CertHE Performance & Theatre Making
Fourth Monkey’s CertHE in Performance & Theatre Making celebrates each students’ unique creative identity as an actor and theatre maker. Students are encouraged to be bold and play with a variety of industry-led acting, performing, creative and theatre making skills.
Our friendly and creative ensemble training environment encourages embodied and collaborative play, giving every student on this foundation-level vocational actor training course a vital springboard for their onward training journey in preparation for their career as an actor and theatre maker.
Applications: Open for September 2021 Entry
Course Delivery: One Year (Full-time)
Training Provider: Fourth Monkey
Location: The Monkey House, London
Qualification: Certificate of Higher Education
Awarding Partner: Falmouth University
About the Course
The course is framed around Fourth Monkey’s unique vocational thematic structure of ACT. MAKE. MOVE. COLLABORATE designed to encourage exploration and connections between training disciplines and practices within the field of acting and creative theatre making.
Students on the CertHE Performance & Theatre Making course work alongside some of the UK’s finest practitioners who share their passion, specialist knowledge and professional industry experience to create a unique, dynamic working environment.
All classes and workshops are curated and delivered by industry professionals with a focus on introducing core practitioners and theatrical practices allowing students to build skills and needed to establish themselves fearless, connected and imaginative artists.
Our CertHE Performance & Theatre Making students leave the course with a grounding in professional readiness – they are knowledgeable and prepared as both actors and creative theatre makers to take the next steps on their professional vocational training journey.
Core Modules on the CertHE Performance & Theatre Making
Act.
Contemporary & Classical Text, Acting for Camera, Voice & The Actor’s Toolkit.
Make.
Playground, Puppetry, Acting through Clown & The Contemporary Ensemble.
Move.
Laban, Le Coq, Corporeal Mime, Grotowski & The African Diaspora.
Collaborate.
The Collaborative Ensemble and Contemporary Projects & Professional Preparation.
Course Delivery
The CertHE qualification is delivered across two study blocks of unique thematic modules, encouraging students to identify patterns and connections between theatrical practices, approaches and activities.
Initially students explore physical practices which connect body, breath and thought through a first principles approach, helping our students to identify their own impulses and develop a personal process as actors in understanding text and creating character.
A students’ understanding and professional skillset will develop cumulatively and individually as they progress through the course. Skills will be integrated into scene and text based work. Opportunities to develop personal creative practice arise through devised performances and solo projects.
It’s training as it should be.
Emily, 2020 AlumnusReal-world industry knowledge alongside expressive experience continues to build through our technique classes, workshops, masterclasses and professional preparation prior to the final focus of performance projects where everyone is given opportunity to showcase their learning and emerging skills in a public repertory performance season.
Training is full-time hours (approx. 30hrs per week), yet is designed with real world expectations in mind. Evening and weekend delivery allow students on the CertHE Performance & Theatre Making to work and train at the same time and better support themselves financially.
Course Progression
The focus of this course is to equip everyone with the practical experience, information and knowledge to fully consider the range of further education and employment opportunities within this industry.
Students on the CertHE Performance & Theatre Making at Fourth Monkey are taught the skills and encouraged to explore life at a drama school, in advance of further vocational training at a higher level. The majority of CertHE Performance & Theatre Making students choose to stay on and train further with Fourth Monkey.
Our training stands all our students in good stead to study professional vocational acting training at a higher level or to enter the industry should they feel ready, as they will graduate from Fourth Monkey well-equipped to rise to the challenges and rigours of being a professional actor or theatre maker.
Entry Requirements
Fourth Monkey commit to meeting everyone at audition who applies to train with us. Information about Fourth Monkey Application, Audition & Offer requirements and processes can be found on our Auditions Page.
Admission onto the CertHE Performance & Theatre Making is by Audition.
- Applicants must be aged 18 years or over at the start of the course.
- Previous formal academic qualifications are not essential.
- Applicants are assessed at audition solely on merit.
Upon completion of a successful audition, to accept any offer to study made by Fourth Monkey, you must register and satisfactorily adhere to the Admissions Policy of our Awarding Partner, Falmouth University prior to the completion of enrolment for the course.
If you have any questions regarding Entry Requirements, please do get in touch with our friendly Admissions Team.
Course Assessment
The purpose of assessment is to measure progress and achievement throughout the course. Assessment is the formal review point which generates feedback on work, allowing students to develop their practice and performance more effectively by identifying specific areas and activities for them to work on.
In keeping with the nature of the learning on this course, the majority of assessments are practical and adjudicated. Students are assessed individually through solo or ensemble performances and practical tasks, with marks given accordingly against the personal demonstration of the skills being assessed.
Ongoing individual holistic and developmental support from the Training Team is central to the Fourth Monkey training philosophy, with students receiving opportunities for self-reflection and self-care alongside constructive feedback and pastoral support throughout their training.
