How you’d get it

How you’d get this certificate

  1. Zavmo teaches you. You learn the units one-to-one with an AI tutor, on your own work.
  2. You register with an approved centre. That is a college, training provider or employer OCN London has approved to offer this qualification. Zavmo is not an approved centre, so you register with them, not with us.
  3. The centre assesses, and OCN London awards. A qualified assessor at the centre judges your evidence, and the certificate comes from OCN London.

More on studying for a qualification

01What it is

The OCNLR Level 3 Award in Performing Arts aims to help learners develop and consolidate theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the performing arts. It is suitable for learners who would like to progress into further education or employment within the performing arts sector and are interested in developing practical skills and knowledge in this area. The qualification contains a wide range of units across a range of performing arts disciplines, facilitating a multidisciplinary approach, while enabling progression into multiple sectors.

These are the units OCN London registers against this qualification. It is a catalogue, not a syllabus. Which of them you take depends on the combination the qualification requires, and that is set by the awarding body rather than by us. Every unit here is regulated. Zavmo teaches towards them on your own work, and work done here is recognised as prior learning under the agreements we hold.

Zavmo is not an awarding body, is not an approved centre, and is not affiliated with OCN London. It does the teaching and the mapping. OCN London sets this qualification and awards it, and a qualified human assessor makes the assessment decision.

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02The units

What each unit actually teaches you to do

Accents for Actors Real unit · OCN London
This unit develops learners' understanding of various English accents, including phonetic features and social-historical contexts. You'll apply selected accents accurately in the delivery of spoken texts such as monologues and scenes.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand characteristic components of a range of accents in spoken English.
  • Apply accents in the delivery of a variety of English-language texts e.g. monologues, poems, scenes.
Acting: Naturalism Real unit · OCN London
You'll explore and apply naturalistic acting techniques through improvisation in both group and solo contexts. The unit focuses on developing believable characters and demonstrating realistic behaviour and mannerisms.

What you'll be able to do

  • Improvise in order to explore naturalistic acting techniques and character development.
  • Improvise in order to explore naturalistic acting techniques in solo performances.
  • Act convincingly in character, demonstrating appropriate behaviour and mannerisms.
Acting: Scenes to Performance* Real unit · OCN London
This unit provides learners with knowledge of text analysis and interpretation to prepare for performance. It covers effective rehearsal techniques, the vocal, physical, and emotional commitment required for character portrayal, and reflection on performance.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the importance of developing a considered and effective approach to text analysis and interpretation.
  • Rehearse scenes effectively, utilising appropriate rehearsal techniques and strategies.
  • Understand the level of commitment – vocal, physical, and emotional – required to convincingly portray a specific character when performing a scene from a play.
  • Reflect critically on own performance, identifying strengths and areas for improvement.
Application of Music Theory Real unit · OCN London
You'll develop skills in transposing music and interpreting open and closed musical scores. The unit also covers understanding primary and secondary chords and fundamental elements of musical composition.

What you'll be able to do

  • Transpose musical pieces accurately and effectively.
  • Interpret and utilise both open and closed musical scores.
  • Understand the function and application of primary and secondary chords within a specific musical context.
  • Understand the fundamental elements of musical composition, including melody, harmony, and rhythm.
Approaches to Acting Real unit · OCN London
This unit provides learners with knowledge of various acting methods, including Stanislavski, Meisner, and Method acting. You'll learn to employ and adapt diverse acting approaches to suit different roles and performance styles.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the principles and techniques of different acting methods, such as Stanislavski, Meisner, and Method acting.
  • Employ diverse approaches to acting, adapting techniques to suit different roles and performance styles.
Audition Skills Real unit · OCN London
This unit covers the preparation of voice, body, and mind for audition purposes, including effective warm-up exercises and mental readiness. You'll also understand typical audition processes, requirements, and the criteria used by audition panels.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the importance of preparing the voice, body, and mind effectively for audition purposes, including warm-up exercises and mental preparation techniques.
  • Understand typical audition processes and requirements, including the format, content, and expectations of different types of auditions.
  • Understand the criteria employed by audition panels when assessing candidates, including acting ability, vocal technique, physical presence, and suitability for the role.
Composition: Writing for Instruments Real unit · OCN London
You'll learn to compose original music for instruments, focusing on melody, polyphonic texture, tempo, and time signatures. The unit includes creating suitable accompaniments and utilising chosen media effectively within instrumental compositions.

