Some of the major innovations in performance practices over the past hundred years have been drawn from scenographic developments. The MA/MFA Scenography courses approach scenography from multiple practical and theoretical perspectives to create new opportunities for experimentation and authorship.
- Develop authorship through performance design, working with a dynamic interplay of practice and theory, informed by a variety of disciplines including film, sculpture, sound, digital media, puppetry, choreography and architecture
- A balance of independent and collaborative work
- A professional focus through mentors, tutors and industry partners
Our approach
Through past and present approaches to performance design, the Scenography courses aim to explore dynamic and innovative interplays between the body, space and time, further informed by a variety of disciplines including film, sculpture, sound, digital media, puppetry, choreography and architecture. Your existing skills and practices are challenged, extended and refined as you investigate design processes and tools for creative developments.
With a balanced mix of collaborative and independent work, and a particular attention to the interplay of practice and theory, the courses include:
- workshops and mentoring to explore speculative and operative uses/misuses of processes and tools, ranging from dramaturgy, model making and technical drawing to audio-visual media, casting, interactive sensor technologies and 3D printing;
- studies in relevant historical and theoretical frameworks and contexts for understanding and developing practice.
Our students explore a variety of methods and creative approaches. Students are encouraged to constructively challenge ideas of hierarchy and authority in creative structures. The course values co-authorship and sensitive critical dialogues that acknowledge and allow for difference. We are interested in traditional texts and practices as opportunities to expose, critique, destabilize, subvert and move beyond the problematic values they may carry. We strive to act as a hub for re-imagining and implementing better and more diverse standards in scenography.
