And these are just a few examples where everybody agrees: this is a puppet. In the approach favored at the Department of Contemporary Puppetry, both in terms of teaching and research, the term “puppet” encompasses far more. The question of how we communicate with objects and about objects in the context of theatre is at the center of discourse today. We use a very broad concept of “puppet” to mean all things that facilitate communication through their behavior or the way in which they are manipulated. Pivotal is also “playing” with things and objects. Playing opens up the possibility of defining ourselves in a new way, and of encountering others and other things in a new way as well. 

In the diploma programme Contemporary Puppet Play, the focus is on the performer. The programme starts with the foundations of acting and the animation of puppets and objects. From the very beginning, students learn how to develop their own stories. The programme is just right for those students who want to act/play on stage and develop their own artistic authorship. Over the course of the four-year programme, different kinds of puppets are used in scene studies. In classes as small as ten, students are mentored individually, providing them with plenty opportunities to pursue their own artistic ideas. The school’s network is helpful in finding the right partners and in enabling students to gain practical experience in the world of theater early on in their education. Graduates of this programme receive a diploma as a puppeteer / performing artist.

Study subjects are: acting, singing, speaking, puppeteering techniques in traditional and modern (hybrid) forms, movement, pantomime, acrobatics, fencing, beat boxing, tap dance, design, digital media, aesthetic, art and cultural history, dramaturgy, theater history/dramaturgy, theory of puppetry, and cultural management.