What you'll be able to do

  • Compose a melody suitable for a musical instrument
  • Compose effectively using polyphonic texture
  • Demonstrate an understanding of tempo and time signatures when composing for instruments
  • Create appropriate accompaniment for instruments
  • Utilise a chosen medium effectively in a composition
  • Apply knowledge of style and form in composition for instruments
Composition: Writing for Voice(s) Real unit · OCN London
It teaches you to compose vocal music with attention to word setting, tonality, and harmonic support. You'll apply performance directions and stylistic considerations to create effective and expressive vocal compositions.

What you'll be able to do

  • Compose a melody with effective word setting
  • Compose song/vocal lines effectively using different tonalities
  • Compose harmony which supports the voice in an accompaniment
  • Incorporate performance directions in the interpretation of text
  • Apply style and form effectively in composition for the voice
  • Understand the processes involved in writing music for voice
Creation, Development and Extension of New Material in a Musical Composition Real unit · OCN London
You'll learn to create, develop, and extend new musical material, including melody and rhythm development, writing melodic lines related to chordal textures, creating cross rhythms, and understanding musical structure.

What you'll be able to do

  • Compose and develop a melody
  • Write melodic lines with similar interval content to accompanying chordal texture
  • Compose and develop rhythms in new music
  • Create cross rhythms effectively
  • Understand the application of structure in new music
Design for Performance Real unit · OCN London
It teaches you to design sets for performance by creating model boxes, constructing detailed design plans, and costing full-size sets. You'll consider influences such as the script, director's vision, budget, and venue.

What you'll be able to do

  • Create a model box to present a set design
  • Understand the various factors that influence the design of a set for a production
  • Construct detailed design plans
  • Calculate the cost of a full-size version of a set
Developing Career Opportunities in Performing Arts Real unit · OCN London
You'll assess their own skills, knowledge, and abilities relevant to a career in the performing arts industry. The unit also covers the application of marketing and promotion techniques to effectively market themselves and their work.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand own skills, knowledge and abilities in relation to pursuing a career in the performing arts industry
  • Apply appropriate marketing and promotion techniques to market their own self/product effectively
Developing Song Writing Skills Real unit · OCN London
This unit provides learners with knowledge of popular music song styles, forms, and subject matter. You'll analyse the interaction between lyrical and musical devices and compose an original song in a popular music style.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand different song styles commonly found in popular music
  • Understand the use of form and structure in popular music compositions
  • Understand how subject matter is explored in popular music lyrics
  • Understand the interaction and relationship between lyrical and musical devices in popular music
  • Compose a song in a popular music style, demonstrating effective use of lyrical and musical elements
Extended Project Real unit · OCN London
You'll undertake an extended project within a specific subject area, demonstrating effective project management and adherence to subject conventions. The unit focuses on developing extensive subject knowledge, constructing sustained arguments, and presenting work appropriately.

What you'll be able to do

  • Work effectively within the established conventions of a specific subject area
  • Demonstrate extensive and detailed subject-specific knowledge relevant to the chosen project
  • Construct a sustained and coherent argument within an extended piece of work
  • Present the completed project work in a format consistent with the conventions of the specific subject, including appropriate academic citation methods
Final Production Real unit · OCN London
This unit develops learners' skills to participate in full theatrical productions, including rehearsal engagement, character development, voice and movement work. You'll demonstrate professional attitudes and collabourative working within the rehearsal process.

What you'll be able to do

  • Engage actively and constructively in the rehearsal process for a full production
  • Build and develop a designated character within the play, demonstrating understanding of the role
  • Develop an appropriate character voice and physical movement style for the role
  • Demonstrate personal responsibility and a professional attitude within the rehearsal framework
  • Work creatively and collaboratively throughout the rehearsal period and during the performance
  • Perform the play effectively and confidently in front of a live audience
  • Evaluate personal performance, process and development throughout the rehearsal and performance period
Fundamentals of Form and Melodic Structure Real unit · OCN London
You'll gain a comprehensive understanding of melodic structure, modulation, musical form, and harmonic function. The unit enables analysis and application of these principles in musical composition and performance.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the principles of melodic structure and construction
  • Understand the process of modulation to a range of keys within a musical composition
  • Understand the different structural elements commonly used in music
  • Understand the role of harmonic function in shaping musical structure and melody
Improvisation: Acting and Theatre Real unit · OCN London
It teaches you to use improvisation techniques to build focus and concentration, explore character development, and interpret scripted material. You'll learn to improvise creatively in response to various stimuli.

