Study Plan for Master in Scenography (120 ECTS) (2018–2020)

Study information

The study is based on experiential artistic laboratories and accomplished productions as well as theory and methods taught over 4 semesters, where the last term is dedicated to the completion of a the masters thesis, consisting of an artistic production and accompanying critical reflection. The study group consists of maximum 5 students. The courses are adapted to the requirements of the specific study group and will comprise reading, self-studies, study-trips, possibilities for exchanges as well as research into and the organization of self-organized seminars relevant to the master's students' topics.

 

Internationally renowned guests as well as permanent faculty provide teaching proficient in both practice and theory. It is organized as individual and group tutoring. Students are supplied with a personal supervisor, who will accompany them from the beginning and ensure their study progress throughout the program. Progression in the studies is further ensured by semester evaluations and feedback at the end of each term.

 

The students will acquire the ability to independently work as artists, to research, develop and implement artistic and architectural projects in the wide field of scenography, collectively as well as individually. Graduates will have qualifications commensurate with an advanced knowledge of the extended field of scenography for the performing arts, in museum and exhibition design, design for film- and video production as well as in art for urban and other public spaces. Graduates will be qualified to apply to the Norwegian artistic research program.

What do you learn?

Degree/title obtained

Completing and passing the programme confers the right to use the title Master of Fine Art in Scenography.

Learning outcomes

After having completed the master's programme, the student will have acquired a repertoire of knowledge and skills, and will have developed general competence at an advanced level in the expanded field of scenography. Acquired knowledge is based on insight into, understanding of and competence in theory and practice in the field. The student will be capable of making independent use of and developing specialised artistic, methodological and technical skills that are relevant to the execution of complex projects. The student will have acquired creative and critical knowledge and thinking, as well as general competence, that can be communicated, applied and implemented in an innovative way. The student will have acquired general competence in concept development and the initiation, development and execution of artistic work as an independent activity, as well as in project management and teamwork in society at large and in the culture sector in particular, including in relation to the performing arts, museums, schools, festivals, film production and cultural institutions. After having completed the master's programme, the student will also be capable of working on artistic research in the expanded field of scenography in the academic and institutional sector.

 

Knowledge

The candidate

 

• has advanced theoretical and historical knowledge of the performing arts, architecture, visual art, design and theatrical techniques in the widest sense, and in scenography in particular,

• has specialised knowledge of different academic theories and practical work methods relating to the development of ideas and projects, and the performance of work processes in scenography in the widest sense,

• can make practical use of knowledge of innovative and inventive scenographic work processes and projects,

• has understanding and knowledge of and the ability to analyse relevant scenographic problems in relation to the distinctive nature, development and function of art in society and culture

 

Skills

The candidate

• can analyse different existing sources, materials and art theories, and use them in independent argumentation about scenographic issues

• can analyse, and apply independently, methodological, practical and theoretical knowledge in order to initiate, develop, execute and realise innovative scenographic projects

• can, through precise verbal and visual communication, present and communicate complex scenographic projects to collaborating artists, curators, technicians and production units in the form of drawings and models

• can, with respect to artistic research, describe and reflect on his/her own and others' artistic and theoretical work in an independent way

• can independently execute an artistic research project that is limited in scope, nature, time and complexity, and is in accordance with the applicable norms for research ethics.

 

General competence

The candidate

 

• can analyse and identify ethical challenges relating to project development in scenography, and has acquired an awareness of the professions of other involved parties

• can collaborate and maintain a dialogue with others involved in the work process

• can apply his or her knowledge and take responsibility for the development of ideas and concepts in collective and individual art forms

• can manage projects and supervise technical and professional personnel and skilled workers and other specialists during implementation of the project

• is familiar with the critical application of relevant literature, library services, visual and film material, and web-based tools for the collection of relevant source material, and can analyse and apply these sources to develop a coherent approach to performing arts practices and formulate professional arguments and solutions to problems

• can communicate concepts, collaboration, organisation, preparations and implementation in the expanded scenographic field

• can contribute to artistic processes that are innovative and inventive in terms of thinking, action and creativity in art in general, and thereby contribute to the development and renewal of the field in Norway and internationally.

Admission

A bachelor's degree or an equivalent education of at least 180 ECTS credits in scenography, architecture, visual art, the performing arts or other relevant artistic education at bachelor's level.

