Postgraduate Degrees
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Stage Design (Set, Costume and/or Lighting)
1 year / 2 years
The MFA in Stage Design for Lighting Design, Costume Design and Set Design is a one-year programme with a practical focus for professionals looking to specialise in their chosen field or combination of disciplines. Applications are now open.
Apply NowOverview
The MFA in Stage Design brings together a cohort of designers from the fields of set design, costume design and lighting design to create a collaborative learning environment in which to explore their own stage design processes. Whether you’re a graduate with some experience or a professional who wishes to take time to explore your work on a deeper level, we’d love to talk to you about our MFA in Stage Design.
The course is run alongside the MFA in Playwriting and the MFA in Theatre Directing. Students on all three programmes work together to develop a shared understanding of Contemporary Theatre Practice and to think creatively and critically about the making of innovative theatre work.
In addition to classes, workshops and design projects, The Lir’s Head of Stage Design will offer individual and group tuition. This is a key feature of The Lir’s training and works to advance the students’ learning, challenge ideas and build resilience in a supported environment. In combination with masterclasses with visiting practitioners, students will graduate with a strong awareness of the theatre industry, a network of emerging theatre professionals and a strong collaborative skill-set to bring to their work.
Professional placements and observation of work in development are a key feature of the programme, and all students will showcase their own work publicly at the culmination of the course.
Students can take this course full-time (12 months) or part-time (24 months) in order to continue their own professional practice concurrently. Students on the Master in Fine Art (Stage Design) will take two compulsory modules and choose two of four elective modules. Of the elective modules, students may select a major option and a minor option, the major option must be in one of the 3 design disciplines.
Full-time and part-time students will take three concurrent modules in the first two terms. Part-time students will take their minor option in the first year, and their major option in the second year. The final module (Production Design) will be taught in the third term and subsequent summer months (for full-time students) or in the second year of the course (for part-time students) and will culminate with a professional production staged in one of The Lir’s performance studios.
On completion of this postgraduate degree, you will qualify and graduate from Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin.
Elective Module combinations | Compulsory Modules |
Set Design & Lighting Design | Contemporary Theatre Practice |
Set Design & Costume Design | Production Design |
Lighting Design & Costume Design | |
Costume Design & Dramaturgy | |
Lighting Design & Dramaturgy | |
Set Design & Dramaturgy |
Full-time and part-time students will take three concurrent modules in the first two terms. Part-time students will take their minor option in the first year, and their major option in the second year. The final module (Production Design) will be taught in the third term and subsequent summer months (for full-time students) or in the second year of the course (for part-time students) and will culminate with a professional production staged in one of The Lir’s performance studios.
On completion of this postgraduate degree, you will qualify and graduate from Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin.
Participants
Previous participants include: stage and lighting technicians with 5-10 years of experience who have a passion to expand their practice into design ; architects who had some experience with set design; people already working as Lighting/ Set Designers who wish to take time to deepen their creative practice, Costume supervisors with a desire to move into Costume Design and Technical Theatre graduates who have some real world experience and want to explore the more creative side of Theatre work.
The ideal candidate for the course will have a passion for Theatre and for stage design in their selected field. Set and Costume design applicants may come from other disciplines but with a knowledge of Stage Design. Lighting design candidates will need a working technical knowledge of theatre lighting.
Our graduates represent a wide diversity of nationalities, ages and experience. They have all shared a passion for design, collaboration and theatre.
Our Graduates...
Our graduates have gone on to work in the theatre industry across the world. See more on where our graduates in set design, costume design and lighting design are now at this blog post - here.
Read about MFA in Stage Design Graduate Blue Hanley's experience at The Lir Academy and life after - here.
The ideal candidate for the course will have a passion for stage design in their selected field. Set and costume design applicants may come from other disciplines, lighting design candidates will need a working technical knowledege of theatre lighting.
Application
Application is through the Trinity College Dublin postgraduate portal, you can see that here.
Once you have completed the portal applications you will also need to send the additional documents (outlined in the dropdown below) to The Lir Academy to expedite review.
Please note that offers are made on a rolling basis. The initial deadline will be March 31st. 2024. We advise that applicants submit in the spring to ensure the best possible opportunity of securing a place in the first assessment. Applications will then be open until June 30th, 2024.
To request a course booklet, please send an email to admissions@thelir.ie, see the sections below for more course details.
Read the 2023 - 2024 Prospectus here.
Read the portfolio submission guidelines here.
Our Tutors...
Meet Sinead Wallace, Lighting Designer and MFA in Stage Design Tutor at The Lir Academy here.
Read about The Lir Academy Tutors here.
More...
See more about the Lighting Design for Dance project partnering with Liz Roche Company, Dance Ireland, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance and University of Limerick where our students are paired with professional choreographers - here.
Application Details click to
In addition to the information required on the online form, you are also required to upload a copy of each of the following:
a) A letter that outlines the applicant’s theatre education and highlights the applicant’s stage design experience to date.
b) A ‘statement of purpose’ that refers to the applicants ambitions in terms of stage design.
c) A résumé (CV)
d) A portfolio of your work . You can see guidance on this at at this link.
e) Two references/testimonials; one from those familiar with your work and one from third level education
It would be extremely helpful if you could name the files according to the following format: NameLastnameEducation, NameLastnamePersonalStatement, NameLastnameCV etc.