All Fourth Monkey students are also required at all times to maintain high levels of professional conduct regarding attendance, promptness and preparation which is expected and compulsory.
After the first two study blocks, formal credit bearing assessments for the Certificate of Higher Education qualification will be complete. The final study block is constructed entirely as a professional enhancement opportunity and is under a separate Fourth Monkey certificate.
Awarding Partner
The Certificate of Higher Education for Fourth Monkey’s Performance & Theatre Making course is awarded by one of the UK’s leading specialist universities for the creative industries, Falmouth University.
Falmouth University are ranked Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, where teaching, retention and graduate outcomes are consistently outstanding and are of the highest quality found in the UK.
Fourth Monkey professional vocational training courses are informed by industry research, development and relevance. Structures, modules and assessments may periodically change as part of the training curriculum enhancement and review. Up to date module and assessment information is made available to all students upon completion of enrolment with both Fourth Monkey and Falmouth University.
Fees & Funding
Students on the CertHE Performance & Theatre Making course are able to access Student Finance for student loans towards tuition fees and maintenance loan towards living expenses.
Tuition Fees
£9,250
Additional Costs
Fourth Monkey Uniform £60+
KneePads £5+
Padlock (Coded) £5+
Students on the CertHE Performance & Theatre Making would also be entitled to funding for a further full three years of any chosen BA programme, once you had completed the CertHE course.
For more information on the type of student funding available, please visit the Gov.uk website. There are also alternative funding avenues open to students, information on these are available on our Funding page.
EU & International Students
Fourth Monkey are a diverse school who have welcomed students from all over the world supporting them throughout their vocational training journey with us creating industry ready professional actors and theatre makers.
Student Visa
Following Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, freedom of movement between the UK and the EU unfortunately ended on 31 December 2020. EU citizens may now require a visa for studying in the UK. This does not apply to Irish nationals, or anyone who benefits from Citizens’ Rights under the EU Withdrawal Agreement.
If you have already completed an application under the EU Settlement Scheme and have confirmed settled or pre-settled status, you do not require a visa. Prior to formal offer for a place to study you will be required to confirm settled or pre-settled status.
If you do not have confirmed settled or pre-settled status, you can apply before 30 June 2021 under the EU Settlement Scheme and are eligible for the scheme if you lived in the UK or arrived before the end of the transition period.
We regret that this course is not currently available to EU or International applicants who would require a Student Route Visa. We will update this section to ensure that all potential applicants are immediately notified of any changes to our registration status immediately and accordingly.
English Language Requirements
Applicants should have excellent conversational English and be able to understand a variety of texts. As with UK applicants, our audition panel will be assessing how you deliver your speeches and interact with the panel at interview.
If English is not your first language you will need to meet the same standard expected of UK applicants, which is equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.0 overall score, with at least 5.5 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.
A full list of English Language tests can be found on our awarding partner Falmouth University’s website: https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/study/international/english-language-requirements.
Fees & Funding
As part of our commitment to Accessibility, Fourth Monkey do not charge increased tuition fees to International Students.
The UK government announced that EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for financial support from Student Finance England for courses starting in the 2021-22 academic year. Please see www.gov.uk for more details.
We recommend contacting the Department of Education in your home country for details of any government funding or scholarships which may be available to you for overseas study.
Resources for International Students
The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) is a helpful resource to find information and advice for international students, including Brexit, immigration, funding, fees and wellbeing.
Any EU or International applicants who have questions regarding applying and studying with Fourth Monkey, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of our Admissions Team who will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
The Monkey House
The Monkey House, our home and training base, in Islington, North London is where the CertHE Performance & Theatre Making course is delivered.
You can explore our modern fit-for-purpose training spaces and bustling creative hub with our virtual 360 tour of the Monkey House.
Our Training Ethos
We believe strongly in the power of the group dynamic, the ensemble and ‘play’ in our training. We develop open-minded performers and shape individuals who are not driven by the pursuit of the spotlight, but by the desire to deliver bold, visceral and collaborative work as an actor and theatre maker.
Our approach looks to celebrate the humanity of every individual who comes through our doors, to encourage their passion for acting and theatre and guide them to seek out physical and emotional truth in all they do.
Theatre and acting is a collaborative art form and we place great emphasis on the individual’s responsibility to the group and the group’s responsibility to the individual. This creates an ensemble atmosphere of mutual respect where creativity can flourish.
I am staunchly passionate about this place, the energy, the mission, the simplicity and purity of the learning.
Louis, 2020 AlumnusIf you would like to experience the Fourth Monkey style of training first-hand, we offer free Virtual Q&A’s on a monthly basis to work out whether we are the right drama school for you.
Led by Artistic Director Steven Green, the Q&A’s are a fun introduction to the Fourth Monkey ethos and a great chance to get an insight into our approach to actor training as well as ask to any questions you may have
