Faculty of Stage Design

An important aspect of the study programme is the profiled offer of drawing and painting studios. The studies also include seminars on working with cultural texts and workshops on developing the ability to function in a team. A constant practice in teaching is the individualization of the educational programme tailored to the personal needs, predispositions, and level of artistic development of the student.

The Faculty of Stage Design employs professionally active artists associated with film and theatre, set designers who have been cocreating the most important cinema, theatre, and opera productions for years. By sharing their experience, they teach design and implement original concepts

The first two years of studies are devoted to learning about theatre and film set design. Students decide on their development path as part of the programme, which has been implemented for the third year after selecting leading studios. They often cocreate films, TV series, and theatre performances at the beginning of their studies. These invaluable experiences make it easier to start a professional career in the fields of set design, costume design, or virtual reality design.

„During studies, using the skills acquired in painting, sculpture, photography, and drawing studios, you will certainly develop your design workshop. The classes are extended with co – organized workshops by the Warsaw National Academy of Dramatic Art, the National Theatre in Warsaw, the National Film School in Łódź, and the Warsaw Film School. We are preparing joint opera projects with the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw and the Chopin University of Music. This is the last element of the education process, but also the last test that allows students to appear on the stage design „market”. Almost everyone who graduated from the Faculty of Stage Design works as a set designer” – Prof. Tomasz Myjak, Dean of the Faculty of Stage Design

The current programme is a continuation of the long, pre – war Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute tradition of educating set designers based on the pedagogical and artistic achievements of our predecessors Władysław Daszewski, Zenobiusz Strzelecki, Józef Szajna, Andrzej Sadowski, and in recent years also Andrzej Kreutz Majewski. The programme is constantly supplemented and transformed, enriched with elements resulting from the needs of students and the development of contemporary theatre and film art.

When the independent Department of Stage Design was established, the profile of education and shaping the creative attitudes of future set designers was redefined, not only for theatre and opera but also for film, television, the world of media, activities in various public spaces, up to authorial theatre and performing art. New artistic specialities are being prepared, related to scenography (e.g. lighting design), but also related to new technologies in theatre and film (e.g. virtual scenography). Our current programme goal is to provide graduates not only with the foundations of their future profession but above all – to develop conscious artists, their openness to the world, people, art, to the multitude of aesthetics, views, and artistic concepts that they will encounter and within which they will have to move around.

When the independent Faculty of Stage Design was established, the profile of education and shaping the creative attitudes of future set designers was redefined, not only for theatre and opera but also for film, television, the world of media, activities in various public spaces – up to the authorial theatre and performing art. New artistic specialities are being prepared, related to scenography (e.g. lighting design), but also related to new technologies in theatre and film (e.g. virtual scenography). Our current programme goal is to provide graduates not only with the foundations of their future profession, but above all – to develop conscious artists, their openness to the world, people, the whole of art, to the multitude of aesthetics, views, and artistic concepts that they will encounter and within which they will have to move around.

Therefore, in addition to professional education, studies at the Faculty of Stage Design also provide students with the necessary knowledge about the history and aesthetics of theatre and film, the history of costume and great theatrical ideas, and introduce them to the basics of anthropology, history, and sociology of culture.

The Faculty of Stage Design conducts teaching in the field of broadly understood theatre, film, and television set design. The specificity of the course and its didactic programme is based on special needs in terms of knowledge and skills resulting from practising artistic work in the field of scenography, which is distinctly different from other fields of artistic creation. The classes consist of scenography design exercises for dramatic and musical theatre, various types of shows, film, and television including both decorations and costumes, lectures in many fields related to the broadly understood performing arts, and seminars developing teamwork skills. It is a constant practice in the teaching work of scenography teachers to individualize the educational programme for each student depending on their needs, predispositions, and level of artistic development. The consequence of the above is the time – honored requirement to carry out a diploma project in a theatre under the pedagogical control of a supervisor. This is both the last test and the last element of the teaching process. It allows students to enter the scenography „market” and to start independent artistic work. This brings measurable results, almost all of our graduates work in their profession.

The profession of a set designer is fundamentally different from other artistic professions – it requires knowledge from many different fields, numerous workshop skills, efficient operation within the theatre, TV, and film institutions, cooperation with a large group of people, punctuality and, above all, the ability to implement one’s artistic visions in variable conditions. This requires a different mentality and the so – called  „different worldview” than that which we see in artists who are focused on themselves, closed in the studio, and far from mundane problems. Therefore, the study program should support such changes in the students’ personalities that will allow them to function efficiently. It will develop their openness to the world, people, art as a whole, and to the multitude of aesthetics, views and artistic concepts to encounter and navigate within.

It is also a matter of defining what theatre is.

Theatre can be defined as a strictly intellectual activity using artistic means, referring to the entire human experience. Paraphrasing the beautiful thought of Herbert, for whom poetry was a tool of compassion, we can say that theatre has always been a means of empathizing with a person, gaining insight into human thoughts, emotions, existence, and the meaning of life. Undoubtedly, theatre (and, following it, film, television shows, etc.) focuses more on human themes than other art forms, primarily through its most essential medium: the actor. The incredibly rich and complex reality surrounding us is a point of reference, the field of action, and a source of inspiration for theatrical, cinematic, and consequently, scenographic creativity. In the general perception, both for creators and viewers, it should not only bring aesthetic experiences, entertain, move or teach, but also help in all meanings of this word.

