Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre) (B-FATH)

You’re currently viewing the 2024 version of this course

Overview

Award title	Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
Year & campus	2024 — Southbank
CRICOS code	094860M
Fees information	Subject EFTSL, level, discipline and census date
Study level & type	Undergraduate Coursework
AQF level	7
Credit points	300 credit points
Duration	36 months full-time

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre) is an interdisciplinary, full-time intensive-degree focused on fostering outstanding new generations of theatre makers who create original contemporary performances. The course is designed to bring together students with a diverse range of interests in performance creation and prepare them to become critical, curious and inventive theatre makers and highly skilled devisors of original performance work. The course places an emphasis on preparing students for diverse careers and professional practice and on artistic and cultural leadership.

This hands-on, practical degree provides students with a broad creative skill set, including cutting-edge approaches to performance aesthetics and composition, critical thinking and contextual theory, embodied, somatic training, and dramaturgy for contemporary performance.

Throughout their studies, students will encounter a range of concepts designed to place them at the forefront of industry practice, including immersive and participatory theatre, inclusive theatre practice, documentary and audio performance, physical theatre and movement, strategies of facilitation and directing, methods for writing for performance and ethical frameworks for theatre-making and performance with and for community and in applied theatre contexts.

As part of developing an independent artistic practice, students experience a range of theatre-making provocations - solo and ensemble practice, site-specific work, applied theatre, theatre for young audiences and contemporary and experimental performance. Recent projects include collaborations with Polyglot Theatre, The Unconformity, Ilbijerri Theatre and Science Gallery Melbourne.

Students will develop their own unique practice as theatre makers informed by an understanding of their own interests and identity, historical paradigms and an application of current methodologies and thinking. Students have opportunities to engage in regional and national projects, undertake company residencies and be part of multiple public performance seasons.

The program culminates in the creation and performance of fully produced devised works in which students collaborate in pre-professional companies to conceive, develop, rehearse and present original works. These works are showcased to invited industry guests and a general public audience.

Students will learn from highly experienced staff and mentors and collaborate on a range of live and digital theatre making contexts with invited industry professionals. Previous projects have included students making original performance in the Royal Botanic Gardens, abandoned shops and emporiums in the CBD and in gallery spaces, as well as more traditional theatre spaces and studios. Theatre students also collaborate throughout the course with students from other disciplines and schools at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) including students from Interactive Composition, Dance, Film and Television and Production.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre) enables graduates to enter the profession with the capacity to contribute to and transform Australia’s theatre ecology and instigate change and leadership with clarity and skill. Graduates work at all levels of the profession and are renowned for their capacity to work creatively and collaboratively, in both independent and mainstage professional theatre as well as in youth arts, festivals, community cultural development, film, television, radio, new media, arts and health and education contexts.

Students are able to study 50 credit points of Breadth from other disciplines on offer at the University of Melbourne allowing VCA Theatre students to graduate with a range of skills and knowledge and multidisciplinary approaches to bring to their arts practice and careers.

Links to further information

This course is available in My Course Planner

My Course Planner is an interactive web application that allows you to explore your study options and decide which subjects and major(s), minors and/or specialisations are right for you.

Entry requirements

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed one of:

(a) the Victorian Certificate of Education including;
VCE Units 3 and 4 either a study score of at least 25 in English/English Language/Literature or a study score of at least 30 in English as an Additional Language;

(b) the International Baccalaureate Diploma including at least Grade 4 in English or English B (Standard Level or Higher Level);

(c) a senior secondary program, foundation studies program or equivalent approved by Academic Board including appropriate English language studies.

Applicants are also required to complete an audition, test, interview, workshop, portfolio or folio presentation, as prescribed by the Academic Board for the stream to which entry is sought.

Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:

prior academic performance, and
performance in an audition.

3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.

4. For applicants who have not completed the Victorian Certificate of Education or the International Baccalaureate Diploma, the undergraduate English language requirements must be met.

Note. For applicants through the Victorian Tertiary Admission Centre, “middle-band” selection adjustments are made only on the basis of eligibility for Access Melbourne.