What you'll be able to do

  • Utilise improvisation techniques as a means of building focus and concentration
  • Use improvisation to explore and develop a character's traits and motivations
  • Use improvisation to explore and interpret scripted material
  • Improvise performance effectively in response to a range of different stimuli
Interdisciplinary Skills* Real unit · OCN London
You'll explore the diversity of performance work and the relationships between different performance disciplines. The unit emphasises collabouration and integration of skills in creating interdisciplinary performance pieces.

What you'll be able to do

  • Demonstrate the diversity of performance work through practical application
  • Understand the relationship between different performance disciplines and their interconnectedness
  • Understand how to create work for performance, recognising the potential for collaboration and the integration of different skills
Introduction to Production Management Real unit · OCN London
This unit provides learners with knowledge of production management roles and responsibilities, including risk management and use of essential paperwork. You'll understand production schedules and the coordination of equipment and personnel.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the roles and responsibilities of an event or stage management team within a production environment
  • Understand risk management principles and their application in event or stage production
  • Use paperwork required to co-ordinate a production effectively
  • Understand production schedules and the requirements of each activity within the production period
  • Understand the processes of sourcing and hiring equipment and personnel for a production
Keyboard Harmony Real unit · OCN London
You'll develop practical keyboard skills including performing chord progressions with both hands, harmonising melodies, and reading vocal scores. The unit supports application of these skills in musical performance and interpretation.

What you'll be able to do

  • Perform a chord progression using two hands on a keyboard
  • Harmonise a melody using keyboard skills
  • Perform score reading from a vocal score
Lighting Systems and Design in a Stage Production Real unit · OCN London
You'll gain theoretical and practical understanding of lighting systems and design for stage productions. The unit covers setting up lighting, making adjustments during rehearsals, and effectively illuminating a production.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the theory and process of lighting a production, including design principles and practical application
  • Set up a lighting system for a stage production
  • Effect changes within a rehearsal and production period, adapting to evolving needs
  • Illuminate a stage production effectively, using appropriate lighting techniques
Lighting, Sound and Projection Real unit · OCN London
This unit equips learners with the knowledge and skills to set up and operate basic lighting, sound, and projection systems. You'll create lighting schemes, soundscapes, and video designs for simple narratives or scenes, including sound effects and music.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand how to set up a basic lighting system for a performance
  • Create a lighting scheme for a simple narrative or scene
  • Understand how to set up a basic sound system for a performance
  • Create a soundscape for a simple narrative or scene
  • Set up a basic projection system for a performance
  • Create a video design for a simple narrative or scene
  • Produce and run sound effects and music for a performance
  • Create appropriate documentation for lighting, sound and video designs
Movement for the Performer Real unit · OCN London
This unit provides learners with knowledge of safe and effective movement practices for performers. You'll study movement principles, different approaches, and demonstrate physical awareness while ensuring safe use of the actor's body.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand how to safely use the actor’s body in a physical warm up
  • Understand movement principles and safe practices
  • Understand different approaches to movement
  • Demonstrate physical awareness in performance
Musicianship Real unit · OCN London
You'll develop musicianship skills focusing on aural awareness of pitch, rhythm, harmony, and the ability to translate these into standard musical notation. The unit also includes sight-singing in various musical contexts.

What you'll be able to do

  • Demonstrate aural awareness and understanding of pitch, metrical, and rhythmic patterns in music
  • Demonstrate aural awareness of harmony
  • Translate aural sounds (metrical, rhythmic and pitch) into standard musical notation
  • Sing at sight in a variety of keys/modes, metres and rhythmic characters
Non-Text Based Performance Real unit · OCN London
It teaches you to devise and perform non-text-based performances, focusing on physical warm-up, control of posture and balance, and use of gesture and facial expression to communicate meaning. You'll create and rehearse original physical pieces.

