Shanghai Theatre Academy is a 62 year-old comprehensive university of performing arts, with a focus on theatre training and studies. Co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and the Shanghai Municipal government, and reporting to the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, STA is one of China’s most outstanding higher educational arts institutions.
Shanghai Theatre Academy has evolved from a small college into an outstanding comprehensive university of performing arts in China. STA has three campuses located respectively on Huashan Road Lianhua Road and ongqiao Road. There are four departments （Department of Acting, Department of Directing, Department of Dramatic Literature, Department of Stage Design） and five colleges(College of Chinese Opera, College of Dance, College of Television Arts, College of Creative Studies, College of Continuing Education) plus two affiliated pre-college professional art schools(Affiliated Chinese Opera School, Affiliated Dance School ).STA offers 11 four-year BA majors with 23 specialties.
STA’s Theatre and Chinese Opera Studies is a national－level key discipline. There is a post-doctoral program in Arts Studies covering all artistic genres.
STA confers doctoral degrees in theatre studies, including eight special areas, and master’s degrees covering all artistic areas with special strength in 25 areas. There is also an MFA program and a special master’s program for college teachers.
According to the March, 2007, statistics, there are nearly 3000 full-time students, among whom 50% are undergraduates, 15% graduate students, 18% pre-college students of the traditional opera school, 17% pre-college students of the dance school. There are 467 faculty members, of whom 26% are professors and associate professors. Five national level experts are working at STA and there are 19 experts who enjoy the government subsidy from the State Council.
Our theatre venues include Shangxi Theatre, Duanjun Theatre, New Performance Space, and two Black Boxes, on the Huashan Road campus, Little Theatre (Dance School) on the Hongqiao Road campus, and Performing Hall on the Lianhua Road campus. There are two major classroom buildings and three multifunctional comprehensive buildings, equipped for various teaching activities and performances. Two major libraries stand on our campuses. Digital teaching and management have been realized on all three campuses. Our students enjoy dormitories, dining halls and gymnasia.
STA has academic and artistic exchange programs with institutions in 26 countries and districts all over the world. STA has set up cooperative relations with 14 universities, including St. Petersburg State Institute of Theatrical Arts; Tisch School of the Arts, New York University; University of California, Davis; Mysashino Art University, Japan; Roman Arts University, Italy; Academy of Fine Art in Bologna,Italy; Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, U.K.; School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, etc. Students from more than 50 countries and districts have come to our academy to study. STA faculty and students have visited many international universities, sometimes with touring performances, sometimes in short term study trips, in countries such as Singapore, Japan, England, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Australia, USA, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Belgium, Romania, and Mexico.
The academy also hosts the Asia-Pacific Center of the International Theatre Insititue, chaired by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO).In the past three years, faculty members have carried out international exchange projects abroad more than 250 person/times. More than 300 students went abroad to study or perform. STA has invited 30 plus world famous experts and professors from USA, France, England and Italy to give lectures and conduct workshops.
Department of Dramatic Literature
Main courses are: playwriting and its theories, dramatic theory and critique writing, history of world theatres, selective reading of classic foreign and Chinese dramas, acting/directing and their theories, introduction to administration.
The department is particularly strong. There are 3 professors who have been named “national outstanding experts.”
The recent two years have seen its success in curriculum building: History of Traditional Chinese Theatre was elected as a model course in Shanghai in 2004, and History of Modern Chinese Drama was chosen as the key course in Shanghai in 2005.
Department of Stage Design
This department has four programs: stage design, lighting design, costume and makeup design, Graphic and interior design.
There are 37 faculty members, including 8 professors and 8 associate professors.
Main courses include: Chinese and international art history, Chinese and International architecture history, Chinese and international garment history, theatre history, stage design, lighting design, makeup design, garment design, and so on.
This department holds a leading position in China in terms of teaching, research, design work. The teachers have gathered “Wenhua Stage Art Prize,” “Bao Steel Art Prize,” “Bao Steel Education Prize,” “Bao Steel Excellent Teacher Prize.” Three teachers have been named “Aurora Scholar” by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission.
College of Television Arts
This College has two departments: Dept. of Broadcasting/TV Programming and Directing, Dept. of Television Hosting.
There are 17 faculty members, including 6 professors and 3 associate professors.Main courses include: Introduction to TV Hosting, TV Space Management, Introduction to TV Art, Programming and Writing, TV Production, and so on.
Many graduates have won prizes such as National Golden Mike Prize, National Brilliancy Prize, Top One Hundred Prize, National New Figure Prize, National TV Program Anchorperson Prize, Best Video Jockey, First National Prize of Talk Show, Best Director Prize at the national university students short video competition, Best Screenwriting Prize, Best Original Idea Prize, and so on.
College of Chinese Opera
Students at this College have four choices to specialize in: acting, directing, theatre & film art design, public administration.There are 35 teachers, including 4 professors and 3 associate professors.
Main courses include: Chinese Opera Acting, Martial Role Movements, History of Beijing Opera, Script Analysis, Computer Music Creation and Edition, String Ensemble, Techniques of Puppetry.
Graduates have won numerous prizes in various competitions, including the golden and silver prize in CCTV young opera performer competition and the golden performance prize in the first national shadow puppet competition, a part of Golden Lion Prize Competition.
In the 2001 National Young Beijing Opera Competition, students of this school won three first prizes and one second prize. In the National Beijing Opera TV Competition the best performer prize and the screen effect prize and more than 10 other prizes went to our students. College of Dance
This College has two branches: choreography and performance. There are 42 teachers, including 3 professors and 2 associate professors. Main courses include: Folk Dance in China, Classical Dance in China, Ballet, Ballroom Dance, Choreography.
