Welcome Pack - Musical Theatre 2019
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<strong>Welcome</strong> <strong>Pack</strong><br />
BA (Hons) <strong>Musical</strong> <strong>Theatre</strong><br />
019
I would like to extend a very warm welcome to the Arden School of <strong>Theatre</strong>.<br />
Here at the Arden we pride ourselves on being a family of courses that serve the<br />
artistic community. I hope that you quickly settle in to Arden life and take advantage<br />
of the amazing things Manchester has to offer both culturally and, of course,<br />
socially. It is very important to us that you feel at home here and there are plenty<br />
of people to contact in order to make life a bit easier for you. If you are from a<br />
different city or living away from home for the first time it can take some getting<br />
used to, so do not be afraid to speak up and tell your year tutor if there is something<br />
that we can support you with.<br />
Taking on this course will be life changing for you. As a student performer, you<br />
are standing on the shoulders of tradition but at the same time forging new and<br />
contemporary positions to the work. You are part of the next generation of performers<br />
that will translate the cultural and social time. Now is the time to invest,<br />
experiment, and test your knowledge, skills, and experience as you collaborate<br />
with others and find your own voice. Your commitment is everything, whether<br />
that is arriving on time or being fully prepared for every class. The bar is only as<br />
high as you set it.<br />
It is with some pride that I look at the school and its excellent lecturers and curriculum,<br />
please cherish and respect them, each other, and yourselves. The spirit<br />
of Arden embraces the notion of family, mutual respect, positivity, and etiquette<br />
both in the rehearsal room and out of it. Make sure you play your role in that and<br />
ensure that the Arden is a place you can feel free to experiment and develop your<br />
professionalism.<br />
I hope you have wonderful time with us over the next three years.<br />
Best Wishes,<br />
Robert Owen<br />
YOUR HEAD OF SCHOOL<br />
YOUR COURSE LEADER<br />
I am delighted to welcome you to The Arden School of <strong>Theatre</strong> on the BA<br />
(Hons) <strong>Musical</strong> <strong>Theatre</strong> course. I am looking forward to getting to know you<br />
more through our induction week. The induction week is where you will meet<br />
your peers and the staff here at The Arden. I would like you to feel part of our<br />
Arden family and if you have any questions or concerns my door is always<br />
open to you.<br />
The <strong>Musical</strong> <strong>Theatre</strong> course is full time and will need your full commitment,<br />
energy and passion. Over the next three years you will develop your techniques<br />
and work on challenges all aimed to prepare you for the industry. There<br />
will be some fantastic opportunities to work with industry professionals and<br />
graduates of The Arden to help inspire you to achieve your best.<br />
Aside from your studies, Manchester is a vibrant, exciting city full of culture<br />
and history that you can experience. Manchester boasts some of the best theatres<br />
in the country with an abundance of shows that you can see to enhance<br />
your knowledge and make your time in Manchester truly inspirational.<br />
The standard of audition this year was extremely high and I would like to congratulate<br />
you on achieving a place on our course. You have shown us that you<br />
have the skills and the potential needed to succeed on our course.<br />
At The Arden we are immensely proud of our history and alumni, by accepting<br />
a place at The Arden you are not just joining a course but you are making<br />
history. Are you ready?<br />
I hope you get some well deserved rest over the summer, and you are looking<br />
forward to starting the next chapter on your journey to becoming Amazing!<br />
See you in September<br />
Andrew Stephenson<br />
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YOUR OFFER<br />
Please note that if your offer is conditional you must meet all of the set criteria<br />
before you can consider your place confirmed. Should you have any concerns or<br />
questions about this please do not hesitate to contact us.<br />
START DATE<br />
We hope you are enjoying a summer break, however, the start of your new programme<br />
will arrive quicker than you think! Years of experience tell us that if we<br />
send out lots of information over the summer, you will have forgotten it by the<br />
time you arrive at The Arden. Therefore, we have decided to send just basic information<br />
to help you prepare for your first day of term, which is:<br />
Induction and Enrolment Week - Your enrolment details will be communicated<br />
to you by UCEN Manchester but will be no earlier than 9th September.<br />
During the summer we will also send out a timetable for induction week.<br />
One question we are asked every year is whether you can start at a later date, and<br />
unfortunately the answer is no. This is because students who miss the induction<br />
week invariably find it much more difficult to settle; they have missed a lot of key<br />
information, social activity, and the chance to acclimatize before study begins.<br />
TERM DATES<br />
It is important that you adhere to the term dates below, as assessments can take<br />