What you'll be able to do

  • Warm up the body in preparation for a non-text-based performance
  • Apply and demonstrate an understanding of the basic components of physical expression
  • Devise and rehearse a non-text-based piece
  • Perform a non-text-based piece
Performance History in Music Real unit · OCN London
You'll study historical performance practices and their values, analysing how social and cultural contexts influence art forms. The unit examines stylistic features of performance genres and the impact of historical concepts on contemporary music performance.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand historical performance and its values
  • Understand how context influences the development of art forms
  • Understand the style of a performance genre
  • Understand how historical concepts impact upon contemporary performance
Performance: Acting and Theatre* Real unit · OCN London
This unit develops learners' acting and theatre performance skills, focusing on applying techniques to create believable characters, maintaining focus, and performing authentically. You'll also respond to feedback and understand professional practices within a company setting.

What you'll be able to do

  • Draw on a range of learned skills to perform effectively
  • Maintain focus throughout performance
  • Perform with authenticity
  • Respond to critical evaluation of performance and apply feedback
  • Understand how to work professionally with a company
Performing Arts Administration and Management Real unit · OCN London
You'll gain knowledge of the performing arts industry's management and union frameworks, including key organisations and stakeholders. The unit covers event booking, publicising, promotion, structure, and financing to support effective administration and management of performing arts events.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the industry management and union framework within the performing arts sector.
  • Understand the key aspects involved in booking a performing arts event.
  • Understand the key aspects of publicising and promoting a performing arts event.
  • Understand how a performing arts event is structured and financed.
Performing Arts: Performing Rights, Copyrights and Contracts Real unit · OCN London
This unit provides learners with an understanding of performing rights, copyright legislation, and contracts relevant to the performing arts. You'll explore the Designs, Copyright and Patents Act 1988, types of contracts, and industry structure to ensure compliance and informed decision-making.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the implications of the Designs, Copyright and Patents Act 1988 and subsequent relevant legislation on the performing arts.
  • Understand the different types of contracts commonly offered within the performing arts industry.
  • Understand the structure of the performing arts industry, including roles and responsibilities.
Performing Classical Texts Real unit · OCN London
You'll develop vocal and performance skills necessary for classical text interpretation, including projection, articulation, and physical control. The unit emphasises realising performances in the style of the period, applying characterisation and storytelling through appropriate techniques.

What you'll be able to do

  • Develop the vocal and performance skills required to perform a classical text effectively.
  • Realise a performance of a classical text that is appropriate to the style of its period.
  • Apply considered characterisation and storytelling techniques through applied performance skills.
Physical Theatre Real unit · OCN London
It teaches you to understand health and safety in physical theatre, demonstrate trust and co-operation, perform basic movements, and choreograph simple sequences. You'll also develop skills in memory and sound effect use within physical theatre performance.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the health and safety measures that are relevant to physical theatre performance.
  • Demonstrate trust and co-operation with others in a physical theatre performance.
  • Perform basic physical movements required for physical theatre.
  • Choreograph simple physical performance sequences.
  • Demonstrate the use of memory and the production of sound effects and/or text to support physical theatre work.
Piano/Keyboard Technique Real unit · OCN London
You'll develop piano and keyboard technique by practising scales, arpeggios, chords, and chord sequences. The unit also covers harmonising melodies, enabling learners to demonstrate fluency, accuracy, and understanding of keyboard harmony and technique.

What you'll be able to do

  • Play scales and arpeggios accurately and fluently on the piano or keyboard.
  • Understand and play chords and chord sequences on the piano or keyboard.
  • Harmonise melodies effectively on the piano or keyboard.
Practical Assistant Stage Manager Real unit · OCN London
This unit equips learners with skills to perform the assistant stage manager role, including sourcing, creating, and maintaining rehearsal and performance props and furniture. You'll organise prop tables and implement scene changes effectively during productions.

What you'll be able to do

  • Undertake the role of assistant stage manager effectively
  • Create or source rehearsal props and furniture
  • Maintain rehearsal props and furniture
  • Create or source performance props and furniture
  • Maintain performance props and furniture
  • Organise prop tables for performance
  • Recognise the different categories of props
  • Organise scene changes in rehearsal
  • Implement scene changes in rehearsal
  • Organise scene changes during performance
  • Implement scene changes during performance
Practical Deputy Stage Manager Real unit · OCN London
You'll develop the ability to undertake deputy stage manager responsibilities, including creating and maintaining prompt copies during rehearsals. The unit covers running technical rehearsals, cueing shows, and producing show reports to support smooth production management.