 

For all applicants, the application is to be delivered in English language and contain:

 

• A descripsion Master's Thesis - Production containing:

  • A 1-2 page outline of a spesific topic relating to scenography that you wish to investigate in and explore artistically during your MA studies. Apart from text the outline may include 2 pages of other material such as scetches, photography, literature or video, sound files of max 5 minutes length as illustration of the topic.

  • A description of the Master's Thesis - Productions objectives and issues.

  • The applicant's motivation for implementing the production/project and its social relevance.

  • References to three art productions or exhibitions that reflect on Master's Thesis - Productions context in the field of art.

• Documentation of relevant artistic practice (portfolio).
  Format: Maximum 15 A4 pages, with the focus on the last five years

• Curriculum Vitae

Structure and content

The structure and content of the programme

The master's programme consists of 10 courses that are all mandatory. With the exception of the master's thesis, which confers 30 credits, the other courses in the master's programme are worth 10 credits each. The programme is organised within the subject areas Theory and Methods, Laboratories and Productions for the first three semesters, and the Master's Thesis is completed in the fourth semester.

1 Theory and Methods

This subject area consists of an individual and a common theoretical component, and it is taught over three courses Theory and Methods 1-3, with one course in each of the first three semesters.

Theory and Methods is intended to give students an in-depth historical, technical and critical understanding of their discipline through the development of skills and tools for the analysis of different forms of performing arts and other spatial art forms, using text, images and film material. The students will develop methods for analysis and continuous critical reflection on their own work and shall, during the course of the programme, develop the competence required to express themselves in writing by submitting reflective papers, project descriptions, applications, critiques and essays.

Among other things, the subject area will focus on improving students' writing skills through a writing course and through the identification and application of source material, and the correct use and citing of sources. The subject area also includes an internal student-organised and student-run seminar in the second semester at which the students present important aspects of their artist research and theoretical development work in the form of lectures, and, in the third semester, a student-organised public and international artistic-academic seminar (see the course descriptions).

Courses

The subject Theory and Methods organises teaching and supervision in three forms:

1) Lectures on theory and history (based on academic research developed for art students) will present perspectives on the history of scenography, architecture, the performing arts and art, genre history, epochs and paradigms. Students are given an introduction to theoretical topics such as conception and aesthetic positions. The course emphasises the presentation of analytical methods.

2) A course in theory-based skills, which consists of theory-based skills training that addresses the tasks students are expected to perform as practising artists or in further studies in the Norwegian Artistic Research Fellowship Programme, such as a writing course, artistic research, the formulation of an artistic concept and position

3) The group applied project is designed so that students, under supervision, jointly carry out an extensive resource and competence-based group work or seminar, such as an internal seminar on conception, an international seminar on a relevant topic, preferably related to their master's project

Progress in Theory and Methods (T&M) 1-3

The courses in the subject T&M and the progress schedule are shown in the table below:

Tuition form:	T&M I: Perspectives	T&M II: Concepts	T&M III: Positions
Lectures and tutorials in theory and history	Perspectives on the 20th century and contemporary art	About conception	About aesthetic positions
Course in theory-based skills	How to write as an artist	How to carry out artistic research, formulate concepts as an artist	Formulating an artistic position
Group project	Analysis / preparation of an individual syllabus	Internal seminar	International seminar

 

Syllabus

In cooperation with a supervisor and the student group, the student is expected to prepare an individual theory curriculum as part of T&M 1-3. The plan for the theory curriculum and the individual syllabus prepared in T&M 1 is based on the reading list on which the master's programme is based, and they will be further developed during the programme.

2 Laboratories

This subject area is taught in three courses  Laboratories 1-3; one course in each of the first three semesters.

The students shall develop their artistic and technical knowledge, competence and skills through tuition by guest artists in order to study in depth scenography-related subjects in a limited field, such as lighting, sound and multimedia, spatial analysis, construction, composition principles and spatial design. The laboratories will be experimental and transdisciplinary and will conclude with an internal presentation. The students will successively study the different elements of scenography in depth (see the course descriptions).

3 Productions

This subject area is taught in three courses  Productions 1-3, one course in each of the first three semesters.

