Introducing: MA Theatre and Performance Design with Course Leader Michael Vale

This September, Wimbledon welcomes a new course: MA Theatre and Performance Design. The course will help prepare students for the evolving nature of the industry, inviting them to explore and research contemporary ideas within the field of theatre, performance and entertainment.

Designer and director Michael Vale has been appointed course leader for this new addition to the Wimbledon postgraduate programme. MA Theatre and Performance Design builds on elements of Michael’s previous course, MA Theatre Design, which stopped recruiting in 2020.

Michael's career is extensive and spans both design and directing. He began teaching at Wimbledon in 2015 and has balanced his work in education alongside designing over 200 shows, including productions at the National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House.

We spoke with Michael to hear about what to expect from the new course and how his own experience as a professional designer shapes his teaching practice.

What are some of your most memorable projects to date working in the industry?

Memorable projects would include A Monster Calls and Jane Eyre for the Bristol Old Vic, The National Theatre and the London Old Vic; Carmen and La Boheme at Glyndebourne Festival Theatre and Rigoletto at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. I am often most happy working on devised theatre productions with the likes of Kneehigh Theatre Company and Told by an Idiot.

I’m interested in looking at and sharing the basic methods and structure of the way we work as designers, developing set and costume designs from any narrative. I have always had an interest in finding ways to communicate those methods to help anybody who wanted to become a designer.

As the course leader for MA Theatre and Performance Design, what can students expect you to bring to the course?

An attitude towards storytelling and a training which will provide them with the temperament and skills required to work as a collaborative artist in any area of live performance design. I continue to work as a freelance theatre designer, so, I can bring new practices and techniques back into the course from my work in the industry.

Building on the success of the previous MA Theatre Design Course, students can expect to be guided through the creative and collaborative process. I aim to provide students with the techniques and skills required to be able to communicate their ideas to others, through their reaction to any given content or narrative.

The 4 units which make up the course form a progressive arc, encompassing both traditional and non-traditional approaches to design. I encourage an intimate engagement with the developing technologies and digital methods of communicating ideas currently employed in theatre and production design.

During the course students will also be encouraged and supported to pursue their own, specific interests in performance design, ranging from formal, scripted productions through to cutting edge digital forms of theatre and production design.

Why is the course relevant to the industry now and where do you see students working when they graduate from this course?

The course remains relevant to the industry since its aim is to produce graduates who can communicate original, unique design ideas clearly and in a professional, collaborative atmosphere. This is the key demand of the theatre and live performance industry.

They will also be ready to work in those areas of the industry which demand the application and knowledge of the advance technology available. With these key skills, there is no reason why a graduate from MA Theatre and Performance Design shouldn’t be able to join any sector of the industry at any level.

Find out more about MA Theatre and Performance Design