place throughout the year and particularly towards the end of each term. These<br />
are provisional term dates and will be confirmed during induction week.<br />
Term 1: Monday 16th September <strong>2019</strong> - Friday 20th December <strong>2019</strong><br />
Term 2: Monday 6th January 2020 - Friday 6th April 2020<br />
Term 3: Tuesday 20th April 2020 - Friday 29th May 2020<br />
YOUR MENTOR<br />
At some point towards the end of the summer you will be contacted by one of<br />
our second year students who will act as your mentor. This way, you will already<br />
have support from someone who, only last year, was in your position. They will<br />
answer any questions you may have, make sure that you are prepared for study,<br />
and arrange to meet with you on your first day. Here, they will introduce you to<br />
the rest of the <strong>Theatre</strong> and Performance, and Arden, students and also provide<br />
you with your induction week timetable. Induction week is designed to explain<br />
all the things you will need to know in order to settle in and get the most out of<br />
your course, so do not worry if we have not covered everything here.<br />
ENROLMENT<br />
OUR ADDRESS<br />
Your enrolment will take place during induction week. For this, we require several<br />
pieces of information and documentation, which you must bring with you on<br />
your first day.<br />
The Arden School of <strong>Theatre</strong><br />
Nicholls Campus<br />
Exam certificates for your GCSEs, and for your A Levels and/or BTEC diplomas<br />
Hyde Road<br />
Your National Insurance number<br />
Manchester<br />
Your Student Loan confirmation letter<br />
M12 6BA<br />
Your permanent home address and emergency contact details<br />
Your term time address<br />
Your bank details<br />
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Your email address<br />
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INSURANCE<br />
We strongly advise you to have insurance cover for your personal belongings at<br />
your student accommodation. The major student insurance company is Endsleigh<br />
Insurance, but they are by no means the only insurance firm available. We<br />
suggest that you visit a site like www.moneysupermarket.com and search for the<br />
best deal.<br />
Whether we like it or not, Manchester is a big city, and like any city it attracts<br />
a high level of crime. While we do not want to frighten anybody, we do advise<br />
you to acquire good cover for your belongings, not just in your accommodation,<br />
but also for when you carry them about with you. It is also cheaper with mobile<br />
phones to have them covered by your insurance, rather than pay separately to<br />
your mobile phone company. Finally, your parents can usually extend their own<br />
home contents insurance to cover yours while you are at The Arden, this is often<br />
more cost effective.<br />
STUDENT FINANCE<br />
If you haven’t already done so you should visit the Student Finance Direct website<br />
in order to begin your application: www.studentfinance.direct.gov.uk.<br />
Should you require any further information you can contact your Local Authority<br />
for a student support pack (PN1 Form). You will need to use the Student Finance<br />
Direct website to apply for loans for tuition fees and living costs; grants; and other<br />
specific help such as childcare costs.<br />
Before you can enroll at The Arden, you must have, at the very least, a letter from<br />
the Student Loan Company confirming that they are providing you with a loan.<br />
Without such a letter we cannot enroll you and you may need to pay 33% of the<br />
fees upfront in order to join the sessions.<br />
TUITION FEES<br />
The tuition fee for your course this year is £8900<br />
Please note that this is correct at the time of writing.<br />
ACCOMMODATION<br />
TV LICENSE<br />
You will no doubt be aware that as a student your parents’ television license does<br />
not cover your television whilst you are at The Arden. We must remind you that<br />
it is your duty to buy a license if you have a television in your student accommodation.<br />
MONEY MANAGEMENT<br />
You need to consider how you will manage your finances. You will need money<br />
for accommodation, bills, clothes, food, travel, theatre visits, books, equipment,<br />
and for socialising. Your mentor will be a good person to ask for advice about<br />
managing your money and avoiding some of the pitfalls of student life.<br />
Many of you will find that the money you have does not meet your needs, you<br />
may need to supplement your income with paid work, but be aware that you will<br />
need to keep enough time, space and energy for your studies. Any activity that<br />
prevents you from giving your full commitment to your work will affect your<br />
performance on the programme. Some students supplement their income with<br />
casual work in the local theatres and we encourage this as a way of gaining experience,<br />
preparing you for the world of work, and getting a bit of extra cash. However,<br />
all the above statements still apply. There are several theatres that we would<br />
recommend you looking at for employment:<br />
If you are relocating to Manchester, and will be requiring accommodation, you<br />
can find all the relevant information at www.manchesterstudenthomes.com<br />
Once on the site, please follow the link marked ‘private halls’ and this will give you<br />
information relating to all of the student accommodation available in Manchester.<br />
