Module Information

Module Identifier

TP11620

Module Title

Scenography Studio Project

Academic Year

2017/2018

Co-ordinator

Mr Richard D Downing

Semester

Semester 1

Co-Requisite

TP19820

Co-Requisite

TP19920

Mutually Exclusive

TP11120

Other Staff

Course Delivery

Delivery Type	Delivery length / details
Workshop	10 x 1 Hour Workshops
Workshop	20 x 2 Hour Workshops

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment length / details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	1. Group Presentation (20 minutes) Working in small groups, (of approximately 5) students conceive and present a short scenographic exercise composed within parameters determined by the course tutors. Each Group Presentation should be accompanied by 1 x A4 sheet of bullet-points, identifying the aims underpinning the presentation.	50%
Semester Assessment	2. Research Portfolio (equivalent to 2,500 words). A collation of research documents pertaining to five contemporary scenographic practitioners. Each of the investigations should include 300 words of contextualisation and analysis plus references to wider critical opinion and relevant, supporting and annotated visual material. The portfolio is to be submitted within one A4 box file. The box itself should be treated as part of the submission.	50%
Supplementary Assessment	1. Essay + supporting visual material (equivalent to 2,500 words). An essay plus supporting visual material, presenting a hypothetical resolution of the initial group task. The submission should include an element of analysis outlining the aims, strategies and intended outcomes of the proposal and should reference the broader context of scenographic practice.	50%
Supplementary Assessment	2. Research Portfolio (equivalent to 2,500 words) A collation of research documents pertaining to five contemporary scenographic practitioners. Each of the investigations should include 300 words of contextualisation and analysis plus references to wider critical opinion and relevant, supporting and annotated visual material. The portfolio is to be submitted within one A4 box file. The box itself should be treated as part of the submission.	50%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Recognise a range of key scenographic concepts, methodologies and approaches.

2. Demonstrate awareness of these concepts, methodologies and approaches within a range of methods and modes of enquiry, including an individual process of research.

3. Demonstrate skills of personal organisation and management necessary for the effective conduct of individual and group tasks of enquiry.

4. Demonstrate a basic ability to present and communicate scenographic ideas.

5. Demonstrate a basic ability to engage in the critical analysis of practice.

Brief description

In this module students are invited, through practical explorations and workshops, to look afresh at the ways in which space, time, light, sound, object, costume, colour and form may be woven together to impact upon, and communicate with, the spectator. These explorations are also informed by independent tasks of preparation, and research into the work of exceptional practitioners within the broader field. The experiments, research and creative achievements of the module aim to open up the possibilities of Scenography (literally, ‘space drawing’) for students interested in ‘design’ as a vital element in the making of theatre, performance, or related artworks.

Aims

Specifically, the aims of this proposed module are:

To introduce a range of key scenographic concepts, practices and approaches.

To engage students within a range of methods and modes of enquiry, including practical explorations and an individual process of research.

To foster skills of personal organisation and management necessary for the effective conduct of individual and group tasks of enquiry.

To introduce key practical skills employed in the generation and communication of basic scenographic ideas.

To introduce notions of critical analysis of practice.

Content

20 x 2 hour workshops (2 per week)
6 x 1 hour viewings/research seminars

Week 1
Workshop 1: space 1
A consideration of space as phenomenon, space in everyday life, space remembered.
Workshop 2 : space 2
Space and dramaturgy: the energy of gaps
Viewing : Hotel Pro Forma

Week 2
Workshop 1: Light 1
Architectural Light: direction, intensity, colour, time.
Workshop 2: Light 2
Other sources, light objects, light and narrative.
Viewing: Imagine: Let There Be Light (BBC)

Week 3
Workshop 1: Objects 1
Dynamic objects: physics, chemistry and things falling over. The disposition of objects ‘to do’ (or not).
Workshop 2 : Objects 2
Small objects: resonances, associations and personal meanings.
Viewing: Chisto and Jeanne-Claude

Week 4
Workshop 1: Sound 1
Architectural Sound: direction, intensity, tone and time. Microphones and megaphones.

Workshop 2: Costume 1
Body mechanics, abstract figures, ambulant architecture.
Viewing: Absolute Wilson (part one)

Week 5
Workshop 1: Sound 2
Intimate sound, sound objects. Sound, serving and ceremony
Workshop 2: Costume 2
The figure at scale. Costume and space.
Viewing: Absolute Wilson (part two)

Week 6:
Workshop 1: Text
Delivering text non-verbally. Text as object.
Workshop 2: (Re)presenting ideas 1
Introducing strategies for exploring and communicating ideas through mixed media
Viewing: Quarantine

Week 7
Workshop 1: Site
Space as layered time, inspirations of place
Workshop 2: Projection
Projection, surfaces, media

Week 8

Workshop 1: Presentation Workshop 1
Practical exploration and testing of Group Presentation proposals
Workshop 2: (Re)presenting ideas 2
Strategies for exploring and communicating ideas through mixed media.

Week 9

Workshop 1: Pre Production Meeting
Preparation of Proposals
Workshop 2: Production Meeting
Presentation of proposals in technical terms. Preparation for production week.

Week 10
Workshop 1: Presentation fit-up 1
Getting-in, rigging and safe practice.
Workshop 2: Presentation fit-up 2
This will form the basis for preparation towards:
Group Presentations (assessment 1)

Module Skills

Skills Type	Skills details
Application of Number	Application of number may be necessary for the development of proposed ideas, but this element is not overtly addressed or assessed.
Communication	The individual student’s ability to articulate and communicate ideas and opinions is developed across the duration of the module. This area of development is encouraged and assessed within all aspects of the processes and presentations required, and the assessment forms recognise effective communication through written, verbal and visual media.
Improving own Learning and Performance	Self-regulation, motivation and time-management are demanded to maintain engagement with the development of the course and the completion of its assignments. Assessment criteria recognise effective personal management and performance.
Information Technology	Skills of information handling are not formally assessed, but are exercised through the conduct of research, presentation processes, and the collation of materials within research portfolios.
Personal Development and Career planning	The module encourages the initial development of skills directly applicable to careers within cultural (particularly theatre/performance) industries. Further transferable skills (project planning and execution, the development of personal creative initiatives) are also developed through the completion of assessment tasks, though careers need awareness does not of itself constitute an assessed element.
Problem solving	Creative 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 information literacy skills, are exercised and assessed through the development and presentation of the research portfolio.
Subject Specific Skills	The following subject specific skills are developed and directly or indirectly assessed: • describing, theorising, interpreting and evaluating performance texts and performance events from a range of critical perspectives; • reading the performance possibilities implied by a script, score and other textual or documentary sources; • engaging in performance and production, based on an acquisition and understanding of appropriate performance and production vocabularies, skills, structures and working methods; • developing skills of observation and visual, aural and spatial awareness; • engaging in research, whether independent, group or performance-based.
Team work	Group working is addressed and exercised throughout the module. Practical classes demand the application of skills necessary to conduct successful collaborative activity. Assessment criteria relate directly to the development and employment of collaborative skills.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4