The word ‘scenography’ comes from the Greek for ‘scene painting’. As such, scenography plays an active role in all stage projects. The aim of scenography is to lay down the principles of the active space in which the action of the staging takes place. Scenography must rise to the challenge of ‘creating the space of dramatic expression’. It is not a question of simply producing a two-dimensional set, but rather of seeing the real, concrete space of the stage for what it essentially is: a tool and a place for experimentation. Although theatre – and its corollary, dramaturgy – is the main focus of the course, students are required to create performance spaces in various fields of application: textual theatre, dance, concerts, fashion, urban scenography, installation art, etc. Scenography is a multidisciplinary field involving multiple forms of collaboration in which students must be able to compromise and communicate effectively, without jeopardizing the artistic integrity of the project. The scenographer uses the stage as a tool to express a singular vision. To this end, in the studio, students are taught to use specific tools, a system of references and critical thinking, which will allow them to pursue their future artistic careers with the necessary conviction and commitment.

Besides scenography in the strict sense, lighting and video also fall under this discipline. It is important for the scenographer to think about all the visual elements of a performance. While the creative work of these specialist fields may be seen as separate from the actual design of the scenography, it can only be conceived in direct relation to it. The specificity of each field requires a body of knowledge that is covered throughout the course and which complements the skills set of the students.

Through a teaching approach that alternates between long projects and short exercises and workshops, students explore these different fields during the first three years of their training, guided by teachers and external partners, all of whom are professionals. During the Bachelor’s programme (1st cycle), the emphasis is on learning and understanding the technical aspects of the stage and different forms of representation, drawing on literary and musical material and purely visual issues to develop a deeper spatial and dramaturgical reflection. During this period, students explore and experiment with the different tools of visual expression and the techniques related to the stage professions.

The Master’s programme (2nd cycle) offers students a wide range of choices in building a more individual programme. The Master’s is a period in which students deepen and develop their artistic approach and the singularity of their work. Collaborations with schools such as Pavillon Bosio, La Manufacture and ESAC offer students the opportunity to work in teams and produce projects on a scale of 1:1. The second year of the Master’s programme, which is devoted to the diploma, gives students the opportunity to develop an original personal project by exploring the question of space and narrative in its broadest sense. 

Scenography’s different fields of application are covered throughout the Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes. Each new project has its own work methodology and specific technical training. The following tools are studied: model, drawing, plan drawing, materials, lighting, video image, and software such as Vectorworks (2D plan and 3D) and SketchUp. Sound and image as narrative actors of the performance are studied in specific practical projects. In collaboration with various schools and theatre institutions, students are encouraged to take part in external productions, testing their ability to bring a project to fruition and work within a team.

Pedagogical coordination
Simon Siegmann

Pedagogical staff

Teachers
Nathalie Canivet, Arié Van Egmond, Veronique Leyens, Nicolas Mouzet Tagawa

Assistants
Sigried Kellens

Lecturers
Etienne Andreys, Sabine Dupont, Brice Cannavo, Jean-Michel Espitallier, Laurence Halloy, Benoît Hennaut, Darius Dolatyari, Marc Lhommel, Joachim Olender, Bastien Poncelet, Gaetan Rusquet, Christophe Sermet, Clément Vercelletto, Jozef Wouters