New MA Performance Design Program at University of Leeds

Starting in September 2015, a new MA Performance Design program will open at at the University of Leeds. Reflecting the recent development of scenography as a focus for research as well as a field of practice, the programme combines rigorous academic study with practice-led investigation.

On the MA Performance Design programme at the University of Leeds, students will:

• Develop creative capacity in performance design.
• Investigate the range of contemporary performance design practice including; immersive and participatory forms of performance, and performance design both within and beyond purpose-built theatres.
• Explore the overlaps between theatre, performance and art, consider how audiences engage with them and what such practice can achieve.
• Understand the theories and concepts that are shaping these emergent forms of practice.
• Think about the value, purpose and meaning of performance design in broader social, aesthetic and political contexts.

Typically performance design makes use of lighting and projection, settings and objects, puppetry, props, costume and sound but the development of new technologies including digital, time-based and pervasive media highlights the importance of performance design to a wide range of creative and commercial applications. However, this programme is about the performance events and experiences that their deployment might afford rather than learning how those technologies work. We will encourage investigation and experimentation in the pursuit of creative and innovative ideas for performance and, within this, there is room to develop particular areas of interest and expertise.

The curriculum is taught by specialist tutors who are at the forefront of current research in performance design, including research into; immersive and participatory forms of performance design, design-led performance, audience experience and contemporary spectatorship, the use and abuse of spectacle and site-specific practice. This informs the MA Performance Design curriculum and ensures that students develop their capacity to reflect critically on their work.

This programme equips graduates with a range of transferable skills that foster imagination and independent thinking alongside the self-reliance and confidence needed to sustain work in this competitive field. As well as ensuring your development as a reflective and articulate practitioner, this course also provides excellent preparation for further study at PhD level. This programme is currently the only research-orientated MA programme in the UK that is specifically tailored towards sustained scholarly and practical engagement with performance design.

The full details of the programme and how to apply are here: http://www.pci.leeds.ac.uk/pg/taught-postgraduate/ma-performance-design/