DEPARTMENT OF STAGE DESIGN

Program Overview

The Department of Stage Design was created by Czech stage designer and architect, Prof. František Tröster in 1946. The foundations of the teaching program were laid by other Czech stage designers of international standing, for instance Josef Svoboda. The department has further developed its teaching concept under the lead of Tröster’s student and stage designer, Prof. Jana Duška, the developer of action scenography. Many important Czech designers have graduated from the DAMU Department of Stage Design including: Milan David, Karel Glogr, David Marek, Luboš Hrůza, Ondřej Nekvasil, Jana Zbořilová, Ivana Brádková, Kateřina Štefková and Jan Štěpánek, many of whom teach at the department. These individuals have had a powerful infl uence on the visual power of theatre globally.

This outstanding history and the dynamism of the program have given the Department of Stage Design widespread international recognition. Many students from all over the world have studied with us. In the past, the program was only offered in Czech; nevertheless, students came to study from Germany, Brazil, England, America, Italy, Korea, Israel, Poland, Serbia and many other countries. In view of the fact that many talented foreign students were extremely interested in studying at DAMU but found it problematic studying in Czech, the English language program was created. It has already produced many successful MA graduates.

Study Program

The program focuses on the design process of shaping dramatic space for theatre, opera, and ballet. Design for fi lm and television as well as non-traditional, or site-specifi c spaces, is also included in the program. Our aim is to guide students in the creative process of mastering stage design as an authorial component of theatre making. Students will also master the technical and technological requirements of designing the stage space – including projection, lighting and acoustics. Our focus is on the designer as co-author of the theatrical performance, and author of the visual experience. Designers will also engage in a professional and theoretical self-refl ection of their own work – a theorized practice. Designers may also work with an architect on designing theatres.
Students choose from the following areas of concentration:

Stage Design or Design in Film and Television

Within each Major Concentration there are mandatory seminars, courses, workshops and practical exercises. DAMU International also provides a wide range of Electives, Exploratory Courses, Non-credit Lectures, and Cultural Excursions, which comprise a vital aspect of each student’s educational experience.

The curriculum of the program includes coursework in the following:

1. Stage Design: Inspirational sources and approaches to scenographic work; shaping the dramatic space. Dramatic situation as a starting point of an interpretation of the space; action scenography. Typology of the space; stage design of a non-theatrical space; site specifi c spaces.
2. History of Stage Design: History of Czech and world stage design
3. Graduation Thesis Seminar: Individual preparation of a thesis project on the stage design as a work of art.

Admission to the Program

Prior experience in theatre or fi lm production is preferred but not required. MA applicants from all disciplines of undergraduate study are encouraged to also apply, not just those who have specialized in theatre design. A portfolio of work is required for admission. Your portfolio should be as broad based as possible, preferably containing materials displaying skills in areas beyond your immediate specialty. Applicants must also submit a CV (brief description of the applicant’s academic and artistic work); academic transcripts from all previously attended institutions (not preceding secondary school); one letter of recommendation from a former teacher, employer, or artistic collaborator; and interview with members of the department (alternatively, students may submit a statement of intent – a short personal essay on what the applicant believes she/he can contribute to the creative and intellectual environment of DAMU).

application deadline May 31, 2012
entry exams : June 9 and 10, 2012

Assessment

Students must complete all assignments. These are assessed through mid-terms. At the end of each semester, students present their projects for a fi nal critique during which they explain and justify their work. In order to graduate, students must complete a thesis project (including a theoretical component) and defend their work in an oral exam.

Beyond DAMU

The graduate of the Masters Degree in Stage Design is a conceptually rigorous, creative and educated artistic personality. Each student gains an in depth knowledge of theatre, literature, music, fi lm, architecture, and the history and theory of stage design. The graduate masters the technical aspects of the formation, and designing and lighting, of the scenic space. If a student’s work is outstanding, he/she may be given the opportunity to create the design of a major production in the DISK theatre.

Course Leaders

Professor Jan Dušek: Department Chair – Scene Design – Graduate of the Department of Stage Design, DAMU. Studied under Professor F. Troster. Collaborates with most Czech theatres as well as with theatres in Germany, Poland and Slovakia (more than 500 productions). First Place at the Trienale Novi Sad (1973); The Radok Prize (1996). Taught in Spain, England, Holland and the USA.

Ondřej Nekvasil: Instructor; Scene Design for Film and Television – Graduate of the Department of Stage Design, DAMU. Designed many full-length fi lms. Works in television and collaborates with numerous Czech theatres. Participant in the Prague Quadrennial 1999 – Best National Exhibition. Winner of the EMMY award for “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

Petr Pavlík – Studied at Academy of Visual Arts in Prague (1967–73). Teaches at the Prague College of Applied Arts and Department of Scene Design, DAMU. Various solo and group exhibits in the Czech Republic and internationally.

Jakub Korčák – Graduated as a director from DAMU. Directed at numerous theatres in the Czech Republic (City Theatre Zlín, Vinohrady Theatre, Otamar Krejča’s Theatre Behind the Gate). Has taught directing at DAMU since 1990.