This article proposes an approach to teaching and learning in the university arts sector that is able to accommodate and assess creative process alongside practice. In arguing thus, romanticized notions of "the spontaneous artist" are exposed to scrutiny, and the creative process itself is made subject to analysis. Notwithstanding its focus on the areas of theatre and performance, this article has a wide application to the field of developmental higher education. Whereas performance functions as a peg on which the article hangs, the content is concerned with locating the creative endeavours of students in all art and arts-related disciplines at the heart of the lifelong learning experience. (Contains 5 notes.)