Postgraduate Diploma in Performance Creation

The Postgraduate Diploma in Performance Creation brings together choreographers, directors, designers, and animateurs in a flexible program which enables distinct discipline specialisations as well as cross--collaborative and interdisciplinary projects through common subject areas. The course is focused on nurturing and developing arts practioners who will contribute through leadership, research and performance development to Australian culture in the arts.

On completion of the course, students should:

• have developed and refined individual leadership abilities and capacities for initiating and realising projects in performance and/or performance pedagogy within and across a range of cultural and social contexts;
• have extended their skills and expertise in all aspects fundamental to their primary performance discipline – namely choreography, directing, animateuring or performance pedagogy;
• have acquired relevant skills in other disciplines;
• be able to foster creativity and experimentation, both individually and through collaboration with artists from their primary discipline area and other disciplines;
• have developed research skills at both a theoretical and practical level appropriate to postgraduate study;
• have acquired a greater understanding of the cultural context of the arts of performance at state, national and international levels.
• have achieved proficiency in eliciting ideas from people and implementing appropriate processes to develop artistic performances;
• have acquired a practical understanding of group dynamics and communication skills needed to develop productive work processes within a collaborative context;
• have developed effective entrepreneurial, planning management and promotional skills appropriate to projects, to ventures in arts training and to small arts organisations;
• have acquired a capacity with which to target, connect with, nurture and develop an audience.

Animateuring
The Animateuring specialisation focuses on an investigation of contemporary performance practice and research. It emphasises the core roles of the animateur including maker, performer, initiating artist, collaborative artist, ensemble artist, and community facilitator.

Choreography
The Choreography specialisation aims to facilitate proficiency in all aspects fundamental to movement design and compositional realisation, while encouraging the mobilisation of expressive and imaginative faculties to realise individual creative vision and skills in artistic leadership.

Directing
The Directing specialisation aims to equip you with the skills to operate with technique, process and imagination as directors. It will develop your individual vision and skills in artistic leadership so that you can operate within the existing and emerging theatre professions.

Design
The Design (Set and Costume) specialisation offers designers and visual artists the opportunity to transfer their creative abilities into designing for live performance. We provide you with the technical skills, processes and conceptual understanding required to design with insight and imagination.

Lighting Design
The Lighting Design specialisation aims to equip you with the skills to work as lighting designers with individual vision, and skills in artistic leadership. Lighting Design students receive hands-on experience working on a variety of in-house VCA productions.

Sound Design
The Sound Design specialisation aims to develop your design technique, process and imagination. Sound Design students receive hands-on experience working on VCA productions in Dance, Theatre and Music Theatre as well as events with arts external companies.

Core Subjects

Choreography Stream subjects

Directing Stream subjects

Theatre Animateuring Stream subjects

Design Stream subjects

Lighting Design Stream Subjects

Sound Design Stream Subjects

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:
• either
– an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline, with a weighted average mark of at least H2B (70%), or equivalent, or
– at least five years of documented relevant documented professional experience, with evidence of artistic ability and achievement or practice comparable to that expected of undergraduate degree holders in relevant disciplines;
and
• a selection test which may include both visual and written elements; and
• an audition; and
• an interview.
Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:
• prior academic performance and/or work experience; and
• the selection test; and
• the audition; and
• the interview.

3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Student Application and Selection Procedure.

4. Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for postgraduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance band 6.5 is required.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.
The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

http://www.unimelb.edu.au/about/attributes.html

Course Objectives
On completion of the course, students will:

• have developed and refined individual leadership abilities and capacities for initiating and realising projects in performance creation within and across a range of cultural and social contexts;
• have extended their skills and expertise in all aspects fundamental to their primary performance discipline – namely choreography, directing, animateuring, design, lighting design or sound design;
• have acquired relevant skills in other disciplines;
• be able to foster creativity and experimentation, both individually and through collaboration with artists from their primary discipline area and other disciplines;
• have developed research skills at both a theoretical and practical level appropriate to postgraduate study;
• have acquired a greater understanding of the cultural context of the arts of performance at state, national and international levels.
• have achieved proficiency in eliciting ideas from people and implementing appropriate processes to develop artistic performances;
• have acquired a practical understanding of group dynamics and communication skills needed to develop productive work processes within a collaborative context;
• have developed effective entrepreneurial, planning, management and promotional skills appropriate to creative projects and to small arts organisations;
• have acquired a capacity with which to target, connect with, nurture and develop an audience.