Applicants need to have a Bachelors degree in any discipline with minimum 45% marks or equivalent gr
“{...} the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, a ‘t were, the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure”
---(Shakespeare, Hamlet Act III, 2: 21-25)
“Performance Studies” is an interdisciplinary field of research that draws on the social sciences, the humanities, art and theatre. It focuses on the pervasiveness of performance as a central element of social and cultural life, including not only theatre and dance but also such forms as rituals and practices of everyday life, avant-garde performance art, popular entertainment, sports, political demonstrations and potentially any instance of expressive behaviour or cultural enactment.
It was in the 1960s, Performance Studies emerged as a discipline in the global context, branching out as a separate mode of analysis beyond the Theatre and Drama Studies associated with Literature departments in universities around the world. In India, this specific academic interest was generated in the 1990s, however, MA in Performance Studies (established in 2012) at the School of Culture and Creative Expressions, AUD in the first Masters programme do provide a foundational research oriented training in the discipline.
Our M.A. programme is taught by internationally-recognized faculty in fields ranging from experimental and protest theater, actor training, feminist and queer theory, dance studies, sound studies, performance curation, and critical race theory. With faculties having such varied specializations, M.A. Performance Studies @ SCCE, AUD uses multiple disciplinary perspectives borrowing its major theoretical formulations from ancient theories of arts across cultures, primarily from theories from literature, philosophy and anthropology to very recent mode of communication and digital dynamics of 21st century to analyse and critically understand the various performance processes and practices, both by engaging with theory and practice. In the process it would hope to contribute in the development of engaged scholarship in the field with a unique perspective given the rich varied experience situated and informed by the culture and heritage of India. This programme allows students to develop a unique critical thinking in the field of performance,which can be further implemented in their own practice.
Applicants need to have a Bachelors degree in any discipline with minimum 45% marks or equivalent gr
The programme’s duration is two years divided into four semesters. A semester is sixteen weeks long. A course meeting for a minimum of four credit hours a week for the duration of a semester enables students to earn four credits. Students should register for a minimum of 16 credits each term and need to earn 64 credits to complete the programme successfully. They may register for more credits on payment of extra fees. All the students of SCCE need to take three common Foundational courses, one each in the first three semesters, for 12 credits in total. They should also take four Elective Courses offered by the School or any other School in the University, one each in all the four semesters, for 16 credits in total. They need to take seven compulsory Core Courses from their respective discipline (in this case Performance Studies) for 28 credits in total. Their MA dissertation work ( Approx. 20, 000 words) in the final semester will earn them 8 credits.
Semester 1 | Semester 2 | Semester 3 | Semester 4 | |
Core | History/Historiography of Performance I (4 Credits) | History/ Historiography of Performance II (4 Credits) | Performance Practice as Research (4 Credits) | Aurality and Movement in Popular Performance (4 Credits) |
Core | Theories of Performance I (4 Credits) | Theories of Performance II (4 Credits) | Reading and Decoding Performance (4 Credits) | |
ELECTIVE** | Body in Performance (4 Credits) | Post- Dramatic Theatre (4 Credits) | Space & Spectatorship (4 Credits) | Use(s) of Traditions (4 Credits) |
Foundation Courses | Contemporary Critical Theory-I Critical Theory (4 Credits) | Contemporary Critical Theory-II Cultural Studies (4 Credits) | Contemporary Critical Theory-III Theories of Marginality (4 Credits) | |
Dissertation | Dissertation & Viva (20,000 words)(8 Credits) |
** Electives also offered by Performance Studies faculty:
Digital Theatre (4 Credits)
Musical Theatre (4 Credits)
Applicants need to have a Bachelors degree in any discipline with minimum 45% marks or equivalent gr
MA Performance Studies seeks to inculcate a strong grasp of historical, cultural, and practical contexts in which performance practice develops (especially in the context of India and South Asia). This research-oriented programme aims to foster a capacity for thought that is both historically self-reflexive and philosophically radical.