The Arden recommends students to gravitate towards the following accommodation:<br />
Sanctuary: from £112 per week.<br />
Q3 Apartments: from £109 per week.<br />
Six Victoria Point (Hello Student) from £123 per week.<br />
Piccadilly Point: from £174 per week.<br />
Contact, Oxford Road, HOME, First Street, The Palace <strong>Theatre</strong>, The Opera House<br />
Casual work is a valuable experience but it should not interfere with your studies.<br />
It is a condition of the programme that you must not undertake any other work<br />
between the hours of 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday without making a written<br />
application to your year tutor. It is quite common for applications to be refused,<br />
although never without good reason; there are a number of weeks throughout the<br />
year where you are required to be available full time for rehearsals.<br />
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PREPARING FOR STUDY<br />
Every student prepares for their new programme in different ways. The information here<br />
cannot cover everything you need to know about your course at The Arden, but it does<br />
cover things you may not have thought of and things you need to know, along with advice<br />
and recommendations we think you will find useful. The main thing that we ask is that<br />
you begin your students with excitement, eagerness, and an open mind. You are going to<br />
be exploring some areas of theatre you never even knew existed, but also hone those skills<br />
you have been developing throughout all of your previous studies so far.<br />
READING<br />
ADVICE AND GUIDANCE<br />
If you need additional advice or support, to do with finance, student fees, accommodation,<br />
or personal matters, as you prepare for study in Higher Education,<br />
the Guidance and Welfare team will be able to help. The team will also be able to<br />
offer specific advice relating to financial help, such as Parent Learning Allowance,<br />
Disabled Student Allowance, Childcare Grant, Adult Dependent Grant, Higher<br />
Education Access to Learning Fund (HEALF).<br />
HEALTH CARE<br />
You should register yourself with both a dentist and GP in Manchester for your<br />
time at The Arden; you should do this within your first two weeks of arriving in<br />
Manchester. We cannot stress how vital it is that you have access to the health<br />
service during your time at The Arden, going back home is not practical. You<br />
will need to have your medical card to do this. NHS Direct can provide you with<br />
details of doctors and dentists in your area.<br />
We will ask you to give details of any previous medical or physical conditions that<br />
your participation in certain sessions might adversely affect. If you are undergoing<br />
treatment, or require particular medication, you should tell your personal<br />
tutor. This is for your own protection; The Arden will not accept responsibility if<br />
you fail to do this. It is our policy that any such information will be confidential<br />
and will in no way affect your place on the programme.<br />
If you are not already an avid reader, now would be a good time to get into the habit!<br />
Reading not only widens your perspectives, but also helps to develop your writing skills,<br />
which will be vital to you throughout your studies and in you future career. In addition,<br />
your ability to demonstrate independent learning is critical for Higher Education study;<br />
so start reading over the summer. Here are a couple of books that it would be extremely<br />
beneficial for you to have looked at before you start.<br />
Deer, J., & Dal, V. R. (2008). Acting in musical theatre: A comprehensive course. London:<br />
Routledge.<br />
Stanislavski K. (1980) An Actor Prepares. London: Methuen<br />
Kayes, G. (1996) Singing and The Actor: A & C Black<br />
Also, try to keep well informed on current events and ideas by reading newspapers and<br />
magazines of every kind. The theatre industry has its own newspaper, The Stage, and national<br />
newspapers such as The Guardian also have theatre sections.<br />
DIARY<br />
Dates and deadlines will frame your life; a diary is therefore invaluable, so try to get into<br />
the habit of keeping one as soon as possible. Your lecturers will provide you with a list of<br />
key dates and deadlines at the beginning of the year, but these may well need to be adjusted.<br />
You will also need to make personal appointments with staff and your fellow students;<br />
it is professional practice to do this efficiently and effectively.<br />
SOCIAL MEDIA<br />
To find us on social media you should ‘like’ our Arden School of <strong>Theatre</strong> Facebook<br />
page where you will be able to find other new starters as well as current<br />
students. You should also join the Facebook group:<br />
Arden School of <strong>Theatre</strong> Freshers <strong>2019</strong>-2020 - Current students and staff are<br />
availible to answer your questions!<br />
We have a Twitter account for you to follow @ArdenSchool, as well as Instagram<br />
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@the_arden.<br />
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DRESS CODE<br />
Our aim is to create a blank canvas for each session, to put everyone on a level playing<br />
field, and to create a professional working environment. Therefore it is a requirement<br />
that students wear rehearsal blacks for all classes/rehearsals/warm-ups.<br />
This should consist of:<br />
