Studying at York
Thinking Through Playwriting - TFT00066M
Module summary
This module will explore a range of analytical and practical skills that will be useful to you in your study of playwriting, and will extend and deepen the knowledge you already have. We will analyse live theatre productions and dramatic texts, alongside contextual historical and theoretical material. Using discussion, writing, spectatorship, analysis collaboration and independent work as methodologies for learning, this module will lay the foundations for the rest of your MA studies, and will equip you for the exciting challenges ahead. This module is designed to lay the theoretical and practical foundations for your studies.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2023-24 |
Module aims
The aims of the module are:
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to introduce you to the fundamental elements of the playwriting craft, character, dialogue, plot and structure
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to give you a wide range of writers’ work to draw on
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to develop your ability to reflect and analyse your own process in relation to other practitioner’s work
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To establish your role in the wider processes of theatre-making
Module learning outcomes
By the end of the module you will be expected:
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to understand the key aspects of the playwright’s craft (e.g. character, plot, dialogue, structure) and how to address them in your writing
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to have developed your workshop and collaboration skills
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to have established a supportive, safe, critically reflective community of writers and theatre-makers
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to have engaged with playwriting manuals, other writers’ creative works as well as traditional academic sources to enhance your own writing
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to have reflected upon, and written about, aspects of your own writing process
Module content
Weeks 1-6 with MA Theatre-making students. Weeks 7 - 11 the cohorts split into respective programmes.
Assessment
| Task | Length | % of module mark |
|---|---|---|
| Essay/coursework Portfolio of example scripts |
N/A | 70 |
| Essay/coursework Reflective analysis essay |
N/A | 30 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
Formative: Script (2000 words) and in seminar feedback.
Reassessment
| Task | Length | % of module mark |
|---|---|---|
| Essay/coursework Portfolio of example scripts |
N/A | 70 |
| Essay/coursework Reflective analysis essay |
N/A | 30 |
Module feedback
You will receive written feedback in line with standard University turnaround times.
Indicative reading
Adiseshiah, S. and Lepage, L. (eds.) (2016). Twenty-First Century Drama: What Happens Now. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bentley, G. (1972). The Profession of Dramatist in Shakespeare's Time, 1590-1642. Princeton: princeton University Press.
Castagno, P. (2011). New Playwriting Strategies. Abingdon: Routledge.
Catron, L. (2018). The Elements of Playwriting. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press.
Edgar, D. (2009). How Plays Work. London: Nick Hern.
Egri, L. (2003). The Art of Dramatic Writing. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Kiely, D. (2016). How to Read a Play. Abingdon: Routledge.
Smiley, S. (2005). Playwriting: The Structure of Action. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Stephens, J. (1992). The Profession of the Playwright: British Theatre, 1800–1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Taylor, V. (2002). Stage Writing: A Practical Guide. Marlborough: Crowood Press.
Tichler, R. and Kaplan, B. (2012). The Playwright at Work. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
Waters, S. (2010). The Secret Life of Plays. London: Nick Hern.
Wright, M. (2010). Playwriting in Process: Thinking and Working Theatrically. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing.
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