Module UXS-1120:
Theatre Making

Module Facts

Run by School of Languages, Literatures, Linguistics and Media

20 Credits or 10 ECTS Credits

Semester 2

Organiser: Dr Kate Lawrence

Overall aims and purpose

The Theatre and Performance: introduction module allows students to encounter and focus practically on some of the key elements and perspectives which contribute to the process of creating and viewing a performance.

From a given starting point (which will be a variety of performance texts) students will explore different aspects of the given material and its contexts, its challenges, and potential for performance. Depending on the text being used, this may involve historical, biographical and other appropriate contextual reading - including, where appropriate, production history, critical reception, and other performance works. The aim of this module is to teach students how to analyse texts from different dramatic traditions.

Students will be expected to explore by means of written presentations and practical workshops the performance styles demanded by these differing texts. They will also be expected to relate this experience to live theatre performance. Students may also explore the performance material from the perspective of performers, designers, directors, technicians and others, analysing the specific demands, opportunities and difficulties raised by the performance texts, and considering the different ways of approaching them.

Course content

  • What is performance?
  • What are all the elements involved in a performance?
  • The historical and cultural legacy of selected theatre traditions.
  • How selected theatre traditions challenged and enhanced the notion of performance and the theatre.

Assessment Criteria

threshold

Threshold

Submitted work is adequate and shows an acceptable level of competence as follows:

  • Generally accurate but with omissions and errors.
  • Assertions are made without clear supporting evidence or reasoning.
  • Has structure but is lacking in clarity and therefore relies on the reader to make links and assumptions.
  • Draws on a relatively narrow range of material.

excellent

Excellent

Submitted work is of an outstanding quality and excellent in one or more of the following ways:

  • Has originality of exposition with the student's own thinking being readily apparent.
  • Provides clear evidence of extensive and relevant independent study.
  • Arguments are laid down with clarity and provide the reader with successive stages of consideration to reach conclusions.

good

Good: 50% +.

Submitted work is competent throughout and occasionally distinguished by superior style, approach and choice of supporting materials. It demonstrates:

  • Good structure and logically developed arguments.
  • At least in parts draws on material that has been sourced and assessed as a result of independent study, or in a way unique to the student.
  • Assertions are, in the main, backed by evidence and sound reasoning.
  • Accuracy and presentation in an appropriate academic style.

Very Good: 60% +.

Submitted work is competent throughout and distinguished by superior style, approach and choice of supporting materials. It demonstrates:

  • Very good structure and logically developed arguments.
  • Draws on material that has been sourced and assessed as a result of independent study, or in a way unique to the student.
  • Assertions are backed by evidence and sound reasoning.
  • Accuracy and presentation in an appropriate academic style.

Learning outcomes

  1. Describe, interpret and evaluate performance across a range of occurrences and sites.

  2. Demonstrate a critical awareness of current discussions and debates in the field of theatre and performance and be familiar with the work of a number of innovative movements and practitioners.

  3. Ability to function effectively as a member of a collaborative team in a creative process

  4. Demonstrate an ability to read and interpret relevant background material and an ability to analyse dramatic texts critically

  5. Show awareness of the interplay between theory and practice within the area of performance studies and of conceptual and creative processes that underpin the understanding and realization of performance.

  6. Display skills in making performance outcomes, such as directing, acting, producing, etc.

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
Performance Review 20
Group Performance 40
Essay 40

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Seminar 6
Private study 168
Practical classes and workshops 26

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
  • Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
  • Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
  • Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others
  • Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
  • Safety-Consciousness - Having an awareness of your immediate environment, and confidence in adhering to health and safety regulations
  • Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.
  • Teamwork - Able to constructively cooperate with others on a common task, and/or be part of a day-to-day working team
  • Mentoring - Able to support, help, guide, inspire and/or coach others
  • Management - Able to utilise, coordinate and control resources (human, physical and/or financial)
  • Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting
  • Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others
  • Leadership - Able to lead and manage, develop action plans and objectives, offer guidance and direction to others, and cope with the related pressures such authority can result in

Subject specific skills

  • Artistic engagement and ability to articulate complex ideas in oral and written forms. (NAWE Creative Writing Benchmark Statement 3.2).
  • Ability to connect creative and critical ideas between and among forms, techniques and types of creative and critical praxis. (NAWE Creative Writing Benchmark Statement 3.2; English Benchmark Statement 3.2).
  • Awareness of how different social and cultural contexts affect the nature of language and meaning (English Benchmark Statement 3.2).
  • Reflective practitioner skills, including awareness of the practice of others in collaborative learning (NAWE Creative Writing Benchmark Statement 3.2; English Benchmark Statement 3.2).
  • The ability to synthesize information from various sources, choosing and applying appropriate concepts and methods (English Benchmark Statement 3.3).
  • Ability to formulate and solve problems, anticipate and accommodate change, and work within contexts of ambiguity, uncertainty and unfamiliarity (NAWE Creative Writing Benchmark Statement 3.2; English Benchmark Statement 3.3).
  • Ability to engage in processes of drafting and redrafting texts to achieve clarity of expression and an appropriate style. (English Benchmark Statement 3.3; NAWE Creative Writing Benchmark Statement 3.2).
  • Ability to gather information, analyse, interpret and discuss different viewpoints (NAWE Creative Writing Benchmark Statement 3.2; English Benchmark Statement 3.3).
  • Information technology (IT) skills broadly understood and the ability to access, work with and evaluate electronic resources (NAWE Creative Writing Benchmark Statement 3.2; English Benchmark Statement 3.3).

Pre- and Co-requisite Modules

Courses including this module

Compulsory in courses:

Optional in courses: