About us

The Malmö Theatre Academy has a high level of ambition and aims to be a leading education and research institution in the field of theatre, as well as a relevant and open institution in Malmö.

Malmö Theatre Academy trains actors and playwrights at bachelor level. We believe in a long-term and consistent education in close collaboration between our different subjects. All teaching is based on a pragmatic method which starts from situation and action.

International contacts have long contributed to shaping the academy's profile. The school has its teaching facilities in central Malmö with a modern theatre for public performances.

Every year, just over 100 people study or work at the Malmö Theatre Academy. The funding agreement target for the academy is 60 annual full-time study places in the form of first and second cycle degree programmes in acting and scenic and dramatic writing, freestanding courses with a focus on conceptual performing arts and the dynamic boundaries between theory and practice, as well as artistic research in theatre. 

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is regularly ranked among the top 100 universities in the world. The University has 40 000 students and 7 400 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

History

The courses and study programmes at the Malmö Theatre Academy have their origins in the drama school that started at Malmö City Theatre in 1944. In 1964 we became the National Stage School and in 1977 the Theatre Academy, part of Lund University. Over the years the school has trained over 600 actors.

Since the early 2000s the academy has also offered a programme in dramatic writing. Both the acting and dramatic writing programmes are available at Bachelor’s level as a foundation to be taken further at Master’s level. In addition, the academy offers free-standing courses both during semesters as well as during summer, and was as an example the only theatre academy in the country to have started a free-standing course with a focus on the dynamic boundary between theory and practice: The Theory and Practice of Theatre. The course is offered in collaboration with the Centre for Language and Literature at Lund University.

Today and into the future

Art is all about knowledge - it is based on knowledge and generates new knowledge. The performing arts are constantly changing in terms of both content and expression. The boundaries between different art forms vary, as do the boundaries between theory and practice. At the Malmö Theatre Academy, we believe in a thorough training that provides concrete methods and the ability to switch between making and reflecting on what is made. Our aim is to produce artists who have great freedom in their expressions – so that they can meet all the diverse challenges in the modern theatre today.

Malmö Theatre Academy has the ambition to be a leader in investigating and establishing what the performing arts are and can be today. The Master’s programme strives to further develop the artistry that begins during the Bachelor’s programmes into more advanced artistic research. The school's doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers help to develop an environment for artistic research. The academy has and will continue to collaborate with other major theatre academies and institutions throughout Europe and is continuously working to widen and renew the academy´s network.

The Malmö Theatre Academy strives to combine tradition with contemporary challenges within theatre and performing arts. We want to approach current and future performing arts with curiosity and knowledge, and play an extensive part in helping to shape their future practice.