In Productions, the students acquire experience and develop an understanding of scenography through independent practical work. The students will develop and implement scenographic concepts in diverse production processes. The students gain experience of concept development, testing, project management and execution in collaboration with other involved parties. Through the practical implementation of projects, students will develop an understanding of the distinctive nature of scenography and of the professions of other involved parties (see the course descriptions).

4 Master's thesis

The Master's Thesis is completed in the fourth and final semester of the master's programme. It consists of the components: Production and Critical Reflection

The artistic production component of the Master's Thesis is executed and presented to the public in its final form in the fourth semester at an agreed external or internal exhibition/performance venue. The critical reflection component is submitted no later than two weeks before the final assessment. Work will be done on the Master's Thesis in all four semesters, and all the courses in the first three semesters will require the submission of portfolio documentation containing critical reflection on the topic and progress of the Master's Production in the form of a text and documentation consisting of collected material, sketches, models etc.

Teaching, learning methods and forms of assessment

The programme is based on independent individual work and joint work in the different subject areas and the pertaining individual courses in the first to the third semesters, when work on developing the Master's Thesis will have a central place. The Master's Production will be reflected in the first semester as portfolio documentation submitted as required coursework in Theory and Methods 1; it will be reworked and approved in the second semester as portfolio documentation submitted as required coursework in Laboratories 2, while it will be prepared, tested in practice, verified and initiated in the third semester as portfolio documentation submitted as required coursework in Productions 3. Implementation of the project and the final assessment will take place in the fourth semester (see the description of the individual courses).

Research and development work

Artistic research:

The teaching in the programme is based on artistic research. Academic staff in the programme engage in artistic research and in disseminating the results of their research. The students will be invited to take part in the internal and external R&D/artistic research work of the academic staff, and, if applicable, guest artists.

In the professional theatre, practical, reflective development work is essential in connection with professional collaborations. The diversity of artistic and theoretical research carried out by academic staff, in which students, research fellows, guest artists, curators, producers and theoreticians take part, is a prerequisite for and forms the basis for students' progress and for their attainment of the learning outcomes of the programme. Artistic research of a high national and international level is carried out by academic staff both within and outside the institution. The students' active participation and contribution can take different forms, such as major or minor practical and theoretical contributions to artistic productions and publications.

Internationalisation

The Norwegian Theatre Academy has an international academic staff employed in fixed-term positions and with different expertise in and experience of the international arts field, artistic research and teaching.

Programme evaluation

To be able to offer a topical and relevant education of good quality, we are dependent on feedback from the students and on their participation in evaluating the programmes of study. This programme of study is regularly evaluated in order to assure and develop its quality.

 

• Østfold University College's Utvalg for utdanningskvalitet (Educational Quality Committee) carries out an annual evaluation of the quality of studies in a sample of the university college's programmes of study (called EVA2).

 

Each individual academic environment is responsible for adopting permanent and widely known evaluation procedures at course level (called EVA3). See the course descriptions for details.

Reading list

References to relevant literature, video material, websites, theatrical productions and exhibitions, art catalogues, films, music, art and theatre criticism in the media and other relevant references are provided by the Programme Coordinator and the subject teachers.

An individual syllabus is drawn up in the first semester that is relevant to the work on the student's master's project and critical reflection. It is based on the general literature list for the programme. The individual syllabus is developed further during the course of the programme until submission of the Master's Critical Reflection in the fourth semester.

Literature:

Architecture basic references

Giedion, Sigfried: Space Time & Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition, Harvard Univ Press, 1954

Koolhaas, Rem: Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan, The Monacelli Press, 1997

Koolhaas, Rem, Mau, Bruce and Werlemann, Hans: S, M, L, XL, The Monacelli Press, 1998

LeCorbusier: Towards a New Architecture, Dover Publications, 1985

Loos, Adolf: Ornament and Crime: Selected Essays, Ariadne, 1997

Rossi, Aldo: The Architecture of the City, The MIT Press, 1984

Rowe, Collin: The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa and Other Essays, The MIT Press, 1982

Rowe, Collin and Koetter, Fred: Collage City, The MIT Press, 1978

Tschumi, Bernhard: Architecture and Disjunction, The MIT Press,1996

Tschumi, Bernhard: Event-Cities 2, The MIT Press, 2001

Venturi, Robert: Complexity and contradiction, New York, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2002

Venturi, Robert, Izenour, Steven and Brown, Denise Scott: Learning from Las Vegas, The MIT Press, 1977

Architecture/The City/Space/Place/Performance/Art

Deutsche, Rosalyn: Evictions. Art and Spatial Politics. Cambridge (Ma) og London: MIT Press, 1996.

