MA Performance Design and Practice

Master

In London

£ 5,000 VAT inc.

Description

  • Type

    Master

  • Location

    London

  • Duration

    2 Years

This course brings together artists, directors, writers, researchers and designers to set the agendas that will drive performance practice in the 21st century. Graduates go on to professional practice, working as influential directors, writers and producers in theatre, TV, film, opera or dance, or progress to research degree study.This course is part of the Drama and Performance Programme.Great reasons to applyMA Performance Design and Practice enables you to pursue your studies whilst also undertaking part-time employment, internships or care responsibilities. In the first year you are expected to commit 30 hours per week to your studies; your taught input will normally be scheduled over two to three days per week during term time. The second year allows for greater flexibility in terms of attendance as most of the teaching is facilitated through personal tutorials requested by the student. You’ll normally take part in collaborative practical projects taking place in mainland Europe, as part of your first yearMany of our graduates form their own creative companies and partnerships and go on to work in art, design and performance in a range of roles, including festivals, art centres and venues around the worldOur graduates work in theatre, television, film, opera or dance, go on to direct, write or produce or progress to research degree study.You’ll be encouraged to question how your work relates to the broader context of performance practices with a focus on the interconnected contexts of experimental theatre practice, live art and dramaturgy through designThis course brings together directors, writers, performers, researchers and designers from different performance contexts, alongside those from other related disciplines such as fine art, architecture, fashion, film making etc., in order to set the agendas that will drive performance practice in the 21st century .Open daysFriday 26 January, 1:45pmFriday 2...

Facilities

Location

Start date

London
See map
1 Granary Square

Start date

On request

About this course

Entry requirementsMinimum entry requirements The entry requirement for MA Performance Design and Practice is one of the following: A relevant Honours degree;Evidence of experiential learning equivalent to a degree;3 years relevant professional experience.English language requirementsAll classes are conducted in English. If English is not your first language you will be asked to provide evidence of your English language ability in order to apply for a visa, enrol, and start your course. The English language requirement for entry for this course is:IELTS 6 .5...

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Subjects

  • Monitoring
  • Presentation
  • Works
  • Theatre
  • Design
  • Art
  • Project
  • Project Proposal
  • Critical Thinking
  • Experimental Theatre
  • Dance
  • Production

Course programme

Course detail

All applicants considered for September 2017 entry will be applying for the new version of the course. Further detailed information will be published as it becomes available however the focus of the course remains the same.

MA Performance Design and Practice responds to and engages with tradition and change in the arena of contemporary performance and experimental theatre practice. The postgraduate course contributes to the debates surrounding the core territories of performance making, design and time-based practices.

MA Performance Design and Practice also acknowledges the hybrid nature of contemporary performance work and promotes a critical exploration of conventional fixed boundaries between fine art performance and theatre.

Central to the MA Performance Design and Practice ethos is a recognition of international models of performance design and practice - models that have shaped the debates challenging many of the established definitions, functions and roles identified with performance making. From these debates key practitioners, organisations, events and texts have emerged. It remains a core aspect of the postgraduate course ethos to give you direct experience of these models and materials through an inspirational learning placement outside the UK.

Focusing on the sphere of performance culture where ideas and orthodoxies are in flux, the postgraduate programme brings together fine artists, directors, writers, researchers and designers to set the agendas that will drive performance practice in the 21st century.

About the course

  • MA Performance Design and Practice lasts 60 weeks structured as two consecutive periods of 30 weeks each, (ie, two academic years) in its 'extended full time mode.'
  • MA Performance Design and Practice is credit rated at 180 credits, and comprises 3 units. In the first year, Unit 1, (60 credits) runs from Week 1 – 15, while Unit 2, (60 credits) runs from week 16 - 30. Unit 3 (60 credits) follows after the completion of Units 1 and 2 and runs throughout the second year for 30 weeks.
  • Students successfully achieving Units 1 and 2 may exit at this point with the award of Postgraduate Certificate.
  • All three units must be passed in order to achieve the MA but the classification of the award of MA is derived from the mark for unit 3 only.

In year one you are expected to be able to commit an average of 40 hours per week. In year two your study is predominantly self-managed but you are expected to commit an average of 20 hours per week. Across the two years you therefore commit an average of 30 hours per week.

MA Performance Design and Practice encourages you to question how your work relates to the broader context of performance practices while developing approaches to design, composition/ authorship and performing located within the broad and interconnected contexts of experimental theatre practice, live art and dramaturgy through design.

  • Experimental theatremeans innovative theatrical practices that exist outside of the mainstream of theatrical production and presentation. It particularly identifies work that challenges the formal orthodoxies of theatrical language and the nature of the theatrical event. Artists working in this area include: Station House Opera, The Wooster Group, Forced Entertainment and Robert Wilson.
  • Live art defines a body of performance practices, which have developed out of the traditions and concerns of fine art practice. By the nature of its origin in the visual arts, it crosses many disciplinary boundaries such as sculpture, installation, video, and performance art, and proposes alternative approaches to time-based work. Artists working in this area include: Franko B, Station House Opera, Laurie Anderson and Societas Raffaelo Sanzio.
  • Dramaturgy through design describes alternative approaches to performance design. Central to this definition is the recognition of alternative theatrical traditions where the principal language is in a visual register in contrast to that of mainstream theatrical performance, where the written text continues to dominate. Artists working in this re defined area place 'design' at the centre of the creative process and frequently claim primary authorship of the performance. Artists working in this area include: Robert Wilson, Robert Lepage, Societas Raffaelo Sanzio and Stefano Lazarides.

