This unique MA will enhance your critical understanding of the musical theatre as a popular entertainment genre.
It will help you to sharpen your practical skills as a creative artist. On a practical level, it will assist you in working as a freelance writer, composer or producer of musical theatre.
The MA focuses on the dramaturgy of the musical as a key factor in the future development of the genre.
Expert professionals are regularly employed as visiting tutors, to maintain direct links with the industry.
You follow one of the two pathways as either:
You undertake an analytic case study of a musical or production, a placement project and dissertation (producers), and a creative project involving either book and lyrics or music for a short original musical (writers and composers). Producers share some classes with students on the MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy.
You undertake an analytic case study of a musical or production, a placement project and dissertation (producers), and a creative project involving either book and lyrics or music for a short original musical (writers and composers). Producers share some classes with the MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy.
You elect to follow one of two pathways on the programme – Producers, or Writers and Composers. In each case, the programme involves five separate modules:
1. Genre study – autumn and spring terms, both pathways.
This module runs for 20 weeks. It begins in autumn with an historical survey of the development of the American musical, from ‘Showboat’ (1927) to ‘Sweeney Todd’ (1979). It continues in the spring term with a look at new forms of musical theatre that have resulted from the fragmentation of the classic tradition of ‘book’ musicals, with the innovation of the ‘concept’ musical, the impact of rock musicals, the ‘invasion’ of Broadway by the British ‘megamusical’ and the subsequent globalisation of the market by Cameron Macintosh and Disney.
2. Case study – autumn and spring terms, both pathways.
This module involves a 15-week introduction to the different structural components (book, music, lyrics, choreography, scenography) and industrial factors (producers, marketing, technology, conomics)
determining the production of musicals today. The module is taught by a range of professional and academic experts with a variety of different perspectives on the subject.
3. Shared complementary/contextual module 1 – autumn term.
Students choose one of these modules:
4. Shared complementary/contextual module 2, - ‘Musical Theatre and Society’
5. Creative project/dissertation – spring and summer terms, both pathways.
Genre study is assessed by two 3,000-word essays; the case study is assessed by means of a 4,000-word essay. The nature and form of creative projects, dissertations and research/placement projects are agreed with the Module Convenor during the programme.
You will develop a critical understanding of the collaborative processes involved in the creation of musical theatre in the UK and USA.
Composers and librettists/lyricists will achieve an enhanced ability to engage with the integration of dramaturgical and musical components of musical theatre writing, and a comprehension of the various factors involved in working within the industry.
Producers will acquire an overall perspective on the industrial and organisational factors involved in musical theatre production, including methods of theatre marketing, systems of arts funding and policy, and a working knowledge of the strategies involved in producing a small-scale musical.
Producers will also develop skills of leadership and teamwork and the ability to develop and critique their own approaches to working in musical theatre production.
Typical careers for graduates of this MA include:
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
This unique international laboratory programme brings diverse individuals into collaborative research, acknowledging the challenges of creating original, performer-driven theatre in today's complex, globalised culture.
In over 3 decades there has been a creative surge in hybrid live performance worldwide. This has been the work of solo artists, ensembles, auteurs and performer-directors across creative fields, who have redefined boundaries and stretched the artistic and social imagination into new spaces, both literally and figuratively.
Within the vibrant environment of Goldsmiths, and with all the stimulus that London offers culturally, practising or emerging practitioners develop compositional, critical, technical and management skills and strategies for forging independent and self-motivated careers. Our graduates work as practitioners, teachers and cultural leaders worldwide.
On the programme you will conceive, research, construct and deliver your ideas and articulate what motivates these. Teaching is rigorous and interdisciplinary. You study with distinguished international artists as well as scholars within a praxis ethos where theory informs creativity and vice versa. The emphasis throughout is on encouraging collaboration across disciplines and cultures, and on contextualising practice within its social, political and architectural environment.
