Mr Bruce Adams

Biography

Bruce is the Programme Leader for undergraduate Theatre programmes at Middlesex, having worked with the Theatre Arts team since 2013. His practice encompasses theatre directing, dramaturgy, scenography and producing.

He has led on a range of industry-facing KE projects and was artistic director of More Storm Festival for scratch and new work, hosted in the University's theatre facilities in Hendon, and of Theatre Arts Exchange, a pop-up venue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

He has directed the world premieres of over ten new plays at notable venues including Theatre503 and the King’s Head Theatre. He is artistic director of critically acclaimed theatre company Thrust, which he founded in 2007 and with which he has directed and produced both new and radically reinterpreted work including papercut– (Theatre Arts Exchange), Inheritance (King's Head), Request Programme, Pornography (Otherplace Brighton), and The Bell Jar (MDX).

Bruce's teaching interests include professional practice and producing for theatre; directing and dramaturgy for the stage; scenography, including sound design; and ensemble performance work. He has also worked extensively with children and young people as a drama teacher and facilitator.

His doctoral research in the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries examines the overlap between dramaturgy and scenography from the director’s perspective, and the potentials for scenography to function as a form of disruptive dramaturgy. He is also a postgraduate student of the School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication at Birkbeck, University of London.

Teaching

Teaching interests:

• Directing, dramaturgy and performance
• Arts management and professional practice
• Academic writing

Programme leaderships:

• BA Theatre

Module leaderships:

• THE1515 Making Theatre
• THE3040 Directing: Practices and Philosophies

Module teaching:

• THE1001 Introduction to Acting and Performance
• THE2005 Theatre Industry: Applied Practices
• THE2024 The Actor and Director
• THE3005 Theatre Industry: Placement and Portfolio
• THE3045 Theatre Laboratory
• THE3535 Theatre Festival
• THE4011 Interdisciplinary Contexts and Collaborations: Connecting Practices
• THE4020 Independent Theatre Arts Project: Extending Practices (Dissertation supervision)
• MUS4054 Cultural Event Management