The artistic statement is an assignment rarely found in course syllabi. However, apart from representing a common genre for artists, it holds an enormous value even for students starting their artistic path as it allows to measure a combination of expectations and current state of affairs at the beginning of the course and then evaluate the shifts that occurred during the course at the end. As such it offers a self-evaluative tool for the student as well as a way for the instructor to have a sense of where the students are in their journey towards or through the theatre arts.

In a practical course, the artistic statement can then be developed as part of a portfolio containing music or art reflective of the manifesto as well as on stage as a short scene.

Example of Artistic Statement Assignment: “This is my theatre”

Purpose: Creating a snapshot of your current artistic sensibility / aesthetics.

Describe your theatre. Write your manifesto.
You do not need to be a perfect writer. If it is too complicated to describe it in your own words, you can use texts of different authors, collecting prose, dramatic texts or poetry. It can become a collage. The length is up to you, but it should be at least a full page, and no longer than five.