LSBU School of Arts and Creative Industries Teams with Lyric Hammersmith for New Master's Program

London South Bank University's (LSBU) School of Arts and Creative Industries has joined forces with the Lyric Hammersmith to launch a new Creative Performance Practice Master's degree for students wanting to forge a career in the performing arts industry.

Known as a 'low residency' master's, the course features short intensive, practical modules run by industry professionals allowing students to complete their studies on a full- or part-time basis. Each intensive module will run over a two or three week residency where the entire cohort works together on a range of performance projects.

The course has been developed in conjunction with the Lyric Hammersmith, one of the UK's leading producing theatres which will deliver one of the core modules. All students will complete the 'Socially Engaged Arts' module at the Lyric, and will benefit from its state-of-the-art facilities for theatre, dance, film and digital activities, which it opened in 2015.

Maria Chatzichristodoulou, LSBU Reader, External Development and Enterprise lecturer and the course's developer, commented: "This is the only low residency Creative Performance Master's to be offered in the UK and is particularly attractive to students who wish to further their studies and enhance their career opportunities but cannot commit to a traditional full-time offering. Students can also opt to take the modules separately gaining a post-graduate certificate upon completion of each unit."

Maria added: "Our partnership with the Lyric Hammersmith is very exciting and I know students will benefit from hands-on experience in a professional producing theatre which has such a strong reputation for its community engagement and talent development programmes."

SIan Alexander, Executive Director at the Lyric Hammersmith, commented: "The Lyric has a long history of supporting and nurturing the creativity of young people from a wide range of backgrounds. We are proud to support LSBU's School of Arts and Creative Industries to launch this bespoke master's course, enabling students at any point in their career to reach their full artistic potential."

Students can now enrol on the course to start in September 2017 and for more information visit www.lsbu.ac.uk. More information on the Creative Performance Practice Master's degree can be found here: www.lsbu.ac.uk/courses/course-finder/creative-performance-practice-ma.

London South Bank University is one of London's largest and oldest universities. Since 1892, we have been providing vocationally-relevant, accredited and professionally recognised education which transforms lives, businesses and communities. London South Bank University, 90 London Road, London SE1 6LN: www.lsbu.ac.uk.

The Lyric Hammersmith is one of the UK's leading producing theatres. For more than 120 years, it has been responsible for creating some of the UK's most adventurous and acclaimed theatrical work. It has also gained a national reputation for its work with and for children and young people. Recent productions include the smash hit Bugsy Malone, Ghost Stories which transferred to the West End and has toured the world and the Olivier award-winning production of Sarah Kane's Blasted.

The Lyric's dual commitment to producing the highest quality contemporary
theatre, alongside nurturing the creativity of young people is what makes it unique within the cultural ecology of the UK. It is a local theatre rooted in its community with a national and international reputation for the quality and innovation of its artistic work.

In April 2015, the Lyric reopened following a multi-million pound capital project, which saw the addition of the Reuben Foundation Wing housing state-of-the-art facilities for theatre, dance, film, music, digital and more. The 'new' Lyric is now the largest creative hub in West London and home to an innovative partnership of like-minded leading arts organisations who work together to deliver life-changing creative opportunities for thousands of young West Londoners.

For more information, visit lyric.co.uk.