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this course are articulated in the Course Overview, Objectives and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this course are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this course, graduates will be able to:

demonstrate high level technical and creative proficiency as performers and devisors in a range of performance contexts;
work independently and collaboratively with a range of stakeholders in a range of theatre and performance settings and contexts;
perform and devise solo and ensemble work with respect to ethical considerations and professional protocols;
analyse and evaluate process, methodologies and performance outcomes to inform and enhance own practice;
apply knowledge and skills of independent, company promotion and production tasks to sustain professional practice;
identify, analyse and evaluate opportunities relevant to professional aspirations;
practise professional communication and collaboration skills when interacting with industry figures, peers, communities and other stakeholders.

Generic skills

Refer to Graduate Attributes.

Graduate attributes

Graduates of the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre) will have developed the following skills and attributes that allow them to be:

Artistically excellent:

demonstrate a flexible and innovative approach to the national and international challenges for the professional artist/practitioner in the 21 Century;
have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and of the ethics of artistic practices and scholarship;
have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s);
reach a high level of achievement in artistic practice, writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication;
be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning;
be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies.

Knowledgeable across disciplines:

critically examine, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a range of disciplines;
expand their analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences in diverse subjects;
have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar problems;
have a set of flexible and transferable skills for different types of employment.

Leaders in communities:

initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces;
have excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths and limitations;
mentor future generations of learners;
engage in meaningful public discourse, with a profound awareness of community needs.

Attuned to cultural diversity:

value different cultures and their cultural forms of practice;
be well-informed citizens able to contribute to their communities wherever they choose to live and work;
have an understanding of the social and cultural diversity in our community;
respect Indigenous knowledge, cultures and values.

Active global citizens:

understand their relationship with and responsibility to their cultural environment and society;
accept social and civic responsibilities;
be advocates for improving the sustainability of the environment;
have a broad global understanding, with a high regard for human rights, equity and ethics.

Course structure

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre) requires the successful completion of 300 credit points.

Compulsory subjects

250 credit points of Compulsory subjects
- 75 credit points of Level 1 Compulsory subjects
- 75 credit points of Level 2 Compulsory subjects
- 100 credit points of Level 3 Compulsory subjects

Breadth

50 credit points of Breadth subjects
- a minimum of 12.5 credit points of Level 2 or Level 3 breadth subjects

Progression Rules

Completion of CREA10002 Stories of Place in the first semester of study
Completion of all Level 1 Compulsory subjects before proceeding to the next year level's Compulsory subjects
Completion of all Level 2 Compulsory subjects before proceeding to the next year level's Compulsory subjects
Note: Compulsory subjects in this program have prerequisites. Refer to individual subject entries.

For students who commenced prior to 2021

For students who commenced the Bachelor of Fine Arts prior to 2021, please click the link below to view your course structure and subject options:

Link

Subject Options

Level 1 Compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
CREA10002	Stories of Place	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank) Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	6.25

Note: All students must take Stories of Place in their first semester of commencement in this course

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
DRAM10032	Contextual Studies 1	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
DRAM10033	Performance Preparation 1	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	18.75
DRAM10034	Contextual Studies 2	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
DRAM10035	Performance Preparation 2	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	25

These subjects are co-delivered with the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting).

Level 2 Compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
DRAM20032	Theatre Practice 1	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	25
DRAM20033	Theatre Skills 1	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
DRAM20034	Theatre Practice 2	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	25
DRAM20035	Theatre Skills 2	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5

Level 3 Compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
		Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank) Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)
DRAM30033	Theatre Practice 3	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	25
DRAM30034	Theatre Skills 3	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
DRAM30035	Professional Practice Theatre 1	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
DRAM30036	Theatre Practice 4	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	25
DRAM30037	Theatre Skills 4	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
DRAM30038	Professional Practice Theatre 2	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5

Breadth requirements

50 points of breadth subjects including at least 12.5 points at Level 2 or Level 3.

Find breadth subjects

Use the Handbook Search function to find subjects that can be used as breadth studies in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)

Reassessment is available in this course

Reassessment is a second attempt at passing a compulsory subject if a borderline failure in a single subject has a significant impact on the student's progression through their course. A borderline failure is usually a mark of 45% or more. Reassessment is not available if failure in the subject is a result of a finding of student academic misconduct; or a student was awarded a NH grade due to failure to participate in a component of assessment that was a hurdle requirement or failure to attend or participate in the subject as required.

Refer to Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326): https://policy.unimelb.edu.au/MPF1326

Last updated: 21 February 2025