Course dates

Autumn term
Monday 24 September 2018 – Friday 7 December 2018
Spring term
Monday 7 January 2019 – Friday 15 March 2019
Summer term
Monday 15 April 2019 – Friday 21 June 2019

Course structure Unit one: Practice in context (60 credits)

During unit one (weeks 1 – 15) we will help you to focus your individual practice and to better articulate your concerns in order to provide you with a stable platform from which to move forward in Units 2 and 3. During this time your developing practice is supported through seminars developing critical thinking and exploring key theories and critical issues, led by course tutors or visiting lecturers/practitioners. The assessment for unit one requires that you submit a first draft proposal for your Independent Project that will be undertaken in the final Masters unit; in this way, the course strategically and holistically monitors and develops your practice and research interests.

The first few weeks of the course focusses on ideas and methodologies involved in the creation, contextualization and evaluation of performance and how research in the arts and discourses are developed, shared and understood. Regular weekly seminars examine specific theoretical approaches and potential research routes in relation to performance. In addition, regular site visits and critical thinking seminars focus on developing a critical language to articulate contextual knowledge of the work of others in relation to your own practice.

Over the fifteen weeks of the unit you are asked to present three proposals for performance-based projects - often presentations of performance fragments. Supporting these presentations are a series of weekly workshops led by visiting practitioners exploring alternative compositional strategies for creating performance normally incorporating student lead practical demonstrations. Other visiting practitioners discuss such strategies via a series of lectures.

Unit two: Collaborative Practice (60 credits)

Unit two centres on developing the collaborative skills and understanding essential for the creation of performance in the professional realm. In addition it develops the equally essential abilities of resilience, independence and resourcefulness required for the successful completion of the Masters award and in subsequent professional practice and/or environments for higher Research.

Over the fifteen weeks of the Unit (weeks 16 – 30) you are asked to engage in and contribute to the outcome/s of a collaborative project which is either a single extended project (typically a ten week placement) or a series of shorter projects. Normally this placement takes place in a city in mainland Europe and is organised and part-resourced by the course. This project gives you the opportunity to develop and demonstrate your practical, collaborative and conceptual skills in the initiation, resource managment, marketing and presentation of a student-led performance-based event, within a professional context, usually engaging a public audience. Normally each student undertakes a placement in Europe part funded by an Erasmus mobility award. In addition to contributing to the collaboration and the final presentation, you are required to contribute to a record of the Unit, reflecting on the experience.

At the end of unit two you will be required to produce a 2nd draft proposal for the Independent Project in Unit 3 demonstrating effective reflective and critical thinking, and professional preparation.

Unit three: Independent Project (60 credits)

During unit three you will submit the practical and scholarly elements of the Independent Project which you have been developing since the beginning of the course and which were presented as a proposal at the end of your first year.

The final part of the course requires that you unite your ideas and research methods within the theoretical and professional contexts of your practice, to a level of resolution. The 30 weeks provide you with a substantial opportunity to develop your practice building on the accumulated knowledge that you have gained through the experiences within units one and two.

You are required to generate a body of independent practical work for presentation, combined with the completion of a written document. You continue to meet for critical debates and tutorial support throughout, and normally initiate interim presentations of or about your work, in person and online, discussing progress, challenges and discoveries, and issues of form, audience and presentation.

You will be expected to produce practical work in the form of presentation/s, either within or outside of the College environs, either as individuals or within creative collaborations, and within one of two defined modalities:

- representing "practice as research", in which case work is experimental and explores a clearly defined research area/question within performance practice;

OR

- representing "professional practice" in some form, in which case work could be presented outside of the College, and engage with the specific demands of an external context.


At the end of nit three you are assessed through a combination of your practical work, the written paper and a self-evaluative report documenting and analysing your progress through the Unit. These outcomes combine to reflect your conceptual, practical and professional abilities. Your mark for unit three determines the classification of your MA award.


MA Performance Design and Practice Programme Specification 2018/19 (PDF, 94KB)

Facilities

  • Digital media

    Find out more about our digital media facility at King's Cross.

  • Costume

    Find out more about the Costume facilities at Archway.

  • Post-production

    Find out more about our post-production workshop.

  • Studio Theatre

    Find out more about our Studio Theatre

View all facilities

Staff

Course Leader: Michael Spencer
Lecturer: Pete Brooks

Associate Lecturer: Geraldine Pilgrim
Associate Lecturer: Lea Anderson
Associate Lecturer: Gary Stevens
Associate Lecturer: Harun Morrison
Associate Lecturer: Sophie Jump
Associate Lecturer: Athina Vahla

MA Performance Design and Practice

£ 5,000 VAT inc.