M.A. Dramaturgy

Historically, dramaturges in the theatre are the ones who look at the production from a critical distance. Part of it, but also removed from it, they constantly question it as a whole. They reflect on it with its needs, necessities and stubbornness, but also its constraints, regulated processes and automatisms. In the best case, they relate production to the contexts in which it is situated. In this way, they embody the demands of history, society and politics within the artistic process and represent them to the outside world. In order to be able to do this, they need not only the knowledge of the specialist, but above all the basic virtues of the researcher: They should be able to read, look, think, listen, write and have the courage to use their own intellect.

The Frankfurt Programme

The inter-university Master’s degree programme in Dramaturgy, which integrates theory and practice, was founded in 2002 by Hans-Thies Lehmann. Its concept was a response to the major upheavals in theatre in recent decades: in view of experimental forms that crossed the boundaries of the traditional areas of theatre, visual arts and audiovisual media, and with a view to new forms of music theatre, dance and performance, the tasks of dramaturgy had become more complex. The programme quickly became a successful model. Graduates work at municipal and state theatres as well as in the independent scene or in academia.

Since 2011, the degree programme has been continuously developed under new direction. We understand dramaturgy as a political and creative practice. In view of the rapidly changing professional profile of dramaturges, it is particularly important for the Frankfurt programme to teach course content that prepares students not only for existing theatre, but also for a future theatre that is still unknown to both students and lecturers. In addition to knowledge of the existing theatre, its traditions and framework conditions, we also consider social imagination, knowledge of other possibilities, sensitivity to the new and unknown, the ability to bring it to terms and the willingness to assert it against the economic and political obstacles of the company and society to be among the characteristics of good dramaturges. We therefore attach particular importance to an international orientation, to close networking with current artistic practice in all areas of theatre and the related arts, and to the promotion of students’ independent scenic research and independent academic-theoretical practice.