Why choose to study BAPP?

As a recent graduate from Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, I primarily want to broaden my intellectual capacity, hone my knowledge of the arts and explore different areas of my practice - acting - which I am wholeheartedly passionate about. Middlesex University’s BAPP Arts course allows the logistics of these academic dreams to come true. The aspect of Work Based Learning studies through social networking web tools makes this course a convenient and manageable option to top up my diploma to a degree as I will still to be able to multi-task with my professional career as an actor. I feel a degree will be extremely beneficial for me, especially in the long term, if I want to be taken seriously as a teacher of my craft. 

From reading the course’s brief, I understand it to be one which allows a certain amount of freedom to concentrate of particular aspects of the arts which I want to focus on and research more. This intellectual flexibility is extremely attractive to me. There is nothing I relish more than delving deeper into a subject which I already hold a great capacity of interest for. During the wonderful Skype induction given by Paula Nottingham and Adesola Akinleye they made it clear to us students that the BAPP course encourages the practitioners to take a personal approach to our submissions and blogs and to examine how I create and produce my own work. To be allowed the freedom to form my own opinions and for there to be no wrong answers is a form of writing i connect well with. We have to figure out what our professional practice is, nobody else can decide that for us. In this instance - my professional practice which I will be focusing on is acting. 
In saying this, I believe the BAPP Arts course will also give me a broad understanding of the cultural industries. I have specialised in acting, however this does not mean I am solely interested in this aspect of the arts. I have great respect for all areas of the arts including art, design, media, music and dance. I believe all of these industries benefit from each other in different ways and we are interlinked by creativity. The group Skype sessions and blogging system will give all of the different practices the opportunity to discuss their own passions whilst listening to stories about other professions too. We are all studying under the same umbrella - linked by a course name - but all of our experiences and opinions regarding our lives and our crafts are unique.
Lastly, I would like to emphasise my yearning to gain more intellectual experience. I enjoyed the contextual studies side of my Performing Arts Diploma course in Italia Conti so much that I know a further 16 months of part-time study is the correct path for me. I delight in essay and dissertation writing. The journey to create an in-depth essay full of background research and reading greatly pleases me and my academic brain is already becoming excited at the thought of more projects yet to come. The opportunities this BAPP Arts course will hopefully present to me are highly beneficial. For example, should I feel the academic or practical need to obtain a Masters in acting in the future – I will have set a stable building block to work upon in the form of this degree.

I love having my mind exercised.

'Study, find all the good teachers and study with them'

- Philip Seymour Hoffman