Stage Design & Scenography and Contemporary Craft BA (Hons) (with Foundation Year)

STAGE DESIGN & SCENOGRAPHY

On this course you will be trained to design and make immersive worlds for different audiences. It’s about exploring drama and performance through the interactions between bodies, environments and creative technologies. How can light function as an actor? How can a set be built by sound alone? How can we subtly direct our audiences without them knowing? What are the ethical challenges of creating a performance solely for one person? As worldbuilders, you will learn about the different approaches to designing and creating your own immersive performance environments, supported by technical training that will prepare you for the creative sector.

Your three years begins with an introduction to immersive performance practices and scenographic design before you journey into the exciting challenges of audience participation and interaction. Moving outside of the campus, the city of Liverpool itself will become a site for performance, echoing the work of immersive practitioners such as Punchdrunk, dreamthinkspeak and Shunt. Your final year will involve a push into new and experimental performance technologies, presenting performance projects in virtual worlds and the development of escape rooms and other ludic practices. This will culminate in you selecting either to complete a placement within an arts organisation or to take the lead as project manager of a major performance project of your own devising. This final year will also require you to complete an independent research project on a topic of your own choice.

This course is for those who are passionate about theatre and performance but are more interested in working behind the scenes.

CONTEMPORARY CRAFT BA (HONS)

The BA Contemporary Craft Major is centred around the practice of designing and making combined with the exploration of materials, primarily in ceramic, metal and textile.

In the material workshops we celebrate tactility, materiality and haptic technologies, seeking less conventional notions of craft through material exploration and project design. Creating and making gives us the confidence to take risks, the ability to solve problems and builds a sense of identity. Alongside developing individually focused work the course will seek to explore key research emerging within society, exploring challenging issues including climate change, mental health diversity. The course will be theoretically underpinned by a series of lectures and seminars to inform research and practice. A strong focus on employability and real-world scenarios will enable contemporary craft graduates to move confidently into diverse fields of practice and work opportunities. Graduates will be confident in forging links with local industries and harnessing the creative energy of the North West. Professional expertise, digital exploration and contextual studies support the creative practice to provide a rich and exciting major.