CLICK HERE FOR THE APPLICATION FORM FOR MFA STAGE DESIGN (BOTH FULL TIME AND PART TIME)
Apply NowDuration click to
Students can opt to take this course either part-time (24 months) or full-time (12 months).
Compulsory Modules: click to
Contemporary Theatre Practice
This compulsory module will introduce students to a range of contemporary theatre practices. It will focus on Irish and international artists and companies, with a particular emphasis on contemporary productions staged in the theatres of Dublin. The principal aim of the course is to enable students to become conversant in the styles, forms, theories and practices that constitute contemporary theatre making in Ireland and across the world. The Contemporary Theatre Practice module is shared by all Master in Fine Art students (directors, designers and playwrights) to allow for an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of performance.
Production Design
This compulsory module offers students the opportunity to apply their skills learned in their elective Design module(s) by designing one of the final MFA Gradfest productions. The aim of this module is to enable students to apply the skills acquired in their elective design modules to the development of their individual creative voice, their collaboration skills and their design practice, as well as developing valuable connections within the industry in Ireland.
This module will be taught in the third term and over the summer months through individual supervision of two placements as assistant to a professional designer, and in the realisation of a design for a production at The Lir Academy during Gradfest in July of the academic year.
Elective Modules:
Set Design Workshop
This module aims to develop the student’s set design skills through weekly workshops, as well as nurturing technical competence and confidence in the realisation of the student’s own designs.
These workshops will introduce students to the creative and technical skills required to realise a set design, including drawing, script analysis, model-making and computer assisted design (CAD) and introduce the processes of historical research exploring a range of dramatic and post-dramatic texts from various periods. There is a strong emphasis on developing a collaborative skillset to enable students to work effectively with all the theatre practitioners involved in the production process.
Students will present their own practice in weekly tutorials for discussion and critique. In addition, students will maintain a weekly journal of reflective practice in which they will analyse their process. Students will also maintain a weekly journal of reflective practice in which they will analyse their process.
The module will be taught over two terms in a series of workshops led by a professional designer. It aims to nurture the student’s design skills through project based learning devised to develop the student’s creative practice.
Costume Design Workshop
This module aims to develop the student’s costume design skills through weekly workshops, as well as nurturing technical competence and confidence in the realisation of the student’s own costume designs. Those workshops will introduce students to the processes of costume creation exploring a range of dramatic and post-dramatic texts from various periods, as well as the technical skills of costume design and making. Class topics include drawing and rendering, script analysis, pattern cutting and costume research. There is an emphasis on developing a collaborative skillset to enable students to work effectively with all the theatre practitioners involved in the production process.
This module will be taught over two terms in a series of workshops led by a professional designer. It aims to nurture the student’s costume design skills through workshops aimed at developing the student’s creative practice.
Students will present their own practice in weekly workshops for discussion and critique. In addition students will maintain a weekly journal of reflective practice in which they will analyse their process.
Lighting Design Workshop
This module aims to develop the student’s lighting design skills through a series of weekly practical workshops and classroom based tutorials. The workshops will offer the students an opportunity to develop their technical skillset as well as to experiment with and explore light to develop their own design practice.
The module will be taught over two terms in a series of workshops by a professional lighting designer. The weekly classes will focus on building the skillset, both technical and creative, required to become a skilled and intuitive lighting designer. Technical topics include choosing of instruments, light quality, new technologies in theatre lighting, console programming, and drafting lighting plans and paperwork. Creative workshops will focus on developing the student’s design process through research, analysis and collaboration as experimentation in the studio to develop the visual acuity required of a lighting designer.
Throughout project work there is a particular emphasis on self reflection and on the engagement with directors and other designers from Set and Costume.. Students will explore the relationship between lighting design and other design elements, e.g. costume design, set design.
Students will maintain a weekly journal of reflective practice in which they will analyse their process. They will be exposed to various modes of design and technologies used in lighting design through a series of ongoing Masterclasses. The learning is experiential in nature, based around a series of projects designed to challenge and excite the lighting design students.
Dramaturgy for Stage Design
This module will be taught over two terms by a professional dramaturg and aims to introduce students to a range of dramatic texts with an emphasis on the dramaturgical composition of those texts. An understanding of the contexts within which those dramaturgical strategies were produced will also be fostered. This seminar and workshop based module requires students to examine key problems related to the creation and structure of play scripts in relation to scenography. Students will consider a variety of theories regarding dramatic structure, style and form, explore different approaches to text analysis from a designer’s perspective and learn to apply a scenographic vocabulary to a number of case studies. Classes will be in the form of workshops and seminars that will be in part practical in order for the practitioner to better understand how the play works in addition to what it means, as well as to engage with the lighting and spatial demands and possibilities of the dramaturgical structure of playtexts.
