Master of Fine Arts in Performance American College Dublin, Ireland

This program provides a student with an advanced introduction to the challenges and possibilities of organizing and presenting a public professional performance. Based around the development of a substantial live performance, the program also offers supervision on an agreed dissertation topic and two courses in management and marketing from the College’s MBA program. The core of the program is the performance project. Under faculty supervision, the student is required to devise or identify a suitable recital, concert performance, or other approved live performance work, oversee the development of the project (original or adapted), arrange for rehearsal, directing and performance of the piece, and manage, market and produce a recorded public performance of the work. The student may be involved in all areas of the performance as musician, singer, dancer, writer, director, actor, technician, or engage others to assist in some or all of them. All aspects of the production, including the decision making that went into choosing the piece, a literary critical analysis of the program content and a critical review of the performance, are documented in a substantial (10,000 words) dissertation. The dissertation module (9 credits) and the faculty panel’s evaluation of one of the recorded live performances (21 credits) provide the basis for the assessment of the project.