirements
Grades/points required from qualifications:
Work out how many UCAS points your qualifications are worth by visiting the UCAS Tariff Calculator.
Qualification requirements
A levels
We are committed to accepting students on to this course who have the potential to succeed in making performance possible and who will gain sustained work in the performing arts and entertainment industries. With this in mind we wish to identify through applications and interview or audition key attributes and achievements. The key attributes that we seek to identify are:
• Knowledge, ability and experience of organisation and management
• Commitment to the performing arts and public events
• Ability to work effectively with others
• Broad interest and engagement
• Self-awareness
• Spirit of enterprise.
The minimum educational standard that we are looking for is:
GCSEs
We normally require a minimum of five GCSEs grade C. These should include Maths and English, plus a minimum of 96 UCAS tariff points (2017 tariff) or 240 UCAS tariff points (2016 tariff).
We accept all types of equivalent qualifications, the following are the most common UK qualifications that people tend to apply to us with:
A/AS Level
This should be from three A Levels (i.e. grades C, C, C), excluding General Studies. Points from AS and Key Skills are not counted.
BTECs
Extended Diploma (i.e. Merit, Merit, Merit profile).
BTEC Diploma (i.e. Distinction, Distinction). Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications such as an A Level, in which case total needs to be 96 (2017 UCAS tariff points) or 240 (2016 UCAS tariff points) across both qualifications.
90 Credit Diploma. Only acceptable when combined with other qualifications such as an A Level.
International Baccalaureate
Acceptable on its own and with other qualifications. Welsh Baccalaureate Acceptable but combined with other qualifications as it is equivalent to one A Level.
Alternative qualifications considered
Audition or Interview
Candidates are invited to audition/interview on the basis of completing the LIPA and/or UCAS application form. We look for evidence of the key attributes and an ability to achieve the qualifications standard. In exceptional cases people may be invited to audition/interview who have not met or are not on course to meet the qualifications standard. In these cases there must be substantial potential demonstrated against the other attributes. The audition or interview allows us to evaluate you as a practitioner in your area of interest. Offers of a place will follow where you demonstrate high ability and the potential to succeed. For this course the audition/interview format includes an introduction to LIPA, a critical writing exercise, a practical workshop, simple quantitative methods examination and an informal presentation of a prepared report and interview.
Equal Opportunity
LIPA is an equal opportunities organisation and aims to successfully recruit students from a wide range of different socio-economic and personal backgrounds. To ensure we provide effective equality of opportunity within the application process we carefully consider each application individually and acknowledge differences that can exist between applicants’ experiences from diverse backgrounds. We regularly update our approaches to take into account changing understanding of communities and cultures and we monitor applicant/student characteristics such as age, gender and ethnicity.
Recognition of Prior (Experiential) Learning [RP(E)L] and Credit Transfers
If you can demonstrate that you have already achieved learning equivalent to a module or modules, or a level of study, in the programme then you may be eligible to be awarded credit for this learning or to have credit transferred from another UK institution. You will be required to complete an application to have your qualifications or experience approved by the Head of Discipline and the university. This requires the presentation of appropriate evidence and we will map the evidence against the programme outcomes to be certain of equivalence. If approved credit will be awarded and you will proceed on to the appropriate level of the course to complete the remaining credit for the award.
Applicants, without the standard academic awards, but able to evidence experience of, or commitment to, the creative industries, performing arts or other entertainment sectors, are always encouraged to apply.
International requirements
Other international requirements
We welcome applications from students with qualifications from outside of the UK. Each application is considered on an individual basis and mapped to the appropriate entry level. We value the diversity of experience that students from different backgrounds bring to the course. We require an IELTS score of 6, with a minimum of 5.5 in each component.
How to apply
Securing your place at LJMU
UCAS is the official application route for our full-time undergraduate courses. Further information on the UCAS application process can be found here https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate-students/how-to-apply.
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