Elective Modules: click to
Set Design Workshop
This module aims to develop the student’s set design skills through weekly workshops exploring a range of dramatic and post-dramatic texts from various historical periods, as well as nurturing technical competence in the realisation of the student’s own design. The module will be taught over two terms in a series of workshops led by a professional designer. It aims to nurture the student’s design skills through project based learning devised to develop the student’s creative practice. These workshops will introduce students to the processes of historical research as well as the technical skills in the realisation of a set design, including drawing, model-making, computer assisted design (CAD), and communication with other theatre professionals in the production process. Students will present their own practice in weekly tutorials for discussion and critique. In addition, students will maintain a weekly journal of reflective practice in which they will analyse their process. Students will also maintain a weekly journal of reflective practice in which they will analyse their process.
Costume Design Workshop
This module aims to develop the student’s costume design skills through weekly workshops exploring a range of dramatic and post-dramatic texts from various historical periods, as well as nurturing technical competence in the realisation of the student’s own costume design. This module will be taught over two terms in a series of workshops led by a professional designer. It aims to nurture the student’s costume design skills through workshops aimed at developing the student’s creative practice. Those workshops will introduce students to the processes of historical research as well as the technical skills in the realisation of costume design, including wardrobe maintenance, and communication with other theatre professionals in the production process. Students will present their own practice in weekly workshops for discussion and critique. In addition students will maintain a weekly journal of reflective practice in which they will analyse their process.
Lighting Design Workshop
This module will be taught over two terms in a series of workshops by a professional lighting designer. It aims to nurture the student’s design skills through workshops aimed at developing the student’s creative practice. Those workshops will examine the nature of light and its qualities, together with the functions of stage lighting, the role of lighting in theatre, with particular emphasis on the engagement of a director with stage lighting design. Students will explore the relationship between lighting design and other design elements, e.g. costume design, set design. The mechanics of stage lighting will be covered in detail to include the principles of electricity, optics, light sources and theatre lanterns. Students will learn how to choose lighting instruments, calculate lighting angles, control light distribution etc., and will learn the basic principles of scale drawing, and how to produce a lighting plan. Other topics covered will include control systems, computer aided design, colour, and special effects. Students will maintain a weekly journal of reflective practice in which they will analyse their process.
Dramaturgy for Stage Design
This module will be taught over two terms a professional dramaturge and aims to introduce students to a range of dramatic texts with an emphasis on the dramaturgical composition of those texts. An understanding of the contexts within which those dramaturgical strategies were produced will also be fostered. This seminar and workshop based module requires students to examine key problems related to the creation and structure of play scripts in relation to scenography. Students will consider a variety of theories regarding dramatic structure, style and form, explore different approaches to text analysis from a designer’s perspective and learn to apply a scenographic vocabulary to a number of case studies. Classes will be in the form of workshops and seminars that will be in part practical in order for the practitioner to better understand how the play works in addition to what it means, as well as to engage with the lighting and spatial demands and possibilities of the dramaturgical structure of playtexts.
Fees click to
Fees for 2023/24
Full-time fees (EU/UK)….€12,250
Full-time fees (Non-EU)…. €22,290
Part-time fees (EU/UK) €6,120 p.a.
Part-time fees (Non-EU) €12,260 p.a.
Student levis and charges... €293 (full-time,)
€225.50 (part-time p.a)
Please note, tuition fees and other charges are subject to annual review by Trinity College Dublin which may result in a fee increase each year. All students (Undergraduate and Postgraduate, EU & Non EU) on courses/programmes of study of more than one year should be aware that tuition fees and other charges (Commencement/graduation fee, Sports Centre Charge and USI levy) may be subject to increase annually. The annual revision is approved by Trinity’s Committee and College Board and typically increase by approximately 3% per annum or more in any given year.
For funding opportunities click here.
Funding and Bursaries click to
1. The Haddad Fellowship
The Haddad Fellowship includes The Lir Academy's MFA Playwriting, Stage Design and Theatre Directing courses. It is available for Brazilian students and covers the travel, living and education costs of the course for up to €35000. Applications for the scholarship open in January each year, and we advise students to apply early. Read more about the Haddad Fellowship and the eligibility criteria at this link.
2. SUSI Grant
The SUSI Grant can be accessed by EU and international students who have lived in Ireland for three out of the past five years. The grant is income-assessed and you can use the Eligibility Reckoner online to see if you qualify at this link.
3.The Lir Academy Bursary
The Lir Academy Bursary is available for EU students and it is income-assessed. Applicants can only apply for it once they have been offered a place. For more information about this contact us at admissions@thelir.ie - click here.
Non-EU students cannot apply for The Lir Academy Bursary, but they are eligible for other Trinity College bursaries. More information here.
4. Trinity College Dublin Funding
Trinity College Dublin offers a variety of funding opportunities for EU and international students. You can read about them at these two links - here and here.
If you have any questions about making an application to the The Lir Academy, or funding opportunities contact us at admissions@thelir.ie or click here.
MFA Stage Design Course Handbook 2023 - 24 click to
Download the course handbook here
Stage Design Course Handbook“
