Course content and focus areas
The Frankfurt faculty’s teaching and research priorities in the area of dramaturgy include, among others: theory, history, and analysis of theatre in all its forms and manifestations; general and comparative theatre studies; critical theory; poststructuralism and alterity; decolonization, diversity, and inclusion; institutional critique; questions at the intersection of theatre, society, theory, and politics; dramaturgical reading; fundamental questions of dramaturgical practice and theory; artistic-practical work in scenic projects, workshops, and theory-practice projects; independent artistic, theoretical, and organizational-curatorial work; theatre technology; production dramaturgy; and insights into the fundamentals of theatre organization.
The master’s program in dramaturgy is part of the professorship for theatre studies at the Institute for Theatre, Film, and Media Studies. At the same time, it is part of the Hessian Theatre Academy, a study and production network that connects theatre-focused degree programs at Hessian universities with the region’s major municipal and state theatres. This dual institutionalization of the program fosters a close connection between academic and practical theatre work. The dramaturgy program enables students to engage in exchange and collaboration with students from other areas of theatre through courses and concrete projects during their studies. Additionally, students benefit from the advantages of a comprehensive university education: from a diverse range of theoretical seminars that prioritize education without reducing it to instrumental training, to access to excellent specialized libraries and the media library of the Institute for Theatre, Film, and Media Studies, as well as a variety of offerings (lectures, workshops, symposia) within the institute and neighboring faculties and disciplines.
Beyond the classroom, students have access to a rehearsal stage managed independently by them, technical equipment for working with video, sound, and lighting, a digital platform for documenting their own projects (blog.studiumdigitale.uni-frankfurt.de/buehne/), and the opportunity to use rehearsal spaces at the Frankfurt LAB.