Educating Theatre Artists For The Future Before I start this - - PDF document

1 Educating Theatre Artists For The Future

Before I start this presentation: I am a Scenographer and Professor of Scenography and I have served as Chair of OISTAT Education for the last 8 years. This presentation is based on my teaching experience at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA and several design schools in Europe. Much of the information is gathered through the seminars of the Education commission in schools across the world as well as through conversations with colleagues – members of the Commission. I hope that this brief overview on current trends in design education will be useful for our Taiwanese colleagues. Contemporary theatre is not a coherent formula of aesthetic and artistic practices but in fact a widespread landscape of many local contexts and discourses, a pluralistic coexistence of artistic platforms and forms of expression, extending from the dramaturgy based practice of the repertory theatres, to the innovative practices of the experimental theatre laboratories. A view on the current situation in design education would offer similarly diverse and colorful picture of forms placed between academic and vocational, local and international structures:

• University programs in Drama and Theatre Departments.
• Conservatory schools. Theatre Academies. Visual Arts Academies. Design programs are found

even in Music Academies and Architecture and Interior Design departments.

• Post graduate research programs in Design for Performance.
• Studio – schools, affiliated with famous theatre companies, such as the Moscow Art Theatre

School, Milano La Scala School, Picolo Teatro School in Milano.

• Vocational schools and programs.
• Life Long learning non academic programs, offered by European projects, theatre festivals and

professional organizations

• Internship and practical research opportunities, offered by big repertory companies, festivals and

experimental theatre laboratories.

• International academic exchange programs. European Commission sponsored programs.
• International non academic educational programs and events, organized by professional
• rganizations in conjunction with conferences and festivals.

This diversity of forms of training, combined with the growing international mobility and intercultural collaboration fosters bigger responsiveness of education to the processes in today’s theatre and opens paths for innovation and experiment towards the future. Some of the prevailing trends in contemporary design education, that reflect up-to-date movements in design practice and theatre focus on: Scenography. Interdisciplinarity.

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Design research Designers created performances. Visual theatre. Crossing the borderlines of theatre creation. Design in the Information era. New digital technologies in theatre performance. Unusual performance spaces. Investigating the relationship between performance and audience. Vocational training. Building stronger ties between the academic world and the theatre practice. International cooperation and exchanges

Scenography In the last decade, the term Scenography has become increasingly popular in contemporary performance design theory and practice, reflecting the importance of the visual composition of the performance and the creative role of the visual artist in the era of post dramatic theatre. The theater traditions of most of the European countries place the designer or the scenographer very strongly as one of the central figures of the creative process. The scenographer is considered as the visual artist in the process of creating theatre and the main artistic partner of the director, who creates the spatial – temporal environment and the visual composition of the performance, inspired directly by the dramaturgical text. In many schools, especially across Eastern and Central European countries, design education is shaped by this understanding of the role of the scenographer. For instance, in my country, Set, Lighting , Costume and even puppet design are taught together as a 4 years course of Scenography . The future scenographer is expected to acquire substantial and versatile skills as visual artists, as well as a broad cultural background. To support these requirements the curriculums include a big section of fine arts disciplines, such as extensive courses in drawing, painting, anatomy for artists, perspective, technology

• f painting, graphic techniques, as well as wide range of theoretical subjects, such as History of Stage

Design and Technology, History of Architecture and Interior Design, History of Material Culture and Customs, History of Western Drama, History of Theatre, Directing, History of Costume, History of Styles, History and Technology of Fabric Decoration, History and Technology of Lace and Embroidery, History

• f Art, History of Music, History of Film Arts, Aesthetics, Philosophy, History of Religion, Fundamentals
• f Electronics, Fundamentals of Economics, Basics of Automatics, etc.

Interdisciplinarity Although the concept of interdisciplinarity has been around since decades, the recent years have witnessed a fast growing interest in integrating curriculums across the design disciplines. Even

3 educational systems with traditionally strong division of the design disciplines search for more effective teaching tools to build closer collaboration across the different design areas . At the Theatre Department of the University of Tennessee, set, costume and lighting design are taught jointly in Design seminar course. Beginning with the first conceptual project in the first year students form teams of three (set, lighting and costume designer) and work in close collaboration to produce design concept, that brings together all visual aspects into artistic synthesis. The benefits of the learning

