PuppeTry EMJMD (N0215P310001)

Programme objectives

The study programme PuppeTry will offer a unique chance for the students to experience different artistic methods and aesthetic approaches under the leadership of local and guest teachers, attaining knowledge, skills, ideas and practice in both traditional techniques and contemporary object and material theatre of the 21st century. This will be provided through a rotating system which will operate semester by semester in each of the four academies. A selected topic for each semester will be designated within the syllabus of the programme, and elaborated by the four academies in relation to the aesthetic specialisations of each academy. The students will have the opportunity to meet internationally acclaimed Masters of puppet theatre.

The main aims of the PuppeTry EMJMD are: to educate and guide students in order for them to be prepared for professional careers as puppet, object and material theatre artists through practical artistic activities and projects; to initiate students‘ creative research in the area of contemporary puppet theatre and its related forms in order to improve their own artistic development; to foment the students‘ development of wider skills in the area of performing arts and artistic creation; to develop a knowledge of how to disseminate their artistic achievements, instilling an appreciation of professional ethics and promoting theatre culture.

Students will learn to create theatre performances and to work with a variety of stage techniques in the field of contemporary puppetry, object and material performances.

They will engage with all phases of creating a performance project, including: the selection of themes; the building of conceptual and dramaturgical structures; the processing of material, sound, visual and spatial design; engaging with dramaturgical work with material; creating performance material through rehearsal; performing and working with performers; working with puppets and objects and working with audiences.

Profile of a programme graduate

A graduate from the puppetry specialisation will possess the skills and qualifications of a puppeteer; have attained specific professional skills concerning craft and artistic creation; will be able to use a wide range of acting techniques; and will know the possibilities of different puppet techniques, of object theatre and other unconventional means of artistic expression within the theatre of animated forms. A graduate will be prepared to initiate his/her independent artistic work and will be equipped with the basics of humanistic knowledge, especially knowledge in the area of culture and social communication. A graduate will be able to work as an actor, stage designer, director or musician in the area of puppetry and related arts as an independent artist or as a member of a professional company.

Rules and requirements for creating study plans

This joint education programme will be based on the following rotating system: students will study the foundations of puppetry during the first semester which will run in SZFE Budapest; the second semester will be based in the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where students will focus on visual theatre, puppetry and stage design. Following this, they will study at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava where they will gain knowledge and practical experience with puppetry performance for children; lastly, in the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Drama Arts in Bialystok, they will gain education and skills in directing for puppet theatre.

Content: PuppeTry is a two-year (120 ECTS) master degree programme with a study content worth 29-31 credits (ECTS) per semester.

Practice oriented course: 66% of ECTS may be obtained for practical subjects per semester and practice executed in professional institutions. At the end of each semester, the students’ technical knowledge and technical skills are improved. The remaining 34% of ECTS per semester may be obtained for subjects that further the students’ knowledge in the fields of puppet art theory and practice and the different methods of aesthetics, theory and genre theory. The compulsory courses compose 70% and compulsory optional subjects compose 30% of curriculum for entire study. The set of knowledge and skills offered in the individual semesters always rely on the strengths of the given location. Students will discover various national particularities at workshops given by outstanding directors and performing artists of the given country. Special attention will be devoted to learning the new, interdisciplinary forms of performances. The curriculum is enriched with the specific events and festivals of the recipient country through which students get acquainted with the puppet arts of the recipient country, can establish professional relationships and discover national particularities of local professional life.

The joint diploma will be issued to students who have successfully completed the PuppeTry EMJMD. The basis for the process for acquiring a diploma is completing the joint curriculum accepted by each of the Contracting Parties, as well as delivery of transcript of records issued by the Partners to Coordinating Organisation. The graduate is awarded the professional title ”Master of Art / Magister sztuki / Magistr umění / Magister umenia”.

General information about admission process

An essential condition for admission to the programme is passing of the first cycle study (Bachelor) in theatre arts or in a related discipline (related disciplines: the art of cinema and multimedia, music, dance, fine art and disciplines of the Humanities). Only applicants who have demonstrated their knowledge of the English language at a level of intermediate language exam (B2) may be admitted to the PuppeTry EMJMD. Admissions starts by filling of the application form in electronic system on the PuppeTry website. Applicants will fill out the on-line application form, where they also indicate if they apply for an Erasmus+ Scholarship and upload required documents in pdf. The selection procedure includes two stages (rounds):

1. Evaluation of the documents provided by the applicant by Entrance Exam Committee:

Motivation Letter including applicant´s professional vision, Curriculum vitae and transcript of academic studies. Depending on the country of origin of the awarded diploma or certificate, there are various methods of authorisation. A list of countries and methods can be found here: List of authorisation procedures by country, Artist’s portfolio, Two letters of recommendation by two respectable academic or arts professionals in English. One of the letters has to be written by a professional puppeteer or respectable puppetry institution.

Applicants with the highest ranking in the first round, will be invited for the second round. Creative assignment for the second round will be delivered aside the invitation.

1. Second round will take place in form of Interview with selected applicants and presentation of assigned creative tasks. Practical creative tasks assigned in advance will be evaluated during interview. The interview with Entrance Exam Committee will take by video conference.

