General information about applying for our postgraduate courses and the interview process.
Coming to Central as a Director, the course has equipped me with all of the creative skills that have seen me through these first several years of my career, including how I engage with playwrights at the Bush as Associate Dramaturg. The course, in its collaborative ethos, with real focus on questioning stories and storytelling whilst building contemporary theatre, was a challenge and a foundation for my work.
Rob Drummer
Graduated 2010, currently Associate Dramaturg at the Bush Theatre, London.
General information about applying for our postgraduate courses and the interview process.
Click to apply for Advanced Theatre Practice, MA.
Click to apply for Advanced Theatre Practice, MFA course, Year 1.
Information for home, EU, and non-EU students.
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MA: 1 year, full-time; MFA: 2 years, full time. October start. Full-time, on-site attendance between July and October not mandatory, although MA students are required to show work outside Central during this period.
Master of Arts in Advanced Theatre Practice (180 credits); Master of Fine Art in Advanced Theatre Practice (240 credits).
As a student on the MA or MFA Advanced Theatre Practice at Central, you can expect to:
In the first year of the MFA, you will join the MA students for Terms One to Three.
The MFA then extends into a second year beginning in October, enabling the development of further projects and professional connections outside the School. Working together during this initial period of creative growth, you will develop experience from the intensive workshop atmosphere of Term One, through learning to research and extending practice in Term Two, to launching a company or the approach to making new work in Term Three.
You will be supported in this process of growth and development, gradually enabling you to become a stronger, more articulate practitioner, better able to work flexibly and constructively with others, extending the boundaries of theatre and how it might be seen.
Term Four of the MA focuses on taking work to an audience of choice beyond Central.
The MFA second year deepens and extends this opportunity for independent professional development beyond Central, while still retaining a degree of contact and guidance from tutors. An MFA top-up year for those with an existing MA in this subject is also available.
Practice is evaluated throughout the first three terms through continuous assessment of contribution to the rehearsal/development process, combined with essays reflecting on this work in the broader context of contemporary theatre practice. Peer assessment also forms a part of the evaluation process.
The course prepares you for the Sustained Independent Project. Those undertaking the MA will take a performance work that has been made with colleagues to a documented encounter with a public audience during the summer.
MFA students will choose from a list of possible approaches and means of documenting your work, undertaking a more developed and independent version of the Sustained Independent Project beyond Central during your second year.
You will normally have good knowledge and experience of at least one of theatre-making discipline (i.e. performance, directing, writing, design, dramaturgy, puppetry, music, visual art), together with a strong desire to bring this expertise to an experimental theatre-making environment. Alternatively, you may be an outstanding individual from another discipline, with an evident desire to explore interdisciplinary practice. You should normally have an undergraduate degree in a relevant field, (drama, theatre or performance studies) though applications from students of other disciplines will be considered. Applications for the accreditation of prior experience in lieu of academic qualification will also be considered where appropriate. An offer will normally only be made after interview.
We particularly encourage applications from groups currently under-represented in higher education, such as students with disabilities and members of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups. Find out more information on Central’s commitment to equality and diversity.
Applicants for whom English is not their first language are required to prove their English language proficiency by gaining an overall score of 7.0 in an IELTS test, or equivalent. Applicants are advised to gain this certification as early as possible and more information can be found through the English Language Requirements page.
If you are selected for an interview for a place on the Advanced Theatre Practice MA or MFA, you can expect the following:
Applicants will usually be seen as part of a group. You will remain together for much of the day, and will have a chance to learn more about the course and ask questions. You will find the day quite relaxed, informal, and hopefully enjoyable.
During the morning, you will be asked to participate in a workshop related to Aesop’s Fables – so whatever your background, you will find it helpful to have a good working knowledge of this text. Aesop’s Fables exist in a number of languages and translations, and you may wish to make use of any of these. They can also be found on the internet. As a guide, we refer you to ‘Mercury and the Woodman’, ‘The Wolf and the Lamb’, and ‘The Fox and the Crow’.
You will have an opportunity to make a short presentation to the group, demonstrating your current skills and experience, and suitability for the course. For this part of the interview you should prepare one of the following:
You may also bring with you an edited portfolio of your previous work, for discussion, where you feel this is appropriate.
You should wear (or bring with you) comfortable clothing suitable for active work, and leave the day clear of other commitments.
The interview process will also give you an opportunity to find out more about the course and the School.
Each year Central hosts a number of interviews outside of the UK, with a team of tutors from Central travelling to meet applicants. The international interviews are designed to replicate the London-based interview experience in every aspect (other than a tour of our site). See our Event Finder for listings of upcoming interview locations and dates.
Central does allow applicants to undertake a distance interview for this course. If you live abroad and are unable to attend an interview in person you may, at the discretion of the Admissions Tutor, be offered the opportunity of a distance interview. If you are selected for interview in this manner you will be contacted (normally by email) in order to arrange a suitable time for an interview. This will be conducted on Skype, telephone or by ‘live’ email exchange and will normally be based upon material you will have been asked to submit in advance. The interview will be conducted by the Admissions Tutor in liaison with a colleague who will have sight of your submitted materials.
For further information see the Postgraduate Applications section.
Visit the International Students section to view details of English language requirements for Central's courses.
Graduate employment and career pathways include:
in companies including: the Royal Court Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Camden People’s Theatre, Theatre503, Hampstead Theatre, English National Opera, High Tide Festival, Complicite, Frantic Assembly, Shakespeare’s Globe, MKA Theatre of New Writing Australia, Melbourne Theatre Company and National Theatres of Finland, Iceland and the UK.
Across the UK and mainland Europe, including:
The first two students to receive PhD awards at Central were graduates of this course.
View profiles of the academic staff who teach on this course. Click on each staff member to find out more about them.
Dr. Lynne Kendrick, BA, MA, PhD, FRSA
Ayşe Tashkiran, BA, PGCert, FHEA
Notable graduates of this course include:
Tim Crouch (1993) Writer, actor, and performance maker.
David Jubb (1998) Artistic Director, Battersea Arts Centre and Chair of the London Theatre Consortium.
David Rosenberg, Hannah Ringham, Lizzie Clachan, Mischa Twitchin, Louise Mari, Serena Bobowski, Gemma Brockis, Andrew Rutland, and Heather Uprichard (1997) The Shunt Collective.
Orla O’Loughlin Artistic Director, Traverse Theatre.
Duncan Macmillan Writer, Melanie Wilson Sound Designer, and Lizzie Clachan Designer - Leading Team with Katie Mitchell - The Forbidden Zone, Salzburg Festival.
Jessica Swale Writer Blue Stockings, Shakespeare’s Globe and also performed at Central.