What you'll be able to do

  • Undertake the role of deputy stage manager effectively
  • Create a Prompt copy during rehearsals for a full production
  • Maintain a Prompt copy during rehearsals for a full production
  • Run a technical rehearsal
  • Understand what is expected during a technical rehearsal
  • Act on what is expected during a technical rehearsal
  • Cue a show effectively
  • Create show reports accurately
Relating as a Composer Real unit · OCN London
It teaches you to analyse how listeners perceive new compositions, focusing on initial understanding, emotional response, and communication areas within the music. You'll also communicate the context and circumstances surrounding the composition's creation.

What you'll be able to do

  • Anticipate how a listener understands a new piece at first hearing
  • Analyse how a listener understands a new piece at first hearing
  • Articulate the main areas of communication in a new piece
  • Communicate the circumstances in which a composition has been conceived
Screen Acting Real unit · OCN London
You'll gain skills specific to screen acting, including managing intimacy, responding to directorial demands, and understanding camera requirements. The unit also develops learners' ability to review and improve their performance based on feedback.

What you'll be able to do

  • Identify the specific requirements of acting to the camera
  • Manage the intimacy demanded in screen acting appropriately
  • Respond to the demands of a director effectively
  • Review own performance in response to feedback
  • Analyse own performance in response to feedback
Singing Solo Performance Real unit · OCN London
This unit develops learners' solo singing performance skills across various materials, emphasising vocal technique, intonation, rhythm, and emotional expression. You'll also learn to interact with and lead accompanying musicians and make suitable repertoire choices.

What you'll be able to do

  • Demonstrate solo performance skills of a variety of materials
  • Interact with accompanying musicians effectively
  • Lead accompanying musicians effectively
  • Make appropriate repertoire choices for solo performance
Socio-historical Influences on Music Real unit · OCN London
You'll explore the social, historical, and political influences on musical language, style, and content. The unit enables analysis of specific musical works within their contexts, demonstrating understanding of how external factors shape music.

What you'll be able to do

  • Analyse social and historical influences on musical language and style.
  • Analyse political influences on musical style and content.
Solo Musical Performance Real unit · OCN London
This unit develops learners' ability to select appropriate repertoire and apply technical skills in solo musical performance. You'll demonstrate performance skills across diverse styles, showcasing musicality and stage presence.

What you'll be able to do

  • Select appropriate repertoire choices for a solo musical performance.
  • Apply technical skills effectively in a solo musical performance.
  • Demonstrate solo performance skills in a variety of musical repertoire.
Song Lyric Writing Real unit · OCN London
You'll study the structure, style, rhyme, and rhythm of effective song lyrics, analysing litreary devices and patterns. The unit culminates in learners creating original song lyrics that demonstrate coherent narrative or thematic development.

What you'll be able to do

  • Analyse the structure and style of effective song lyrics.
  • Analyse patterns of rhyme and rhythm in song lyrics.
  • Compose original song lyrics.
Sound Systems and Design in a Stage Production Real unit · OCN London
This unit provides learners with knowledge and skills to set up and operate sound systems in stage productions. You'll produce and manage sound effects and music, making adjustments during rehearsals and performances to support production requirements.

What you'll be able to do

  • Explain the use of a sound system in stage production.
  • Set up a sound system for a stage production.
  • Effect changes to a sound system within a rehearsal and production period.
  • Produce and operate sound effects and music for a performance.
Stanislavskian Methodology Real unit · OCN London
You'll study Stanislavski's system principles, including emotional recall, the magic if, and objectives. The unit focuses on applying these exercises to character creation and understanding the complexities involved in the methodology.

What you'll be able to do

  • Explain the principles of Stanislavski's systems.
  • Apply Stanislavskian exercises to create a character.
  • Discuss the complexities of Stanislavski's System.
Studying a Play Real unit · OCN London
It teaches you to interpret and analyse a play, focusing on themes, characters, plot, and dramatic form. You'll also consider the play's social context, including historical, cultural, and political influences on its content and presentation.

