THE TNS DRAMA SCHOOL
The Ecole Supérieure d'Art Dramatique of the Théâtre National de Strasbourg is a national vocational training school that is under the tutelage of the Ministry of Culture.
Since Michel Saint-Denis founded the school in 1954, it has always been inextricably bound to the theatre, with which it shares the same roof and infrastructure. The school's teaching is based on an interdisciplinary approach, with students specialising in different areas within a year :
- Acting
- Stage management
- Scenic design
A new section was added in 2oo1 :
- Directing / Dramaturgy
The director of the TNS is simultaneously the statutory Head of the school and this close relationship between the school and the National Theatre is obviously fundamental for the teaching programme. The drama students are in constant contact with the TNS acting and technical professionals. Members of the permanent troop as well as technical and administrative staff involved in an artistic project to help maintain the close links either through teaching assignments or more informal exchanges.
Admission to the school is accorded after an entrance exam held two years out of three. There are therefore always two groups, comprising about 45 students (including 24 student actors), in the school at any point in time. The syllabus lasts three years and combines weekly lessons with intensive workshop-based courses with an outside teacher. Students in stage design, stage management, directing and dramaturgy also attend courses held outside the school walls.
The special feature of the TNS drama school workshops is their way of allowing student actors, scenic managers and stage managers to work together within a single group. Throughout the three years, the students from every section take part in dozens of very different artistic projects, where they have the chance to experience what it is actually like to stage a production. Therefore each section does its own specialist studies alongside the work carried out in common with the other sections.
Some of the teaching is carried out by in-house teachers, who provide a permanent presence working with the group throughout the three years of the syllabus. Outside teachers are in charge of the rest of the programme, working on workshops over a period of six to eight weeks. These teachers are all practicing artists and their input depends on each group's programme and progress.
The school's current project is to combine each section's specialist training with a wider theatrical and artistic approach that everyone takes part in. Students obtain a solid foundation for their future profession and at the same time are able to gain a full picture of all the other aspects of theatrical work. This is why regular lessons are held right from the first year, where students from the same group get together to talk and work with the other members so that everyone can find out about each other's work and thereby smoothing the way for future collaboration and mutual understanding.
This approach requires great flexibility and cohesion between the members of the teaching staff. It is only by talking together regularly and maintaining a constant flow of information, that each section can fully benefit from the workshops and the other work carried out in common. Students, regular and outside teachers and members of the TNS artistic team work together on a daily basis, providing an atmosphere which is in favour of all the parties and which offers pedagogical and artistic exchanges that can be brought to fruition through concrete practice.
Tel : 00 33 (0)3 88 24 88 08
