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Thinking Through Theatre-Making - TFT00060M

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  • Department: Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. Karen Quigley
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2023-24

Module summary

This module will explore a range of analytical and practical skills that will be useful to you in your study of theatre and performance. We will work in the studio and in the seminar room in order to develop your understanding of what research is and does, and how it can be conceived of practically as well as theoretically. We will analyse live theatre productions and dramatic text, alongside contextual historical and theoretical material. Using discussion, practical experimentation, spectatorship, analysis and independent work as methodologies for learning, this module will bring the diverse cohort quickly to a shared understanding and shared vocabulary so that you can begin more advanced work together later in the programme.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 1 2023-24

Module aims

The module aims:

  • to introduce you to fundamental analytical and practical skills
  • to develop the collaborative, mutually supportive, proactive, qualities indispensable to all successful theatrical practice
  • to explore key theorists/practitioners, their practice and philosophies, to develop your practice-as/by/based-research
  • to research and practically experiment with different ways of making
  • to develop advanced skills in textual interpretation, both analytically and practically
  • to develop your ability to analyse live theatre performance and playtexts with an alert sense of the distinctive tasks scripts from different periods are designed to perform, as well as the implications of these differences for our analysis of the scripts

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module you will:

  • have acquired some of the skills of theatre making: the ability work collaboratively, in a generous, inventive, and proactive manner
  • have gained a new understanding of the work of key theorists/practitioners and be able to use this work to inform your own rehearsal room work
  • have experimented with analysing the impact of different material and cultural circumstances upon the scripts produced within and for them, and to use this knowledge to inform your own practice
  • have gained experience of the ways in which core training and rehearsal/production practice can be enhanced by intelligent absorption and application of training methods and rehearsal techniques
  • have developed your ability to critically analyse your own work and the work of others, such as via live performances and through the analysis of scripts

Module content

The module will be split into two halves; the first half (weeks 1-5, inclusive) will bring together cohorts from MA Playwriting and MA Theatre-Making exploring collaborative, analytical and workshop skills across a range of theatre-making and playwriting concerns. In the second half of the module (weeks 6 -11, inclusive) we will focus on studio-based experimentation and analysis in relation to a range of theatre making practices.

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Individual reflective essay		 N/A 50
Practical
Group performance task		 N/A 50

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

Formative written and practical work will be embedded in the teaching, and students will receive formative feedback throughout their work on the module.

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Individual reflective essay		 N/A 50
Practical
Group performance task		 N/A 50

Module feedback

You will receive written feedback in line with standard University turnaround times,with an option of an individual follow-up meeting if any aspect of the feedback is unclear or if more guidance on interpreting the feedback is requested. For this module formative feedback will be given on practical work in class.

Indicative reading

Radosavljevic, D. Theatre-Making: Interplay Between Text and Performance in the 21st Century.

Etchells, T. (1999). Certain Fragments. London: Routledge.

Freeman, J. (2010). Blood, Sweat and Theory: Research Through Practice in Performance. Oxfordshire:

Libri Kershaw, Baz and Nicholson, Helen (eds) (2010) Research Methods in Theatre and Performance, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Turner,

Cathy and Behrndt, Synne (2008) Dramaturgy and Performance, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.