Module Information
Module Identifier
TP11420
Module Title
Making Theatre 2: Site Project
Academic Year
2014/2015
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 2
Co-Requisite
Co-Requisite
Pre-Requisite
Other Staff
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 1 x 2 hour introductory lecture. |
| Seminars / Tutorials | 1 x 2 hour feedback forum. |
| Practical | 2 x 2 hour weekly sessions for 9 weeks |
| Practical | 12 hours production/performance preparation |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | [1] Production Project (30-40 mins.) [A formative assessment, assessing students' practical contribution throughout the project, both during the rehearsal and devising process as well as during the final performance]. This work will be assessed against the following criteria: Approach: willingness to engage positively with the work; contribution to workshop and rehearsal discussion. Preparation: engagement with relevant vocal and physical preparation necessary for live performance; evidence of contribution to an accumulative research process; completion of set written tasks. Creativity: ability to respond imaginatively to a given role/concept/text, to a degree appropriate at undergraduate level; evidence of concept exploration and development; ability to rearticulate critical ideas through practice. Application: awareness of the relationship between an event and its performance space or site. | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | [2] Critical Essay (2,5000 words) [An essay that critically contextualizes the group project within a wider field of performance practices. It may also include supplementary material, exercises and documentation that participants will have been encouraged to create and collect throughout the process]. The work will be assessed against the following criteria Reflection: ability to reflect upon own role in the production process; use of documentation of process to support commentary; ability to articulate the relationship between research process and practical outcome, ability to evaluate dramaturgical processes necessitated by choice of performance location. Articulation: ability to engage critically with their group project, ability to locate and contextualize their project within wider critical frameworks and practices; Communication: effectiveness of structure and style in communicating the stated ideas; evidence of ability to undertake independent research for the purposes of advancing the argument. Form: effectiveness and accuracy of presentation, drawing on scholarly conventions, including bibliography. | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | [1] Essay (2,500) [An essay that invites students to discuss the concept of site-specific performance in relation to the work of an individual performance practitioner or company]. The work will be assessed against the following criteria: Concept: ability to articulate key critical ideas in their own words; ability to articulate relationships between critical ideas and contemporary performance practices; accuracy of information. Development: display an ability to relate a critical position to a body of practical work; ability to sustain and develop the critical position through the argument. Communication: effectiveness of structure and style in communicating the stated ideas; evidence of ability to undertake independent research for the purposes of advancing the argument. Form: effectiveness and accuracy of presentation, drawing on scholarly conventions, including bibliography. | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | [2] Critical Essay (2,500 words) [This may be resubmitted from the Semester Assessment]. | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Develop and apply the basic skills necessary to work effectively within devising, rehearsal and production processes.
2. Work collaboratively as part of an ensemble, and to recognise the importance of teamwork in the pursuit of common goals within the workshop environment.
3. Recognise and articulate the relationship between an event and its specific space and site.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the different performance and scenographic elements in a live event.
5. Reflect, in an informed manner, upon the performance and workshop process from a range of critical, aesthetic and historical perspectives.
Brief description
This module will draw on a foundation of core practical skills introduced during the first semester of Part 1, with an emphasis on the creative process leading from text or concept to live event. It is conceptualized as a continuation and an advancement of work undertaken during the first semester, both in terms of practical approach and critical engagement.
Aims
This module aims to build and expand upon core theatre, performance and scenographic skills encountered during the first semester of Part 1. Through the creation and preparation of small group performances, the module requires students to contextualise and develop their work in relation to the wider field of theatre and performance, while also focusing on skills necessary to working as part of a collaborative team under the direction and/or facilitation of a member of staff. Accordingly, this module is intended to prepare students for practice-based and production-oriented modules in part two.