Fischer-Lichte, Erika and Wihstutz, Benjamin (eds.): Performance and the politics of Space. Theatre and Topology. London and New York: Routledge, 2013.

Hill, Leslie and Paris, Helen: Performance and place. London og New York: Palgrave Macmilan, 2006.

Hopkins, D.J and Orr, Shelly and Solga, Kim (eds.): Performance and the City. London og New York: Palgrave Macmilan, 2009.

Hubbard, Phil and Kitchin, Rob and Valentine, Gill (eds.): Key Thinkers on Space and Place. London: Sage, 2004.

Miles, Macolm: Art, Space and the City. London: Routledge, 1997.

Read, Alan: Architecturally Speaking. Practices of Art, Architecture and the Everyday. London og New York: Routledge, 2000.

Whybrow, Nicholas: Performance and the Contemporary City. An interdisciplinary Reader. London og New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

Sandford, Mariellen: Happenings and Other Acts, London 1995

Kaprow, Allan: Essays on the Blurring of Art and Life, London/Berkeley/Los Angeles 1993

Noever, Peter and Schimmel, Paul: Out of Actions, Los Angeles/Vienna 1998

Goldberg, Roselee and Anderson, Laurie: Performance: Live Art Since the '60s, 2004

Kirby, Michael: A Formalist Theatre, 1987

Schechner, Richard: Performance Studies, London 2005

Patrice. Pavis: Contemporary Mise en Scène-Staging Theatre Today, London, 2013

Richard Drain: Twentieth Century Theatre - A Soucebook, London/NYC 1995

Bell, John: Puppets, masks, and performing objects, Cambridge, Mass. 2001.

Scenography/Theatre Architecture/Exhibition/Gallery/Museum

Baugh, Christopher: Theatre, Performance and Technology. The development of Scenography in the Twentieth Century. London og New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

Collins, Jane og Nisbeth, Andrew: Theatre and Performance Design. A Reader in Scenography. London og New York: Routledge, 2010.

Dixon, Steve: Digital Performance. A History of new Media in Theater, Dance, Performance Art and Installation. Cambridge MA og London: MIT Press, 2007.

Greenberg, R. og Ferguson, B. W. og Nairne, S. (eds.): Thinking about Exhibitions. London: Routledge, 1996.

Hannah, Dorita and Harsløf, Olav: Performance Design. Copenhagen: Museum of Tusculanum Press, University of Copenhagen, 2008.

Mackintosh, Iain: Architecture, Actor and Audience. London og New York: Routledge, 1993.

Salter, Chris: Entangled. Technology and the transformation of Performance. Cambridge, MA og London: MIT Press, 2010.

Wiles, David: A short History of Western Performance Space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Karin von Maur (Hg.): Vom Klang der Bilder, Stuttgart 1985

Trimingham, Melissa: The Theatre of the Bauhaus, London 2011

Installation/Landscape/the site-specific/Memory/the Archive/Utopia

Andrews, Malcolm: Landscape and Western Art. New York: Oxford University press, 1999.

Birch, Anna and Tompkins, Joanne (eds.): Performing site-specific theatre. Politics, Place, Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

Bishop, Claire: Installation Art. A Critical History. London: Tate Publishing, 2005.

Chaudury, Una: Staging Place. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1997.

Chaudury, Una and Fuchs, Elinor (ed.): Land/Scape/Theater. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2002.

Farr, Ian (eds.): Memory. London: The Whitechapel Gallery, 2012.

Kastner, Jeffrey (eds.): Nature. Documents of Contemporary Art. London: The Whitechapel Gallery, 2012.

Kaye, Nick: Multimedia. Video, Installation, Performance. London og New York: Routledge, 2007.

Kaye, Nick: Site-specific Art. Performance, Place and Documentation. London: Routledge, 2000.

Kwon, Miwon: One Place after Another. Cambridge MA og London: MIT Press, 2002.

Merewether, Charles (eds.): The Archive. London: The Whitechapel Gallery, 2009.

Noble, Richard (eds.): Utopia. London: The Whitechapel Gallery, 2009.