Thus, at the end of the programme the following attributes should be instilled in the graduate:
Applicants need to have a Bachelors degree in any discipline with minimum 45% marks or equivalent gr
Does the programme teach us how to create performances or train in acting?
No, this programme does not teach performance making or acting. It has a few courses, offered as “electives”, and conducts workshops around the year that teach practices of performance making focusing on Body, Space, Time and Action. The programme’s main purpose however is a critical reflection on various instances of performances, with special focus on historical and theoretical analysis. It trains students to read and write, academically, about performances (focusing on, but not limited to Dance, Movement, Music, Theatre) and other related fields of study.
What are the career paths that emerge after an MA Performance Studies?
Performance Studies alumni can pursue a broad range of careers. The choices could be as varied as the interests of the students. The basic thrust of the programme is to push forward expertise and innovation invigorated with critical thinking. They would be encouraged to explore the wide range of and surely not be just limited to these options:
How do I apply?
Online applications open usually between April to June each year. Please check the university website regularly around this time of the year. There is an entrance test and an interview.
How do I prepare for the M.A. Performance Studies Programme entrance test?
(Take a look at the sample papers provided on the School of Culture and Creative Expressions web page.)
The entrance test will generally check your familiarity with formal elements of various forms of performance, critical appreciation of performance genres, broad historical outlines of performance, and development of performance studies as an academic discipline (both in the Indian and international contexts). Since MA Performance Studies is designed as a specialization programme, some basic familiarity with the world of performance is expected. Those candidates who have had some sustained interest and/or experience in performance practice, watching, discussing and learning about performance formally or from elders and peers over the years, are encouraged to apply.
The question paper will consist of four parts:
Tips for preparation:
Candidates are advised to go through introductory literature on performance studies
that is easily accessible online. (Richard Schechner, Victor Turner, Patrice Pavis).
Familiarity with key practitioners and artists and their contribution to artistic practice in the field of theatre, dance and music in contemporary times is also anticipated.
Knowledge and experience of watching, participating, reading about ‘classical’ and ‘traditional’ forms of theatre, dance and music genres in India will be useful for the entrance exam.
Candidates are encouraged to bring forth conceptual understanding and insights from their previous study, especially from the arts and social sciences.
Candidates are also advised to update themselves on recent developments and events in the fields of music, dance, theatre nationally and internationally.
What should I get along with me for the interview?
Basic admission documents (Admit card and Identity Proof)
Applicants need to have a Bachelors degree in any discipline with minimum 45% marks or equivalent gr
Course Code | Course Name | Course Credit |
SCC2PS205 | Uses of Tradition(S) in Performance: Indian Perspective | 4 |
SCC2PS104 | THEORIES OF PERFORMANCE - II | 4 |
SCC2PS102 | THEORIES OF PERFORMANCE - I | 4 |
SCC2PS204 | Space & Spectatorship | 4 |
SCC2PS106 | Reading and Decoding Performance | 4 |
SCC2PS203 | Post Dramatic Theatre | 4 |
SCC2PS105 | Performance as Research | 4 |
SCC2PS209 | Musical Theatre | 4 |
SCC2PS206 | Digital Theatre | 4 |
SCC2PS101 | HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY OF PERFORMANCE- II | 4 |
SCC2PS101 | HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY OF PERFORMANCE-1 | 4 |
SCC2PS201 | BODY IN PERFORMANCE | 4 |
SCC2PS107 | AURALITY AND MOVEMENT IN POPULAR PERFORMANCE | 4 |
Applicants need to have a Bachelors degree in any discipline with minimum 45% marks or equivalent grade from a recognised university (Relaxation of 5% marks for SC/ST/PwBD/D-OBC (NCL)/Defence/KM).
It is necessary that the candidates have reasonable exposure to the historical and formal elements of the art of performance and a keen interest in the critical analysis of performance.