What you'll be able to do

  • Interpret a play, demonstrating an understanding of its themes, characters, and plot.
  • Analyse the ways in which the dramatist manipulates form, including structure, language, and dramatic devices.
  • Evaluate a given play within its social context, considering the historical, cultural, and political influences on its creation and reception.
Technical Command on a Musical Instrument or Voice Real unit · OCN London
You'll develop technical command of a musical instrument or voice through scales, arpeggios, technical exercises, and study pieces. The unit also covers sight reading, emphasising accuracy, control, and musical interpretation.

What you'll be able to do

  • Play or sing scales, arpeggios, and technical exercises, demonstrating accuracy, control, and fluency.
  • Apply technical skills to two contrasting study pieces, showcasing musicality, interpretation, and performance quality.
  • Sight read on own instrument or voice, demonstrating the ability to interpret and perform unfamiliar musical notation accurately and confidently.
The Performing Arts Industry Real unit · OCN London
This unit provides learners with an understanding of key institutions and agencies within the performing arts industry. You'll develop communication and self-promotion skills and gain knowledge of relevant legal aspects affecting the sector.

What you'll be able to do

  • Identify and describe the roles and functions of various institutions and agencies within the performing arts industries, such as theatres, production companies, and funding bodies.
  • Communicate and promote self or product effectively to employers, fundraisers, or audiences, utilising appropriate communication strategies and promotional materials.
  • Explain the legal aspects of the performing arts industries, including copyright, contracts, and employment law.
Voice Skills for Actors Real unit · OCN London
You'll gain voice preparation techniques and vocal care strategies suitable for actors. The unit focuses on applying vocal techniques to speech for clarity, projection, control, and character interpretation through vocal expression.

What you'll be able to do

  • Describe and demonstrate appropriate voice preparation techniques, including warm-up exercises and vocal care strategies.
  • Apply vocal techniques to speech, demonstrating clarity, projection, articulation, and vocal control.
  • Utilise vocal techniques to interpret character, conveying emotions, intentions, and personality through vocal expression.
Voicing Elizabethan/Jacobean Scenes, Monologues and Sonnets Real unit · OCN London
This unit explores the structure of Elizabethan verse, including iambic pentametre and rhyme schemes, enabling learners to analyse poetic devices and imagery. You'll develop vocal techniques to interpret and sustain complex syntax, connecting language with text in Elizabethan and Jacobean scenes, monologues, and sonnets.

What you'll be able to do

  • Explain the structure of Elizabethan verse, including iambic pentameter, rhyme schemes, and poetic devices.
  • Establish a connection between language and text, demonstrating an understanding of the meaning, imagery, and rhythm of the words.
  • Demonstrate a range of vocal techniques and sensuous values of language, including tone, pitch, pace, and emphasis.
  • Sustain through-lines of thought within complex syntax, maintaining clarity and coherence in vocal delivery.
  • Identify with the thoughts and feelings of the character, conveying authenticity and emotional depth in performance.
Working to a Brief Real unit · OCN London
You'll understand the key elements and purpose of a creative brief and develop skills to research, select, and develop ideas in response to a brief. This unit culminates in producing finished creative work that aligns with the requirements of a given brief.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the key elements that constitute a creative brief.
  • Research and generate ideas suitable for a chosen creative brief.
  • Select and develop appropriate ideas for working to a given concept within a brief.
  • Produce finished creative work that effectively responds to a given brief.
Writing Drama Real unit · OCN London
This unit covers the distinctive features of various dramatic forms and the writing of dramatic speech. You'll also gain knowledge of stagecraft elements and how to combine these with speech to create cohesive and effective drama.

What you'll be able to do

  • Understand the distinctive features and characteristics of different forms of drama.
  • Write effective dramatic speech and understand how it can take different forms in theatre performance.
  • Understand different elements of stagecraft, such as lighting, sound, and set design, and how they can be used to enhance a dramatic performance.
  • Understand the potential effectiveness of combining dramatic speech and stagecraft elements in a piece of drama to create a cohesive and impactful performance.
03The standards

The national standards these units are built against

What the job actually needs, in the words employers and awarding bodies already use for the work itself.