Physical training, scenographic/environmental exploration and hands-on introduction to technologies (lighting, video and sound) support composition and artistic experimentation. You identify your own practice within the historical and contemporary field, and write critically and creatively. You archive your practice digitally, and on graduation will have developed a portfolio of projects. You are guided on professional development by the Live Art Development Agency (LADA) and the Institute for Cultural and Creative Entrepreneurship (ICCE) at Goldsmiths.
The programme enjoys a wide international professional network of organisations, commissions, venues and festivals of benefit to students. You study both at Goldsmiths and ArtsAdmin. Click here for a full list of artists associated with the programme as permanent and guest tutors.
This is a praxis programme on which you gain 180 CATS (credits).
Core modules
You will become conversant, confident and skilled in a range of methodological practices as well as compositional strategies for independent theatrical, dance theatre and live art creation.
Your critical and analytical skills in interpreting artistic practice will be tested in a range of verbal, written and oral ways. Your study of your own body as a creative instrument will be complemented by learning the principles of scenography and film narrative.
You will research intellectually and produce theoretically informed writing. You will learn to contextualise your own practice and interests in the contemporary field of performance both in the UK and internationally, and to articulate such practice.
Overall you will learn how to research, construct and deliver your ideas performatively and how to advocate your own projects to producers, venues, funders and other agencies.
Graduates work in a wide variety of professional contexts globally as commissioned performance makers, directors, project leaders, programmers, teachers and academic researchers.
What can theatre tell us about everyday life in a digital culture? How does dance inform and shape society? How can we analyse, interpret and respond to this - as critical thinkers? In this programme you will learn how to investigate and reflect on the dynamic ways in which theatrical and choreographic practices respond to a society in transition. This programme welcomes both Dutch and international students who are interested in dramaturgy, programming and curating, critical writing and art criticism, as well as arts professionals who wish to enrich their practice through academic research.
Contemporary performance practices are increasingly hybrid projects that approach and transcend the borders of theatre, dance, visual arts, music, media and daily life. Theatre and dance are inextricably linked with other media that shape our reality; they extend beyond the theatre’s walls and inject themselves into our daily lives. Theories and concepts derived from the performing arts are progressively deployed in cultural theory and (social) science. Such a field in transition demands an approach that studies theatre and dance as intermedial and interdisciplinary phenomena, and addresses the interrelationships of these phenomena, the audience and the socio-cultural context.
This dynamic is the focus of our Contemporary Theatre, Dance and Dramaturgy programme.
Fully taught in English, this Master’s programme takes an academic approach to contemporary performance. We closely collaborate with the field of theatre and dance in the Netherlands and Flanders, internationally regarded as the forerunners of the exciting new trends that emerge on the European stage. You will get acquainted with state-of-the-art theory yet we are also actively oriented towards the practice of theatre and dance. This is exemplified by the focus on dramaturgy, an internship in the second semester, and the many opportunities to meet with practitioners, build-in components within the programme and closely related to the staff’s expansive network.
Research topics
Our research focus areas include:
Since the workfield is multifaceted and comprises both larger and smaller companies as well as public and private initiatives, many alumni combine various jobs - for instance, dramaturge and writer or programmer and artistic advisor. Read more about possible career prospects.
The MA Dance Masters by Research enables students to develop their own research interests and, supported by tutors design a programme of dance research that addresses specific areas of interest, as an example, projects might explore areas such as; Dance and Postmodernism, Community Dance Practice, Dance in Education, Popular Dance, Site-Specific Dance Practices, Dance and technology, Dance Film, Dance and Interdisciplinary Arts Practices, Dance History, Dance and Politics.
Guest lecturers on the MA include scholars, practitioners and curators all working in innovative areas of dance research.
Our dance facilities include four superb dance studios, a fully-equipped 250-seat theatre and a 110-seat studio theatre. In addition, there is a newly refurbished large gymnasium space together with two new sprung-floor spaces in the new academic building. Our students will use the facilities within our dance technical team to enhance their understanding of scenography, sound and cameras, and the editing suites to support their choreography and creative practice situated in the Learning and Information Zone of the library.