• utcomes include better critical thinking, enhanced creativity, integrative thought processes, sensitivity

to ethical issues, tolerance... Students acquire broader artistic view and are able to communicate more effectively with other theatre artists. Designer created performances. This is one of the strong areas of interdisciplinary approach, that brings together fine arts and theatre and tests the borders of theatre creation in installations, designer led and visual dramaturgy based performance projects. This area of study emphasize on the role of the visual artist as an author of the performance and often gets particular attention in the curriculums of design programs, placed in Visual Arts Academies . Digital Media in Theatre Use of video and animation, interactive projection, internet, have become a commonplace practice in theatres and a favorite playground for young theatre artists and students. Many design programs include an extensive Digital Arts study section in their curriculums. Such is the case with the Scenography Department at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia, where I serve as faculty. In the 4 years BA curriculum, students follow a three years of Digital Media Design courses and acquire skills in 2D and 3D digital design and animation software. In the fourth year of the BA program as well as in the MA program they are given the options to work on short video or digital animation movie or on a piece

• f visual theatre, that searches for new ways of expression through digital technology. In some projects

technology itself becomes the central theme of the artistic exploration. Unusual spaces Since the beginning of XX c. theatre has been searching for new practices regarding the relationship between the live performance and its space, turning urban settings into stages and exploring new modes of relationship between performance and audience. Design for site specific and found performance spaces constitutes an important module in the curriculums of most European schools. Assignments vary from staging a classical text in alternative space to creating a scenario for a performance in found space. Projects, related to the cutting edge developments in the Theatre of The Senses use sensory language to explore the relationship between performance, audience and public

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• space. Site specific design projects correspond strongly with today’s young people’s urban culture and

inspire strong artistic response, while at the same time prepare students for the realities of working as independent emerging artists. Design Research The last decade shows growing interest in the history and theory of scenography and theatre design Considered until recently an eccentricity nowadays post graduate programs have become a steadily growing division of design education, that responds exhisting needs for development of the theory of Scenography and Theatre Design. Design research programs emerge as part of academic curriculums, as joint international academic programs or as entities, combining support from academic institution and experimental theatre laboratories. For instance, the famous experimental theatre group Hotel Pro Forma has started a project to create a Ph.d. programme with Aalborg University, which will investigate Hotel Pro Forma’s use of sound on a performative level, with ambition to develop processes and technologies with applications that reach beyond the art community. Arts and Science The birth of some of the most compelling ideas in the modern art of XXc. have been inspired directly by the development of science and technology. Nowadays, throughout society the boundary between science and the arts is seen as an interesting and fruitful area for further study. New PhD programes have started a wider exchange of experience with scientific and humanist research bodies, and other institutions in the arts and information technology. Some European schools, such as the University of Leeds and Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts have become active participants in the exploration of this uncharted territory. Education and Practice Cross disciplinary approach ensures better collaboration not only between the design aspects, but also between the technical and the artistic theatre programs. For their Set Construction project students from The Technical Theatre Arts program of the Theatre School of Amsterdam collaborate with design students from other design academies in The Netherlands. The students translate the design of a stage set into technical drawings and propose a construction method and the necessary materials. The complete design is then handed over to a stage set construction firm. In search for stronger ties between the academic process and the real life, some schools incorporate in their curriculums joint programs with professional companies. This enables them to bring students into

5 contact with the actual theatre practice as well as to bring the reality of the theatre “business” and professionalism in the academic ateliers. A good example is set by the Theatre Academy in Maastricht, Netherlands. The Design Department of the Academy actively collaborates with several Dutch theatres, and with theatres in Antwerp, Brussels, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Cologne, and Osnabruck. Students are offered opportunities to work as designers for professional opera and theatre productions, directed by young emerging directors. Often, this director – designer teams develop long lasting professional collaborations.

Other programs emphasize strongly on the practical training aspects by producing a substantial theatre season. The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama offers vocational performance‐based

training that enables students to obtain skills in creation and practice in the range of design disciplines and puppetry, as well as in scene painting, stage management, stagecraft and technical theatre. The College events calendar encompasses over 300 public performances every year including orchestral concerts, recitals, drama, opera and musical theatre. The brand new built facilities of the college are actually a huge performance centre with a concert hall, four theatres, courtyard performance space, several recital rooms, rehearsal studios, and workshops. Vocational training. Vocational approach to design and technology education has become more and more popular. In Europe, vocational training is particularly well developed in Germany and constitutes an important part

• f the German educational system. While set and lighting design are still university degree

programs with highly regulated content across the country, the technical theatre professions as well as Costume Designers, Makeup Artists, and Scenic Painters are educated mostly in theatres and companies. The big companies can offer 10 to 30 apprenticeships, while the smaller ones have limited budgets and opportunities. At the end of the apprenticeship, an exam is taken. Some programs, like the European Event Academy in Baden –Baden combine in ‐ company training with advanced vocational studies and theoretical courses modules. Most of the students are working theatre practitioners. International exchange students are accepted too. By the end of the study period they receive professional certificates.

