MA Stage Management
Q & A with Dave Roxburgh, Head of Stage Management
What are you looking for in your students?
Our Masters programme represents an outstanding opportunity for
students with experience in, and flair for, stage management. We
see a great number of students apply each year but it is those with
a genuine desire to make it in the industry that we will help train
to become tomorrow's leading industry professionals. Our aim is to
take the most talented individuals out of the relative comfort of
their previous experiences, to challenge their attitudes, and to
furnish them with new techniques. We provide one of the most
intense, dynamic and thorough courses available, and we create
highly capable stage managers and technicians.
How many places are available?
On this new programme we recruit nine students each year. The
course is unashamedly difficult but students are supported from the
outset by RWCMD's passionate tutors who help them to identify
specific areas of interest and areas for improvement, and to
develop career focussed opportunities. The intimate numbers on our
course enable us to get to know each student and help shape them
into the graduate they want to be.
What makes this course different from other stage
management courses?
Students come to RWCMD with strong aspirations of becoming world
class practitioners. One of the unique features of our programme is
that we give students the opportunity to fulfil those dreams whilst
at the same time opening their eyes to the complete range of stage
management fields. Furthermore, this programme includes the well
established postgraduate diploma course which the College ran for
eight years and is accredited by the National Council for Drama
Training.
Staff at RWCMD work closely with the students to develop their
specialisms with a view to long term career development. In this
way students are able to shape the course in their own way over the
two years.
I also believe that the level of support that is available, both
from the college and from fellow students, is particularly high.
There is a real sense of community amongst the students, the
academic staff and the graduates of the department.
Every year RWCMD stage 15 drama, musical and opera productions
held at venues including The Sherman Theatre (Cardiff), Bristol Old
Vic, Watford Palace Theatre and the Royal Court in London. The
College also runs a venue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and
regularly visits the Picolo Theatre Festival in Milan.
Stage Management students also go on work experience at a number
of high profile venues and productions throughout the UK. In 2009
this included the Royal Opera House, Wicked and
Doctor Who. This exposes our students to a variety of
situations from which they can draw experience in the future. The
Stage Management Department at RWCMD plays much more than merely a
supporting role for each of these performances. We run
independently whilst at the same time complementing the activities
of the Acting, Theatre Design and Music programmes. This means that
RWCMD has successfully built a reputation for producing both
traditional and innovative dynamic performances.
What professional opportunities can Cardiff
offer?
The opportunities are not limited to Cardiff, or indeed Wales.
The Stage Management programme at RWCMD is vocationally based and
as such we work closely with external production companies,
agencies and events based throughout the UK and beyond. RWCMD
enjoys an excellent reputation for student retention, student
satisfaction and student employment and our graduates are desirable
to potential employers throughout the world, in a number of
disciplines. The opportunities for our students to gain experience
are extensive and this is reflected in the success of our past
students.