Basic crew neck t-shirt/sweater<br />
Black jogging bottoms or leggins<br />
Black jazz shoes or black trainers.<br />
There should be no slogans, stripes or decoration of any kind on clothing. Small logos<br />
are allowed (see above as an example).<br />
For dance-wear, this must also be black with the exception of ballet tights and ballet<br />
shoes. For subject specific class-wear, please see the next page.<br />
In addition, make-up should be kept to a minimum (preferably none), along with no<br />
fake tan, false nails, and false eyelashes. Nail polish is allowed but should be discreet<br />
and you may be asked to remove it for performance work.<br />
Piercings are allowed, however for practical or health and safety reasons, you may be<br />
advised to remove or change your piercing jewellery. The final decision on piercings<br />
will be at the discretion of the Head of Course for your subject.<br />
Hair colour and style is not prescribed however in all practical classes it should be<br />
tied up away from the face. For certain classes you may be required to change this in<br />
accordance with industry practices. (e.g Ballet – hair in buns, Period/Casting decisions).<br />
BASIC CLASS WEAR<br />
<strong>Musical</strong> <strong>Theatre</strong> students must wear the appropriate dancewear. Women need to<br />
wear a good sports bra, and men will need to wear athletic supports. We advise<br />
students to have several changes of clothes, and preferably to carry a spare change<br />
with them at all times. For dancewear, we recommend going to www.dancedirect.<br />
com as it is much cheaper than dance shops.<br />
WOMEN<br />
Ballet shoes. (1 pair) split sole, canvas or leather, elastic not ribbon;<br />
Jazz Shoes (1 pair) Black shoe or boot, split sole;<br />
Tap shoes. (1 pair), Capezio or equivalent taps – screw not rivet;<br />
Leotard (at least 2);<br />
Ballet Tights (at least 2);<br />
Comfortable stretchy black trousers: i.e. Jazz pants - track-suit bottoms – leggings<br />
(At least 2);<br />
Sweat shirts and T-shirts (a few);<br />
Smart Black Dress for Performances<br />
MEN<br />
Ballet shoes (1 pair) split sole – canvas or leather, elastic;<br />
Jazz Shoes (1 pair) black, shoe or boot or split sole trainer;<br />
Tap shoes (1 pair) black, proper dance shoe, Capezio or equivalent taps – screw<br />
not rivet;<br />
Tight legging stretchy trousers for Ballet (at least 2);<br />
Comfortable stretchy trousers: i.e. Jazz pants - track-suit bottoms – leggings (At<br />
least 2);<br />
Sweat shirts and T-shirts (a few);<br />
Smart Black Trousers / Shirt for Performances<br />
All students need to have a good pair of character shoes.<br />
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USEFUL CONTACT DETAILS<br />
<strong>Musical</strong> <strong>Theatre</strong> Office 0161 674 4810<br />
Andrew Stephenson (Head of Course) 0161 674 1757<br />
Robert Owen (Head of School) 0161 674 2565<br />
Nicholls Campus Reception 0161 674 2743<br />
UCEN Manchester Switchboard 03333 222 444<br />
Manchester Student Homes 0161 275 7680<br />
Manchester Royal Infirmary 0161 276 1234<br />
Greater Manchester Police 0161 872 5050<br />
FRESHER’S CHECKLIST<br />
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<br />
Before you arrive in Manchester, make sure you have completed the following:<br />
The Arden has a library to provide for all the courses on site. There is an excellent<br />
collection of books, DVDs, journals, and other resources. You will receive<br />
an initial induction to the library at the beginning of your course and you should<br />
make use of the facilities throughout your studies. Make friends with the librarians,<br />
they will offer you invaluable help and advice as you research, especially in<br />
preparation for your third year dissertation.<br />
All written work submitted for assessment must be word-processed. PCs are<br />
available throughout The Arden, and whilst your own computer will be convenient,<br />
it is not necessary as the library even loan out laptops and iPads.<br />
EQUIPMENT<br />
Most of the books that you will need are in our library, although you are encouraged<br />
to buy key texts and begin your own collection. A dictionary and thesaurus<br />
are very useful to have. Some modules will require note-taking, so you should<br />
invest in a range of stationary and folders. A creative journal to note down performance<br />
and artistic ideas would also be beneficial. Other equipment that you<br />
should consider includes ring binders, memory sticks, and a Dictaphone.<br />
For each and every session, even the most practical, you will be required to actively<br />
take notes and record your learning. You should be appropriately dressed<br />
and arrive on time (which means early in order to be ready to start). Please note<br />
that students without the proper equipment or clothing, or that arrive late may be<br />
excluded from the session.<br />
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Email address, permanent address, emergency contact details<br />
Student accommodation address<br />
Details of National Insurance number<br />
Certificates of previous examinations and qualifications<br />
Student Loan confirmation letter<br />
Arranged contents insurance and TV license<br />
Bought the necessary stationary, equipment, and clothing<br />
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Prepared yourself through initial research and reading<br />
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