The course takes place over four consecutive full-time semesters. The first three semesters comprise 16 weeks of classes and workshops. The fourth semester is devoted almost exclusively to the Master's Thesis.

The course is divided into five modules, which run across all four semesters:

Practice and experimentation

This module includes practice and experimentation workshops. On the one hand, long-term workshops led by guest artists on the theme of each of the three Master's disciplines (Choreography, Direction, Scenography), enabling students to highlight and put into practice interdisciplinary links and to experiment with compositional, directorial and scenographic tools. On the other hand, short-term workshops that allow students to discover specific artistic methods, articulate theoretical and practical approaches, put into practice working methods and sharpen their critical eye.

Theory

Based on theoretical teaching in three key areas: the history of artistic disciplines, methodology and project production, this module aims to enable students to acquire skills in the theoretical areas of organising and managing artistic projects.

Production-related teaching will be organised in one-week block workshops during the 2nd and 3rd semesters of the course. History of artistic disciplines will focus on the historical, political and social contexts of artistic practices in order to understand the issues at stake and how they have developed over time.
Methodology courses will help students to write and shape the reflective part of their Master's thesis.

Integrative training

Designed to enable students to immerse themselves in the performing arts scene in French-speaking Switzerland and to develop the skills needed to undertake and manage artistic projects, manage a team and position themselves in the professional network in order to propose coherent artistic projects, this module includes three work placement periods, one aimed at discovering the inner workings of a theatre, the second focusing on artistic production and project management, and the last on monitoring an artistic creation.

Art research

The practice of art research as a tool for creation, reflection and exploration is a central experience in this Master's programme. It enables students to develop a methodological approach to their work, stimulates their curiosity and knowledge of other practices and formats, and allows them to experiment with different ways of creating and thinking.
This link to research is present throughout the course, through the provision of one-off or regular teaching to support the practical and reflective parts of the Master's thesis, and through three special periods linked to research projects supported by IRMAS (Institut de recherche du Domaine Musique et Arts de la scène).

Master's thesis

The Master's thesis, developed throughout the programme from the audition onwards, combines practical artistic exploration with in-depth theoretical research, centred on a specific theme. It is based on evolving documentation, including archives and artistic references that are enriched over time. Artistic creation and theoretical reflection are intrinsically linked, culminating in a final defence. The theoretical part of the project is presented in a variety of forms: stage presentation, written work, lecture, installation, film, podcast, reflecting the diversity of artistic practices. The practical part of the project involves the creation of an exploratory form which is deliberately short (30 minutes maximum), allowing the student to develop an original artistic language that escapes standardisation criteria. The aim is not to produce a finished work, ready to be programmed, but rather to stimulate experimentation and personal development.

By the end of the programme, students will have acquired the following skills' profile:

Cross-disciplinary skills

– Be part of a professional environment
Adapting to societal issues, developing a network, meeting professional requirements and acting within a legal and ethical framework.

– Affirming one's artistic and professional project.
Develop a personal artistic language, communicate effectively, collaborate across disciplines and take the initiative within a group.

– Demonstrate autonomy and reflexivity
Be capable of managing projects independently, adopting a critical attitude to their production and engaging in continuous monitoring to enrich their professional practice.

Specific skills

– Plan, organise and manage an artistic production
Imagining a project within a concrete and operational framework, identifying the necessary resources, being able to cost the project, putting together a team, targeting the appropriate structures and preparing each stage of the production effectively.

– Producing an artistic work
Assert one's expressiveness, co-construct an environment conducive to creation, identify needs and overcome any obstacles encountered.

–Assessing and adjusting artistic production methods
Take stock of achievements, use this feedback to improve future proposals, adjust the project in progress, work to disseminate the project and its results.