The fate and reception of theatre art, as well as to a lesser extent, a work of film or television art, is fundamentally different from the perception of other forms of art: painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, and music, which can be appreciated for centuries because they can endure forever. A performance or a film, and its set design, lasts as long as the audience wants to watch them, and then they disappear virtually without a trace. Their domain is only the present, and time treats their remnants mercilessly. Hence the need to develop the ability to reach the audience with their ideas, thoughts, and messages, making them readable here and now without falling into the ubiquitous banality, kitsch, or the so – called commercialism.

Therefore, in addition to the improvement of artistic talents, the utmost importance is the development and shaping of the student’s awareness, an awareness of the connections between reality, literature, visual arts, and theatre, film, and television.

This is the basis for understanding the role as a co – creator of all types of spectacles. The next step is to acquire awareness of the viewer’s needs and the ability to formulate a precise message to the audience and express it in the matter of the performance. This is the most crucial aspect – an awareness of what one is doing, why one is doing it, who it is addressed to, what will result from it, and what effect will it bring. The biggest problems, disappointments, and failures come not from a lack of talent or opportunities, but from a lack of awareness and self – assessment of artists. This is visible in the example of the achievements of the younger generation – increasingly, works are created not to be seen, but to be admired: the creators, their ideas, scandalous provocations, and empty effects. The need for contact and dialogue between the creator and the audience disappears here, which is a denial of the essence of theatre.

The problem of awareness is extremely important because the significance of the visual attractiveness of all kinds of performances is growing, and therefore the role and importance of the set designer is also increasing. This is evident in the changes taking place in global scenography, visible at exhibitions like the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, at theatre, opera, and film festivals. The scope of a scenographer’s work is also expanding: it is no longer only theatre, film, and TV, but also the visual setting for any type of concerts, shows, one-off artistic, cultural, political, sports events, and more. Due to financial, artistic, and mental problems, this tendency is invisible and incomprehensible to decision-makers in our young, „developing” country. This applies to the broader context of culture as a whole. One can only hope that normality will eventually prevail in this matter, and students must be prepared for these changes.

The period of studying is a time when, above all, students should maximally expand their creative imagination, and develop their potential and talents. (Later, in the harsh conditions of contemporary theatre, film, television, and other institutions, it may not be possible to do so.) Hence the obvious conclusion, although often forgotten in everyday practice, is that each student is entitled to a course of study tailored specifically to them – not in terms of dividing hours, but in the selection of individual exercises, the way they are developed, the discovery of aesthetics and expressive means most suitable for their development. Moreover, since students come from various high schools, faculties, and universities, each one is differently prepared to undertake stage design studies. By the way, it is better to use the phrase „…everyone is unprepared in a different way…”, because there are more and more embarrassing gaps in general education, in knowledge about the history and modernity of art and culture.

The increasing influence of television, film, and the internet – mediated „pictorial” culture is visible in students’ way of thinking and expressing their ideas. Their imagination works more in a film or television way, rather than a theatrical manner. On one hand, this tendency should be considered and used, but on the other, it should be counteracted. The progressive loss of theatrical thinking is disturbing. Theatre, with its theatrical sign, metaphors, and symbolism, the experience of a live human being, and its unique synthesis of the arts practised by humankind, is the foundation without which it is impossible to engage in the art of film, television, and related arts. Without the experience of a brush, paint, and canvas, it is impossible to practice computer art, and without contact with an image, it is impossible to understand its reproduction on the screen.

Productions like plays or movies are the result of the work of many individuals. Their concepts and shapes are born through collective effort, during many meetings, discussions, and consultations. It is impossible to imagine a stage design studies programme without multifaceted cooperation with the Theatre Academy, especially the Directing Department of the Academy of Theatre Arts, during which students have the opportunity to learn about the realities of working in the theatre, cooperate with the directors, actors, and learn the language of theatre. Taking part in a directing seminar is an exercise in one of the most important skills: shaping together with the director – through discussions, meetings, and arguments – the vision of the performance, which is often the most important part of a set designer’s work. Finally, and very importantly, it is the only chance to enter the theatre environment and thus find a job in the future. Equally important and fruitful is the constant cooperation between students and those from the Łódź Film School.

Thanks to master meetings, students have contact with outstanding figures and doyens of the theatre, which is important not only for learning but also for entering the professional environment.

And finally, a very important thing – last but not least – is the distinctiveness of general art education. It is impossible to practice the profession of a set designer without proficient use of realistic drawing and painting, in the good academic sense of this word. Efficient drawing of figures, draperies, various materialities, interiors in perspective and with figures, architectural drawing – readable in an informative sense for all the set designer’s partners – is the basis of a professional set designer’s workshop.

Without neglecting the classic scenographic education –  designing scenography for theatres, operas, films, TV, or concerts. The Faculty of Stage Design is preparing to expand its program offer to include virtual scenography and film and television post – production, the use of new media techniques in performing arts, lighting design, and computer games scenography. We are also opening postgraduate studies soon.