THEATRE DIRECTING AND RADIOPHONY (MA)

About the Study Program

The two-year graduate university program in Theatre Directing and Radiofonia was established in 2005 and is designed to provide a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of theatrical, primarily directorial processes. Students acquire additional knowledge about professional, technical, and artistic work in theatre, testing their knowledge and skills through more advanced and complex directorial practical work. The program also guides students through the wide range of possibilities in different areas of directorial work. A special feature of this program is the possibility for students to create part of their own education, specifically in the most engaging practical artistic component: during the program, students work on three artistic-production tasks, for each of which they have the opportunity to choose the template and mentor. The accompanying theoretical classes are then organized based on the student's choice. The selection of the template includes the possibility of working on a musical theatre piece. Additionally, there is a strong emphasis on having all works, particularly the thesis performance, staged and performed in professional theatres, so that students can present their first works to a wider cultural audience. Compared to the undergraduate level, this program is more focused on complex practical tasks and the formation of authorial poetics, which is also evident in the radiofonic component. In this area, students work on one exercise and one complete radio drama. Throughout their studies, students have the opportunity to assist in professional theatres and participate in internships, with a special highlight being the work on a large joint opera project involving three art academies.

While working on their exam performances, students are encouraged to integrate as much as possible with students from other necessary theatre departments: acting, dramaturgy, lighting design, sound design, production, dance, scenography, and costume design. Through this artistic collaboration, students of theatre directing form their own authorial teams, which they then continue to work with after graduation. The program is regularly attended by students who have completed undergraduate studies in related arts programs, but also from the field of social and human sciences. For these students, there is the possibility of enrolling in a preparatory year.

Throughout their studies, students participate in numerous workshops with guest lecturers and artists, and their artistic works are submitted to student theatre festivals abroad, allowing their authorial poetics to become visible beyond Croatia.

Notable alumni from this program include prominent theatre artists who later became professors themselves, such as Georgij Paro, Božidar Violić, Joško Juvančić, Tomislav Durbešić, and Marin Carić, as well as current faculty members Krešimir Dolenčić, Ozren Prohić, Dora Ruždjak Podolski, and Velibor Jelčić. The emerging generation of artists, such as Oliver Frljić, Saša Božić, Anica Tomić, and Ivan Plazibat, also play a significant role in the artistic community. The youngest alumni are now becoming part of the teaching staff, including dynamic young artists such as Marina Pejnović, Lea Anastazija Fleger, Hrvoje Korbar, and Ivan Planinić.

About the Teachers

In addition to the teachers from the undergraduate level, the graduate program is also supported by faculty members from the Acting Department, if students choose them as mentors for their exam performances. This openness reflects the desire for dynamism and the breadth of different approaches to artistic teaching and artistic education.

Career Prospects after Graduation

Upon completion of the graduate program, Master’s graduates in Theatre Directing and Radiofonia are prepared for independent work in all areas of stage expression: from directing performances in institutional theatres and non-institutional projects to directing concerts and events, synchronizations, and radio dramas. They are also capable of actively participating in the organizational aspects of various theatre institutions. With the theoretical knowledge they have gained, Master’s graduates in Theatre Directing and Radiofonia are able to engage in the public artistic life of the community.