Theatre Dramaturgy – (M.A.)

In the UK, the profession of the ‘Dramaturg’ is still largely unknown, yet in Europe, the US, Australia and in most other countries and cultures, every theatre, every company, and every production has one. Of course, the tasks and jobs associated with a Dramaturg elsewhere exist in British theatre as well, but people are often called ‘Artistic Directors’, ‘Creative Advisor’, ‘Educational Officer’, ‘Literary Manager’, ‘Rehearsal Diarist’, ‘Production Researcher’, ‘Assistant Director’ or have other fancy names while actually doing the same thing – dramaturgy. This taught MA introduces the many shapes and forms of Dramaturgy in contemporary theatre, offering two dedicated pathways specialising in Production Dramaturgy or Creative Producing. All students will acquire a shared knowledge base in dramaturgical fundamentals from production dramaturgy to PR-work, from scholarly background research to budgeting, producing and creative programming. Together, the students will explore areas such as:

* Venue programming and artistic management
* Production Research & Development
* New Play Development
* Developing Educational Resources and Events
* Developing Production Publicity

The year starts off with a joint introductory module for both pathways, appropriately called ‘Creative Producing & Dramaturgy’, alongside an introduction into Theatre Research and Methodologies. After Christmas, students will then specialise in production dramaturgy or creative producing, while having additional options to take modules from the MA European Theatre, or work towards their own projects, as dramaturgs or producers, together with students from the other MA practice pathways. There is also an opportunity for an industrial placement or professional research, before writing a final dissertation which is submitted in early September.