Theatre

General information

HKU Theatre offers 5 bachelor courses: Acting, Theatre in Education, Interactive Performance Design, Theatre Design, and Writing for Performance. Embedded in these courses, there’s a common curriculum throughout the years of study. The school has about 350 students and 80 (guest) teachers, which makes for a small-scale but versatile environment, with a richness of disciplines and colourful characters that are part of one bigger picture.

HKU Theatre presents itself as a cooperative, interdisciplinary and socially engaged learning environment.
Students develop specific skills to become actors, playwrights, stage designers, drama teachers or interactive performance designers, but also gain generic skills to become devised theatre makers.

The school offers a challenging learning environment for students, in which they can investigate their position in the context of a dynamic interaction between the theatre arts, the cultural landscape and society.
It is in the actual practice of making theatre and theatrical experiences where learning and reflecting takes place.

HKU Theatre has two theatre studios, several construction and technical workshops, a costume department, a library, ample computer facilities and a studio for performative media.

Students from various theatre courses learn to work with each other in several projects. Here they are taught to have an entrepreneurial attitude towards society, focused on making contemporary meaningful work.

The school likes students to investigate and explore the opportunities and boundaries of the theatre field, from where they can share their stories with the world in various forms, like a theatrical performance, (interactive) installations or (short) films.

Course information
De Rivier (‘the River’) – year 3
Cooperate and work interdisciplinary

HKU Theatre invites exchange students to two interdisciplinary projects embedded in the common curriculum ‘De Rivier’.
During these projects, there will be a lot of contact with the cultural field outside of the school.
Students might participate at (theatre) festivals, collaborate with cultural and educational institutions such as theatre venues, museums and schools or assist within the social domain in social organisations or local communities.

Core values

• Cooperative working: both with other students and external partners in the different fields. We consider Bildung (personal development) equally important as vocational training. Through cooperation and interaction with others, students develop agency and empower themselves in creative processes.
• interdisciplinary work: learn from peers trained in other disciplines. We consider the interaction across disciplines (performing, writing, lecturing, stage and interactive performance design) an intrinsic aspect of theatrical making processes. Through cooperation and interaction with others, students develop multidisciplinary skills and insight.

De Rivier consists of two interdisciplinary theatre projects in which the student creates theatrical work with HKU students from other disciplines, such as HKU Music and Technology and HKU Utrechts Conservatorium.

Project 1 & 2
The projects, each with their different themes, work forms, theatrical forms and a variety of audiences, are either initiated by the school or by students. In each project, students conduct research, develop and (co-)create a work with fellow students that they eventually present to an audience outside of the school.

Some of the projects are in Dutch, because the content requires this. For example, a theatre performance based on Dutch texts or a project that is aimed at vulnerable target groups. However, our exchange students always get assigned to projects that do not require Dutch language skills.

Examples are: production of an interactive installation for a theatre festival for toddlers, or a cooperation with an internationally oriented (social) organisation.

Furthermore, we aim to find a proper match with the course at the home institution, complementing skills and answering to particular wishes.

Also, all students will be assigned to coaches within each project, with whom they can direct their own specific developments in line with the assignment of the project.

Before assigning exchange students to a particular project, there is always an interview with a teacher, who is likely involved in the project or has knowledge of the specific study programme at the home institution. Also conducted is a portfolio review where the student can elaborate on their work. This conversation will also reveal whether it is possible to meet specific wishes and mutual expectations.

Exchange programme

Project 1 – period 3 (13 ECTS)
as part of the common curriculum

Coursecode and description:
Looking, Thinking, Doing Theatre - A (THE-X-KDDA-23)

Project 2 – period 4 (13 ECTS)
as part of the common curriculum

Coursecode and description:
Looking, Thinking, Doing Theatre - B (THE-X-KDDB-23)

International exchange in a local context (4 ECTS)

Coursecode and Description:
International exchange in a local context (THE-X-EXCH-23)

Competencies

We expect (exchange) students to be:

• open, investigative and responsible
• critical and reflective, able to communicate
• able to work independently, organise, and incorporate feedback
• able to collaborate with other aspiring artists and with the professional field
• able to work with an entrepreneurial mindset
• culturally and socially curious and involved.

Language

Courses are sometimes offered in Dutch, as an exchange student you will always be supervised in English.

Application

More information about the appliciation procedure, you can find here.

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