Norwegian Theatre Academy
The Scenography Course
Are you a scenographer?
Scenography is about telling a story with visual means. Within its very nature of a dialogue the definition of a space is only the starting point of an avalanche in the spectators' imagination. What is inside things, behind things and in between them is more relevant then their immediate appearance. But while the first three are being hidden it is the latter which reveals them. The scenographer is the architect of the illusionary.
Scenography is an ephemeral momentum within time and space, architecture as an occasion. It always refers to something, be it a text, a music, a movement, an object or a mere idea. The position towards its referred notion creates the scenography's inherent dialogue. The volume, the color and the spirit of this dialogue are the scenographer's tools. There is no scenography without a linking anchor.
What you should bring
The Norwegian Theatre Academy brings together students from different backgrounds seeking to better understand the structures and the languages of the Performing Arts. The scenography study course explores the inextricable network of interrelationships to other artistic and non-artistic fields, in close collaboration with the Academy's Acting Department. We are looking for open minded students with interest in diverse forms of theatre; our focus on scenography for the theatre expands into exhibition design and the scenography of public spaces.
What you can expect
The major part of the education is carried out by a variety of Norwegian and international guest artists and teachers from different artistic domains. This requests a deep foundation of skills, knowledge and methods which the students can build upon. Regularly instructing tutors and guests implementing concentrated laboratory workshops share this fundamental part of the education. It is my aim to keep a sound balance in the understanding between the traditional tools such as pencil, brush or cardboard and technically more advanced instruments like CAD, video or any kind of multi media. Any scenography is intrinsically tied to its lighting. We emphasize the technical and artistic knowledge of controlling light which must be part of your creation from the very beginning.
What you will do
Developing projects in different scales allow the students to be secure on all levels of a project: fictive large scale projects developed in models, on paper and in the computer alternate and intermingle with realized productions within the Academy and at outside venues where the students encounter the professional world and learn how to cooperate within it. Theatre is a collaborative art. A special focus lies on the essential skill of how to develop with and accurately convey a scenography to other involved parties.
Where you will be
The Academy's location in a small town on the Southern border of Norway allows us to concentrate on the artistic fields of the respective studies. To congregate students from all over Europe and even beyond is part of our strategy to foster the intercultural exchange of ideas and knowledge. Each student is educated in specific disciplines allowing to examine the complexity of diverse visual vocabularies in the cultural variety. The very limited number of students enables us individual commitment, especially in the 3rd year to follow up your final independent projects distinctly.
What you should not forget
But the most important skill for every artist is perception; your indulgence into precise seeing and listening allows you to become highly aware of what is occurring in today's world. To put into question what is taken for granted must be one of your main strivings. The profound knowledge of the past together with a reflective perception of the present permits you to create tomorrow's artistic world.
Serge von Arx
Head of Scenography Department