Graduates have won grand prizes both at home and abroad: the Gold Prizes both in Paris Ballet Competition and in the Helsinki Ballet Competition, laurel of Black Pool Ballroom Dance Festival, the first prize of Peach & Plum dance competition between culture and art schools. Our major dance theatre works Piebald and Farewell My Concubine were highly acclaimed in Malaysia and Japan, as the cultural ambassadors in diplomatic world. This college has been assigned by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission as the base of dance practice for all Shanghai college students.
College of Creativity Studies
We have three programs: Media Creativity, Art Design, and Public Administration.
There are 5 faculty members, including 3 are associate professors.
The college has taken part in holding the 2004 Creative Industries Development Forum, 2005 UN World Creative Industries Seminar, 2006 Shanghai International Creative Industries Week─Creative Talents Forum. Those significant activities demonstrated great academic achievement and formation of worldwide network of experts.
This school founded Shanghai Creative Industry Association, along with Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Shanghai Media Group, Shanghai Industrial Investment Co. Ltd.
Division of Graduate Studies
This division confers doctoral degrees in theatre studies, including eight special areas, and master’s degrees covering all artistic areas with special strength in 25 areas. There is also an MFA program and a special master’s program for college teachers. Currently hosting Post-doctoral Program in Fine Arts studies covering all artistic genres
College of Continuing Education
This college offers courses in acting, directing, art administration, stage design, TV programming, broadcasting and TV hosting, dance, and so on. To meet various social demands, it also provides vocational and undergraduate courses for adults and full-time training courses. Equipped with rich faculty resources from all the STA departments, the college guarantees top quality of adult arts education. Its graduates, among whom are such stars as Dong Qing, Ning Jing, Liu Ning, play a very active role on the national art stage, receiving acclaim from all over the country.
Affiliated Chinese Opera School (Pre-College)
This school has a great variety of programs such as Beijing Opera Acting, Beijing Opera Music, Kun Opera Acting, Martial Art, Musical Instruments, Modern Drama Acting, Modal Performance, Stage Design, Puppet Performance and Operation, and so on.There are 63 teachers, 4 of whom are highest ranking instructors and 16 second highest ranking instructors.
The school has trained a large number of artistic talents with all-around capabilities. Over 2000 graduates have joined various theatre companies around the country. Among its graduates, almost 140 have won provincial level performing awards, 13 of them were granted National Top Award of Theatre “Plum Prize” and 24 “Magnolia Prize”.
Affiliated Dance School (Pre-College)
There are 3 programs, Traditional Chinese Dance, Ballet, and Ballroom Dance.There are 86 teachers, 6 of whom are highest ranking instructors and another 6 second highest ranking instructors
Graduates have won many famous prizes in international dance competitions, such as, Special Award in the third Osaka International Ballet Competition, Lausanne Award and the Best Modern Dance Award in the 31st international ballet competition, the first prize of juvenile group in the second Paris international classical ballet competition, prize of double dance in the third Paris international classical ballet competition, the gold prize of juvenile group and Poland Nizhinski award in the first Nagoya international ballet competition, the gold prize of juvenile group in the 19th Varna international ballet competition in Bulgaria and the gold prize of juvenile group in the first international ballet competition in Shanghai.
School of International Students
Since the end of 1980’s, the school has started to accept foreign students. The school has formed a sound Chinese language teaching model after a long-term exploration and practice, offering language courses from elementary to advanced level. The number of foreign students is increasing gradually, from a dozen to over a hundred per year. Recently, with an all-around curriculum setting, they can also apply for the bachelor, master and Ph.D. degrees. Thousands of students from more than thirty countries have spent their time studying here so far.
The school provides teaching programs combining courses of reading, listening, conversation, writing, and Chinese culture, as well as other corresponding courses depending on the Chinese proficiency level of international students. At the same time, optional courses like Chinese Calligraphy, Tai Chi, Shanghai Dialect, Acting, and Pronunciation are offered as supplements.
Virtual Simulation Laboratory for Multi-Media Performance
This lab is designed mainly for virtual rehearsals with multi-media technology. Each part is created on the same digital-forming platform for real-time display. Modification and conformation can be made on the designing plan to achieve efficient artistic production. The producer can be assured of effective budget management throughout the producing process. Digital production is simultaneously stored digitally, which is beneficial to the protection and dissemination of artistic resources.
It is China’s first performing arts project combining arts with information technology, independently innovated and developed software, and patented technology with system integration. The lab has successfully performed demo projects for Shanghai Yangshan Deep-water Harbor, performance design of Ode to Harmony for the 5th anniversary party of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the opening ceremony of Jiangxi Sports Games, visual demo for opening ceremony of 2010 Women’s Football World Cup, the Guzheng concert of Music Shade, and the multi-media parts for the Shanghai Grand Theatre production Prince Himalayas.
Theater Way
Theater Way, proposed by Shanghai Theater Academy, is a cultural and city planning project supported by the entire Shanghai society. It was listed as part of the "Shanghai Cultural Development Plan" in 2004. In the Theatre Way area there are ten theater venues, a theatre academy, numerous artist associations, the Shanghai Creativity Industries Society, John Howkins Research
Our aim is to build the new research field of creative studies, and to cultivate creative talents. In order to achieve this aim, creative ideas and methods are applied in cultural, artistic, and economic courses. We employ John Howkins, the “Father of Creative Industries,” as our international deputy dean, also Li Wuwei, famous economist as well as vice chairman of Shanghai Municipal People’s Council, as our visiting professor. This department has three programs: Writing for stage, film & TV , Public administration and Arts Education.21 teachers, including 8 professors and 4 associate professors, are now working in this department.
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