Applications for the MA in Theory and Practice of Experimental Performance for the Winter Semester 2026/27 are open from March 1 to April 1, 2026.
The entrance exam will take place in person, by invitation, on June 1 and 2, 2026.
Further information about the application process will be available here shortly.
MA Theory and Practice
of Experimental Performance
The two-year Master’s programme in Theory and Practice of Experimental Performance gives students the space to develop and refine their artistic practice in the field of performance. Performance is understood as an artistic and social practice situated between the disciplines and drawing on different contexts and lines of tradition. Run by the State University of Music and the Performing Arts Stuttgart, the programme offers students a transdisciplinary environment and invites them to explore performative concepts relating to fields such as music/sound, dance/choreography, theater, installation and visual art, activism, technology, social practices, architecture or else. Emphasis is placed on both practical and reflexive engagements, allowing students to develop a discursive practice and to become articulate about a work and its context.
A strong focus of the programme lies on the development of individual, collaborative or collective work. Students are encouraged to adopt a research-driven approach towards making work, exploring what performance can be and how it can respond to current questions and urgencies. Emphasis is also placed on peer exchange, fostering a culture of productive feedback culture and learning with and from each other.
The curriculum is made up of continuous seminars with the core staff and intensives and lectures by international guest artists and theoreticians. The small number of students per year group allows the core staff to support each student individually.
The MA programme is part of CAMPUS GEGENWART, a transdisciplinary centre for artistic and theoretical exchange and collaboration between the three art universities in Stuttgart. Through CAMPUS GEGENWART, students of the MA Theory and Practice of Experimental Performance get access to classes at the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design (Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart) as well as the Merz Academy – University of Applied Arts, Design and Media. Furthermore, CAMPUS GEGENWART sets up collaborations with a wide range of cultural institutions in Stuttgart and the region, offering students possibilities to connect to potential future fields of work.
The programme is aimed at students who:
– have an artistic practice that is situated in the field of performance or is informed by performative concepts
– wish to deepen, expand, refine or shift their practice (of performance) in a transdisciplinary study surrounding
– wish to engage in a continuous peer exchange, building a culture of peer support and feedback with regards to artistic development
– wish to expand their own ideas of performance and investigate new ways of making
– wish to develop their skills in reflection, articulation and scholarly practice
– are motivated to engage in collaborative processes of studying and making
– wish to have access to courses in a wide range of disciplines and collaborate with students across disciplines
– are motivated to dedicate themselves to a four-semester full-time study program
Accessibility
If you have any questions about accessibility in the application procedures or regarding the study programme, please contact britta.wirthmueller@hmdk-stuttgart.de
Degree: Master of Arts (MA)
Length: two years
Study Language: English and German
Next start: Winter semester 2026/27
Application period: Spring 2026
Class size: Four students per year
Staff: Prof. Dr. Christian Grüny, Prof. Britta Wirthmüller, Prof. Julian Warner, Maria Huber