The merits of the applicants will be weighted as follows: In the 1st Round the maximum score is 100 points that will add up as follows: up to 40 pts for motivation letter and professional vision, up to 40 pts for artist’s portfolio, up to 10 pts for previous study experience and transcript of studies, up to 10 pts for recommendation letters. In the 2nd Round the maximum score is 100 points that will add up as follows: up to 25 points for homework video prepared in advance, up to 25 for the questionnaire, up to 25 points for the written ordered text, up to 25 points for the interview. Special care will be taken in the student selection to avoid any discrimination. Applications will be considered solely on the basis of their academic merits, abilities and potential, regardless of gender, ethnic or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation or any other distinction. At the end of the selection procedure, a ranking list will be compiled of admitted students in decreasing order of merit and according to the number of scholarships available. This list will be submitted to the PuppeTry Academic Board for approval of admitted students and of those who will benefit from an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship or any other available funding. The lists of selected and reserve candidates shall be approved by EACEA. Admitted students who do not qualify for a scholarship, due to the limited number of individual scholarships available, can be admitted to the PuppeTry course on self-funded basis. Self-funded candidates will have to provide adequate proof of financial sustainability for the whole course duration or they can apply for other scholarships.

All applicants shall receive written communication of the PuppeTry Academic Board’s decision. It will arrive in the form of a Notification Letter explaining the grounds of accepting or rejecting the application, also containing information on the appeal procedure. Applicants on the reserve list will also be notified. The notification of acceptance for the selected candidates will include: The official letter of approval; A model Student agreement.

Applicability to other types of academic programmes

PuppeTry is a master’s degree course open to graduates of arts academies/universities or humanities with the first, bachelor’s degree from all over the world.

Parts of the state final examination and their contents

Studies in the PuppeTry programme are completed with the state final examination. This examination is held before a Final Exam Committee, comprised of professors, associate professors and other experts nominated by Academic Board and appointed by the Deans and/or Rectors of Contracting Parties upon approval of Artistic Board of each Contracting Party. The state final examination and the announcement of its results are public. A protocol of the state final examination shall be prepared, and will be signed by the chairperson or acting chairperson of the committee, as well as all other committee members present; the number of committee members present must not be less than four. The committee is appointed at least one month prior the date of the state final examination. At least two members of the committee are at the position of professors. The condition for the state final examination is the achievement of the required number of credits of the respective study programme (111 ECTS).

Final Exam consists of three parts:

A. Defence of diploma performance

date : premiered in period between March and May

cast: solo or with partners (with a limited number of participants set by Academic Board)

length: min. 20 minutes (solo)

length: min. 30 minutes (with partners)

All diploma performances of one run of students will be presented at the occasion of Final Exams in the premises of one of the Contracting Parties.

B. Theory exam: History and Theory of Puppet Theatre and Related Forms

date: mid-June or end of June

Final exam: 2 credit

C. Preparing and defending the thesis

date: mid-June or end of June

Students write and defend their thesis at the university of Contracting Party of their choice. The thesis shall be minimum of 40 pages long (min. 72 000 signs). Student can choose his supervisor from the respective Contracting Party (after the Academic Board’s decision) where the Student is spending the final semester. The opponents of the thesis will not be teachers of the same Contracting Party as the supervisor.

Topics for diploma thesis are approved by Academic Board.

The thesis supervisor and the opponent(s) shall elaborate written assessments of the work, which must be entered into the information system no less than 3 working days prior to the date of the defence. The written assessments of the thesis by the thesis supervisor and the opponent(s) must expressly state whether they recommend or do not recommend the work for oral defence. If either the supervisor or at least one opponent does not recommend the thesis for oral defence, the student cannot be allowed to defend the thesis. A student who has not been permitted to defend the thesis or has failed to defend the thesis is given the grade of “unacceptable” by the Final Exam Committee for the defence of the thesis.

The deadline for submitting the thesis is stipulated by the Consortium Coordinator in the PuppeTry academic calendar.

Master’s seminar (final exam): 7 credit.

Other academic duties

Professional practice focused on the study program within the minimum number of seven weeks (300 hours) for the entire period of study will focus on the application of knowledge in science, further development of practical skills in acting, directing, scenography and organization and production of artistic creation. building a professional network of contacts. Practical experience in creating a puppet production or creating a program and organizing a puppet festival in a professional environment, close student opportunities to gain knowledge and skills, increasing, learning to manage complex tasks and tasks, get acquainted with proven procedures in a specific situation. The length of the seven-week internship will be between the contracting parties, which offer specific training opportunities for each associated partner (list of associated partners, professional institutions in the countries where the program will be implemented and other countries and consortium information as of the date of request for written confirmation of cooperation). ), we attach as Annex 8 of the consortium agreement) for each group / year of students. The output of professional practice will be a written reflection in the range of two standard pages.

Characterisation of professional practice

Professional practice focused on the study program within seven weeks for the entire period of study will focus on the application of knowledge in professional subjects, the further development of practical skills in acting, directing and scenography and the organization and production of works of art, profit-making and professional contacts. Practical experience in creating a puppet production or creating a program and organizing a puppet festival in a professional environment, close student opportunities to gain knowledge and skills, increasing, learning to manage complex tasks and tasks, get acquainted with proven procedures in a specific situation. The duration of the training shall be seven weeks between the Contracting Parties available, including the time limit for the Contracting Parties. The first part of the internship is completed by all students in Bratislava, where they complete a four-week training camp at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under the guidance of experts from practice. The second part of the specialized internship in the range of three weeks will be prepared after an individual agreement with your affiliate partners, who will be able to offer the student the content of the internship closest to his narrow interest or thematic focus of diploma or other work. Associated partners include institutions that have long been interested in puppet theater, resp. in its various forms. There are institutions recognized in their countries, available from them and internationally respected.

Anticipated job placement for graduates (typical employment)

A graduate will be able to work as an actor, stage designer, director or musician in the area of puppetry and related arts as an independent artist or as a member of a professional company.