  • Interpret production information to plan grip activity

    Standard
  • Manage expectations of the different people involved in arts projects and live events

    Standard
  • Manage the expectation of individuals, groups and stakeholders involved in an arts programme

    Standard
  • Manage the selection and negotiation of contracts for the production team, crew, suppliers and others

    Standard
  • Monitor and control the progress of productions

    Standard
  • Use and develop the voice for presenting and reporting

    Standard
04Where it leads

The jobs these credits are mapped to

A qualification is never a dead end here. Each of these is a job record this qualification is a mapped route into.

Showing 6 roles, drawn from 13 job records mapped to this qualification. Near-identical records are folded together, and each row says how many it stands for.

Where this can lead

Production Assistant

This work can lead to roles such as associate producer, or further on, producer or production manager.

See the whole journey
05The credits

The credits, and who awards them

Level 3 credits are regulated, and they are awarded by OCN London rather than by Zavmo. They don’t vanish when a subscription ends or a website closes. They travel to any employer, and Zavmo keeps the map of what you have covered and what is next.

What you would be collecting

Accents for ActorsActing: NaturalismActing: Scenes to Performance*Application of Music TheoryApproaches to ActingAudition SkillsComposition: Writing for InstrumentsComposition: Writing for Voice(s)

Each one is a real unit registered against this qualification.

How you’d practise it

You don’t watch this. You do it.

You are not assessed on remembering this. You are assessed on applying it, analysing it, evaluating it and producing something. So that is what the practice is: projects, role play and your own live cases, with a tutor in the room.

The Coach The Coach · your practice partner Illustration
The Coach You have to open the conversation in “Interdisciplinary Skills*”. Say the first line to me, exactly as you would say it to them.
You I wanted to have a quick chat about how things have been going recently.
The Coach That is the warning shot, and they will spend it worrying. Try the version that says what this is about in the first sentence.
The same lesson on the real thing: the conversation in the middle, the thinking ladder on the left, and the criteria each answer is evidencing on the right.
  • Rehearse the conversation Apply

    “Interdisciplinary Skills*” is a conversation before it is a document. You have it with Zavmo playing the other person, badly at first, then again once you know what you actually want to say.

  • Bring your own plan Create

    For “Extended Project” you bring the plan you are actually working on, not a case study. Zavmo pulls on the assumptions in it until the weak one shows.

  • Draft the real one Create

    You do “Audition Skills” on a real document of your own. Zavmo works on the draft you have to send anyway, so the coursework and the job are the same piece of work.

  • Map a live decision Analyse

    “Lighting Systems and Design in a Stage Production” runs on a decision you are facing now. Zavmo maps it with you and shows what the second-order effect looks like before you find out the slow way.

What you leave holding

The standards this credential builds, in the shape the product keeps them

Nothing here is marked learned. There is no learner on a public page, so the map shows what the qualification covers rather than what anybody has done.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration
OCNLR Level 3 Award in Performing Arts
  • Interpret production information to plan grip activity
  • Manage expectations of the different people involved in arts projects and live events
  • Manage the expectation of individuals, groups and stakeholders involved in an arts programme
  • Manage the selection and negotiation of contracts for the production team, crew, suppliers and others
  • Monitor and control the progress of productions
  • Use and develop the voice for presenting and reporting
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Accents for Actors, one of this qualification's own units.

Accents for Actors Level 3

Applied to your work in any of these jobs

This unit develops learners' understanding of various English accents, including phonetic features and social-historical contexts. Learners will apply selected accents accurately in the delivery of spoken texts such as monologues and scenes.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time. Teaching towards this qualification begins when you subscribe.

Your Plan Illustration

Built for OCNLR Level 3 Award in Performing Arts

48 units in this credential, in the order it lists them, awarded by OCN London.

  1. Accents for Actors
  2. Acting: Naturalism
  3. Acting: Scenes to Performance*
  4. Application of Music Theory
  5. Approaches to Acting
  6. Audition Skills

and 42 more in the full unit list below.

These are the real units of this credential, in its own order. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

Free tools

Want a read on where you stand?

Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.

Learned on your own work, taught one-to-one.

Everything you just read, learned one-to-one on the job you already do. Your free first module is Future Fluency, so you can see how the teaching works before you pay for anything.

Build my plan, free

No card. See how this qualification maps onto your role and meet the tutors who’d teach it, free. The learning begins when you subscribe. It’s £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.

The title, level, credits, guided learning hours and unit learning outcomes on this page are taken from the Ofqual Register of Regulated Qualifications. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Where this data comes from.