Content
Working in small groups in response to a site/theme/practice proposed by the group leader, students will develop and prepare a short performance (30-40 minutes in duration) to be presentation at the end of the semester. In this module, particular attention is paid to the exploration of space and site, with the aim of grounding students in their location and landscape. Accordingly, the devised events will be developed in response to the specific location of their presentation
The written assessment for this module will demand that students locate their project within a wider field of practice(s). Submitted after the final performance, students will be required to contextualize the project against a body of existing work and practices, and consider on how these were reflected or articulated through their work.
This consideration will be present from the outset of each process and will be developed by weekly readings and viewings. Project leaders will also be expected set weekly writing tasks that respond to methodological or thematic concern. This will include an informal written assessment to be submitted in week four of the semester that will require students to begin formulating potential research questions to be explored as the project advances towards its conclusion.
In addition and where appropriate, this module also requires an engagement with the vocal and physical preparation necessary for live performance.
The written assessment for this module will demand that students locate their project within a wider field of practice(s). Submitted after the final performance, students will be required to contextualize the project against a body of existing work and practices, and consider on how these were reflected or articulated through their work.
This consideration will be present from the outset of each process and will be developed by weekly readings and viewings. Project leaders will also be expected set weekly writing tasks that respond to methodological or thematic concern. This will include an informal written assessment to be submitted in week four of the semester that will require students to begin formulating potential research questions to be explored as the project advances towards its conclusion.
In addition and where appropriate, this module also requires an engagement with the vocal and physical preparation necessary for live performance.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | |
| Communication | The ability to communicate ideas effectively is developed in the seminars and assessed directly through Assessment 1 and 2. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Self-regulation, motivation and time-management skills are developed through the module and are demanded for the successful completion of its assignments. These skills are directly assessed through Assessment 3. |
| Information Technology | The ability to utilize information technology both in the research for and delivery of written assignments is assessed directly in Assessments 1 and 2. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Transferable skills (managing personal workloads and meeting deadlines, designing and realizing research project) are developed through the completion of assessment tasks. Career’s awareness does not of itself constitute an assessed element of this module, however. |
| Problem solving | Analytical problem solving, outcome recognition and the identification of appropriate strategies and procedures are encouraged and assessed across the duration of the module. |
| Research skills | Appropriate personal research and the development of effective personal research practices are directly assessed through Assessments 1 and 2. |
| Subject Specific Skills | See QAA Dance, Drama and Performance Subject Benchmark Statement (Version 2007). |
| Team work | Effective group work through negotiating ideas and opinions is addressed through the seminars. Seminar discussions demand the application of skills necessary to conduct collaborative activity. These skills are directly assessed through Assessment 3. |
Reading List
Essential ReadingBirch, A. and Tompkins, J. (2012) Performing Site-Specific Theatre: Politics, Place, Practice Palgrave Macmillan Primo search Pearson, Mike (2010) Site-Specific Performance Palgrave Macmillan Primo search Recommended Text
Cresswell, T. (2004) Place: A Short Introduction Blackwell Publishing Primo search Dean, T. and Millar, J. (2005) Place Thames & Hudson Primo search Hill, L. and Paris, H. (eds) (2006) Performance and Place Palgrave Macmillan Primo search Kastner, J & Wallis, B (eds) (1998) Land and Environmental Art Phaidon Primo search Kaye, N (1996) Art into Theatre: Performance Interviews and Documents Harwood Academic Publishers Primo search Kaye, Nick (2000) Site-Specific art: performance, place and documentation Primo search Kwon, M. (2002) One Place After Another: Site-specific Art and Locational Identity MIT Press Primo search McAuley, G. (ed) (2006) Unstable Ground: Performance and the Politics of Text P.I.E. Peter Lang Primo search Pearson, M (2006) In Comes I; Performance, Memoy and Landscape University of Exeter Press Primo search Pearson, Mike and Shanks, Michael (2001) Theatre/archaeology Routledge Primo search Williams, D. and Lavery, C. (2011) Good Luck Everybody: Lone Twin Journeys, Performances, Conversations Aberystwyth: Performance Research Books Primo search Wylie, J.E. (2000) Landscape Routledge Primo search
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 4