Over the past few years, we’ve redeveloped both of our campuses so that you have the best facilities available for your degree. We pride ourselves on the quality of the learning environment we can offer our students.
At the Bishop Otter campus there is an integrated approach to the provision of learning resources and support. We offer a substantial collection of books, journals and other materials to help you further your research. A range of study areas for group and quiet study including Wi-Fi areas for laptop use are available, or you can use our open access PC and Mac areas. We use an electronic learning environment with an expanding portfolio of online library resources from anywhere at any time.
The Learning Resource is the hub of the learning environment. It has two upper floors of library resources, one for silent study and one for quiet study, both of which have recently been refurbished. On the ground floor, you’ll find the Support and Information Zone, Media Centre, Otter Gallery, Costa Coffee and a variety of IT resources.
The Bishop Otter LRC also offers:
This course is suitable for you if you are a dance / arts professional, teacher, recent graduate or a dance artist who wishes to extend their research skills.
It will offer you …
You will develop skills in…
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Core modules
Independent Research Project module:
Your research skills will be facilitated through the formulation and realisation of a self-directed research project in broadly based dance practices, which underpin the MA programme. You will be expected to contextualise your work in the light of contemporary developments in dance research.
Dissertation module:
The Dissertation emphasises independent research where you select an area of investigation with the advice of tutors. This may arise from earlier modules studied on the degree. The research may focus on performance practice, professional practice (i.e. teaching and community dance practices) applied critical, historical or epistemological issues.
Optional modules
In addition to the two core modules, students are required to select two optional modules, these normally include options such as; Artist as Producer, Pedagogical Skills, Body in Site, Dance Writing and Criticism, Performing Politics.
Assessment for this programme employs various methods chosen as the most appropriate for demonstrating achievement of the learning outcomes for each module. All modules are assessed by means of programme work in the form of essays, practical choreography presentations, ,reports, presentations, learning journals, portfolios, online tasks and group working.
Learning is assessed using various methods chosen as the most appropriate for demonstrating achievement of the learning outcomes for each module.
All modules are assessed by means of programme work in the form of practical choreography presentations, essays, reports, presentations, learning journals, portfolios, online tasks and group working.
The Specializing Master in Urban Interior Design is a professional program dedicated to developing new perspectives on Public Living Spaces in Contemporary Cities through theory, research, design and practical training. It is a challenge to pay attention to the seams between elements in a city, the interstitial spaces: to “mind the gap”, so to speak.
[MUID] underlines the importance of urban voids in the collective life of men and women. The quality of public space conveys the cultural depth of the community that created it. We live in cities and systems of cities. Alone, with many. We are pedestrians, drivers, passengers, citizens, travellers, inhabitants, outsiders, unsolicited designers, unexpected users. We live a time of economic, urban and demographic growth without precedent. Therefore, we have ahead of us the challenge of giving concrete form to the complex spaces that house new collective needs and opportunities.
[MUID] is an innovative Specializing Master based on the construction of physical identity imbedded in the millennial culture of public space in Italy. It's an opportunity to enhance specific professional skills in an academic and professional context.
[MUID] offers the experience of a multidisciplinary faculty of architects, intellectuals, designers and media professionals in a relationship of interdisciplinary creativity. The Urban Interior Designer enters the market with specific competences acquired through a higher education process, ready to blend the knowledge of architects, designers, interior designers and art operators. A professional whose talent is increasingly dependent on the ability to offer hospitable spaces, meaningful on their own and suitable for multiple purposes, many still unpredicted.
[MUID] Expected professional outcomes: the program equips students to qualify for employment in the private and public sector, either as free-lance consultants or as integrated in complex organisations such as:
Please visit http://www.polidesign.net/en/urbaninteriordesign
