Structure of the Study Programme

In recent years, musical theatre has gone through technological innovations in musical storytelling as well as influences from other art forms, particularly cinema. In the Netherlands’ commercial as well as subsidized cultural industry, there has also been an increased interest in innovating the popular genre with a particular focus on Dutch identity (think of, Soldaat van Oranje). This necessitates a closer historical understanding of the genre from its hazardous beginning, borrowing from older traditions of lyrical drama, song and dance, to its more recent manifestations where digital technologies have furthered so-called ‘megamusical’ success features that transformed the industry as a global phenomenon. In this intense, in-depth seven-week tutorial, we will catch up with history and go deeper into interdisciplinary modes of analysis of sound, song, body and image, as well as look into more sociological aspects, such as identity, cultural values (like communalism and nationalism), and countercultural/social movements that find expression in the use of musical personas on the stage and/or audiovisual storytelling techniques. This tutorial is recommended as an extension of Music, Theatre and Sound.

This tutorial is aimed at gaining a comprehensive understanding of the multiple cultural forms and relevances the idiosyncratic concept of ‘noise’ can take in various political, philosophical and aesthetic traditions. This intense, in-depth, interdisciplinary seven-week tutorial combines knowledge from the fields of musicology, sound studies, politics, aesthetics, philosophy, and phenomenology. The tutorial discusses the history noise and traces it through various philosophical perspectives, to eventually see what cultural role is attributed to it in both the engagement with our environment and societal issues. Furthermore, the tutorial aims to evaluate various standpoints on the qualities of noise in relation to music, a discussion that ranges from noise as unwanted distraction when listening to music, to noise as a particular aesthetic vision and genre. This tutorial is recommended as an extension of the Music, Theatre and Sound course.

In the contemporary globalized world, integrated performing arts festivals play a key role within the creative industries, shaping artistic trends and fostering a cosmopolitan vision of culture via international dialogue and exchange. Through specific case studies, the course analyzes the relationship of theatre festivals to their local, national, and global contexts, taking into account the interconnections between artistic practices and contemporary economies of cultural production. The course also traces the history of the major European theatre festivals, focusing on their institutional and cultural role in celebrating national traditions, promoting political ideologies, and strengthening a sense of a shared European culture in line with the project of European integration. The course utilises different theoretical approaches to enable students to analyse the effect of theatrical performances experienced within festivals, but also to understand festivals themselves as cultural performances with a community-building function.