Visuality/spectatorship/perspective/Film/Photography

Bleeker, Maaike: Visuality in the Theatre. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Crary, Jonathan: Techniques of the Observer. On Vision and Modernity in the Nineteeth Century. Cambridge MA og London: MIT Press, 1992.

Foster, Hal: Vision and Visuality. Seattle: Dia Art Foundation,1988.

Oddey, Alison and White, Christine: Modes of Spectating. Bristol, UK: Intellect Books, 2009.

Nekes, Werner: Eyes, Lies and Illusions, Ed. Laurent Mannoni, Werner Nekes, Marina Warner, Hayward Gallery Publishing, London 2004

Institutional critique

Alberro, Alexander og Stimson, Blake (eds.): Institutional Critique: An Anthology of Artist Writings. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009.

Crimp, Douglas: On the Museum´s Ruins. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1993.

O´Doherty, Brian: Inside the White Cube. The Ideology of the Gallery Space. Berkeley, Los Ageles og London: University of California Press, 1999.

O´Doherty, Brian: Studio and Cube. On the Relationship between where art is made and where art is displayed. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007.

Situationism

Debord, Guy: La Société du Spectacle. Paris, Buchet-Castel, 1967 (I Svensk oversettelse: Skådespelsamhället. Göteborg, Daidalos AB, 2002.)

Doherty, Claire: Situation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009.

Knabb, Ken (eds.): Situationist International Anthology. Berkeley: Bureau of Public Secrets, 2006.

McDonough, Tom: The situationists and the city, London, Verso, 2009

Documentarism/Strategies of Reality/Political Art

Forsyth, Alison og Megson, Chris (eds.): Get Real. Documentary Theatre Past and Present. London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

Groys, Boris: Art Power. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008.

Lind, Maria og Steyerl, Hito: The Green Room. Reconsidering the Documentary and Contemporary Art. New York og Berlin: Lukas and Sternberg, 2009.

Raunig, Gerald: Art and Revolution. Transversal Activism in the Long Twentieth Century. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2007.

Stallabrass, Julian: Documentary. London: The Whitechapel Gallery, 2013.

Aesthetics and theories of the avant-garde

Jaques Rancière: Aisthesis. London: Verso, 2013.

Jaques Rancière: The Emancipated Spectator. London: verso, 2009.

Jaques Rancière: The Politics of Aesthetics. London: Continuum, 2004.

Bürger, Peter: Theory of the Avant-Garde. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota press, 1984.

Artistic Research /Art School

Barrett, Estelle and Bolt, Barbara: Approaches to Creative Arts Enquiry. London: I.B.Tauris, 2010.

Kershaw, Bas and Nicholson, Helen: Research Methods in Theatre and Performance. Edinburg: Edinburg University Press, 2010.

Madoff, Steven Henry (eds.): Art School. (Propositions for the 21st Century). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009.

Sveinungsson, Jan: An Artist´s Textbook. Helsinki: Finnish academy of Fine Arts, 2007.

Studies abroad

The Norwegian Theatre Academy has an international network, which offers opportunities for exchanges and agreements with performing arts institutions, museums and educational institutions. Exchanges / periods of study abroad usually take place in the second or third semester and last for periods of varying length. Exchanges / periods of study abroad must be discussed with and approved by the student's supervisor.

 

The Norwegian Theatre Academy has systems and agreements for internationalisation and student exchanges at master's level with

 

• the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria

• Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), Zurich, Switzerland

• Korea National University of the Arts, Seoul, South Korea

Work and future studies

The programme will form the basis for applying for admission to the Norwegian Artistic Research Fellowship Programme and other relevant artistic PhD programmes, as well as for further education in the arts field.

 

The programme qualifies graduates to practise as scenographers at a high national and international level within a wide range of performing arts of an interdisciplinary and experimental nature, in the field of exhibition and museum design, in architecture and art in public spaces, in film and video production and different exhibition spaces in urban environments and natural landscapes. The master's programme in scenography produces scenographers who can work both independently and as part of collective creative processes.

The study plan is approved and revised

The study plan is approved

Approved by NOKUT on September 30th 2013

The study plan is revised

Pea Hov, Head of Studies, February 22th 2018

The study plan applies to

Autumn 2018

Programme Coordinator

Norwegian Theatre Academy.
Serge von Arx, Artistic Director NTA