Lifelong Learning Life Long learning programs are relatively new form that was brought to existence by the demands of the contemporary theatre practice and the growing sophistication of theatre technology. In the theatre practice of US and Canada programs of workshops, presentations and lectures for practitioners are

• ffered regularly at the annual meetings of USITT the (US Institute for Theatre Technology), CITT ( the

Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology) and many other regional conferences, organized by regional professional and academic organizations.

6 In Europe lifelong learning programs are offered mostly in the area of technical theatre, stage management, lighting design, theatre management. In many of the countries in Southeastern and Central Europe the technical theatre professional expertise and education suffer serious deficits. In search for solution of the problem, theatre companies, professional and governmental organizations in these countries turn for help from other EU countries, with better expertise in the field. As a result, during the last years several multilateral projects , sponsored by the programs of the European Commission have been realized for the benefit of the technical theatre practitioners in these countries. Internationalism Since the late 90’s international collaboration and exchange has become perhaps the fastest growing aspect of education with strong implications on the aesthetic, structural and practical aspects. The impact of this boom in international studies and exchanges is yet to be seen in the theatre practice. Beyond doubt internationalism in the arts will expand further and will be one of the factors, that will shape the future of theatre. There are two big groups of international educational programs:

• Programs, that provides learning in academic environment ‐ International study programs,

integrated in the academic curricula. Bilateral and multilateral academic exchange programs. Most international study curricula offer to foreign students two distinctive options, based on the length of the study period:

• Intensive short programs, ranging from several weeks to several months, but no more than a
• year. Such programs enable students to select an intensive pathway from within the BA

curriculum or to concentrate on a specific study problem. The courses offered are taught in English.

• Full‐time study programs. Most design schools accept foreign students in their BA, MA and PhD
• programs. In most cases good command of the local language is required.

The Drama Department of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, Wales, offers to foreign students 12 week Study Abroad programs in Design Related subjects, which include:

• Theatre Design: Set Design & Realization, Costume Design & Construction, Scenography
• Puppetry
• Stage Management: Technical Theatre, Lighting Design, Sound Design

Students develop their knowledge and skills during focused classes and are given the opportunity to experience either project work or live production work alongside the students of the RWCMD.

7 The Studio School of Moscow Art Theatre offers intensive study programs in the areas of set and costume design and technology, taught in English and ranging from 2 weeks to 3 months length.

A huge part of international academic exchanges happens through EU Education and Training Exchange Programs One of the most popular EU sponsored educational programs, ERASMUS, seeks to enhance the quality of higher education by encouraging transnational cooperation between universities, boosting mobility and improving the transparency and full academic recognition of studies and qualifications throughout Europe. ERASMUS consists of many different activities: student and teacher exchanges joint development of study programs (Curriculum Development) international intensive programs thematic networks between departments and faculties across Europe Currently 2199 higher education institutions in 31 countries are participating in ERASMUS. Since the creation of ERASMUS in 1987, more than 1.2 million students have benefited of an ERASMUS study period abroad. The second large group in international exchanges are:

• Programs, that provide learning in non‐ academic environment – Training programs in

conjunction with festivals and conferences.

Programs of workshops, seminars, masterclasses for students and young practitioners are included in the program of many theatre festivals accross the world. However, most of them are in the area of acting and very few – in the area of scenography, design and technical theatre. In the last 10 years OISTAT has become a very active player in the field of non – academic

• training. OISTAT Commissions and particularly OISTAT Education Commission have
• rganized a great number of theoretical seminars and practical workshops in conjunction with

their meetings across the world. OISTAT Scenofest is one of the biggest existing International programs, that provide learning in non - academic environment in all aspects of performance design and technical theatre. Scenofest is a festival of Scenography, held in conjunction with PQ, initiated and organized by OISTAT and it’s Education Commission in collaboration with the organizer of PQ - the Check Theatre Institute,. Scenofest at PQ 2003, 2007 and 2011 have produced more than 300 workshops in scenography, all areas of design, new media and technical theatre; have presented more than120 students’

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performances and more than 30 lectures by distinguished theatre artists. The three editions of the program have attracted more than 4000 students and practitioners. In 2013, OISTAT will present the next edition of Scenofest in conjunction with the World Stage Design Exhibit in Cardif, Wales. I hope that many students and young practitioners from Taiwan will come to Cardiff in 2013 and will become active in the program of WSD and Scenofest. Marina Raytchinova Scenographer, Assoc. Professor, Chair, Education Commission of OISTAT