TH113-30 Contemporary Performance Practices
Introductory description
Through tutor-led practical workshops, seminar discussions, and presentations, this first-year core module will introduce you to a range of contemporary performance practices including physical theatre, autobiographical work, clowning, performance poetry, stand-up comedy, drag, site-specific or site-oriented performance, and multi-media performance. You will explore these artistic practices through your own creative work, through watching videos and examining web-based and written documentation of theatre and performance, and, where possible, through theatre visits and artist-led workshops. During the year, you will experiment with various approaches to creating devised performance, and you will improve your own critical and creative responses to work seen and discussed. The module will form your first stepping stone towards developing your own artistic practice. It will introduce you to a diverse range of artists and approaches to making performance in order to open up plural ways of both thinking about and ways of making contemporary performance. In this sense, this module marks the beginning of your development as performance makers.
Module aims
This module will introduce students to a range of contemporary performances practices and practitioners. It will equip students will some core skills in order to lay the foundations for creating their own arts practice in the 2nd and 3rd year/beyond. It will also support students to understand workshop design and delivery. Finally, the module aims to encourage students to have an outward-facing sense of making performance for production via the website creation component of the final assessment.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Autumn
Wk 1 Intro to Performance Making
Wk 2-10 Attending professional performances at Arts Centre, workshops with artists, online virtual seminar in response to each performance
Wk 4 Embodied discussion about first two shows
Wk 7 Embodied Discussion about three shows
Spring
Wk 1-3 Liveness
Wk 4-5 Planning a workshop
Wk 6 Reading Week
Wk 7-10 Self and Representation
Summer
Wk 2 Site-specific performance: teaching intensive (3 day)
Wk 3-5 Rehearsals
Wk 6 Performances
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- To have attained competencies in core areas of performance making
- To have acquired a knowledge of a range of leading contemporary practitioners and their approaches to making art
- To be able to collaborate effectively
- To be able to present creative work to a high standard
- To be able to offer constructive feedback to peers
- To have a confident engagement with politics and performance
- To create a dynamic, creative web interface for their artistic work
Indicative reading list
Jen Harvie and Andy Lavender, Making Contemporary Theatre (Manchester University Press, 2010)
Dee Heddon and Jane Milling, Devising Performance (London: Palgrave, 2005)
Emma Govan, Helen Nicholson, Katie Normington, Making Performance (London: Routledge, 2007)
Alison Oddey, Devising Theatre (London: Routledge, 1994)
Tim Etchells, Certain Fragments (London: Routledge, 1999)
Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett, The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising (London: Routledge, 2009)
James Yarker and Mark Crossley, Devising Theatre with Stan’s Café (London: Bloomsbury, 2017)
Cathy Turner and Stephen Hodge, A Misguide to Anywhere – www.misguide.com
Alex Mermikides and Jackie Smart, Devising in Process (London: Palgrave, 2010)
Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva, Collective Creation in Contemporary Performance (London: Palgrave, 2013)
Katie Mitchell, The Director’s Craft (London: Routledge, 2008)
Paul B Crook, The Art and Practice of Directing for Theatre (London: Routledge, 2017)
Research element
Research needed to develop a devised performance
Subject specific skills
By the end of the module students will…
- have acquired competencies in core areas of performance making
- have acquired a knowledge of a range of leading contemporary
practitioners and their approaches to making art - be able to collaborate effectively
- be able to present creative work to a high standard
- be able to offer constructive feedback to peers
- have a confident engagement with politics and performance
- have created a dynamic, creative web interface for their work
- have created an original piece of live performance
Transferable skills
- effective collaboration skills
- development of website
- research skills
- communication skills
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 18 sessions of 1 hour (7%) |
| Tutorials | 2 sessions of 2 hours (2%) |
| Project supervision | 4 sessions of 1 hour (2%) |
| Practical classes | 18 sessions of 3 hours (21%) |
| Supervised practical classes | 18 sessions of 4 hours (29%) |
| Private study | 100 hours (40%) |
| Total | 252 hours |
Private study description
Reading of plays and background material
Devising and rehearsing performances
Preparing summative assessments
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | 30% | 8 hours | Yes (extension) |
|
For the portfolio you need to research a company or artist not studied in the module and develop an introductory workshop for undergraduate students based on their practices. The Portfolio has two parts: (1) an introduction to the company and their work, aesthetics, politics, and history (1000 words) and (2) a detailed workshop plan (1500 words plus images and illustrations) for one three-hour practical session inspired by the artist’s work. The workshop should aim to equip participants with one key competency in performance making. The portfolio can contain up to 10 images and/or illustrations. These will not count towards the overall word count. The submission must be a digital portfolio (submitted via Tabula). |
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| Live performance | 70% | 40 hours | No |
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Feedback on assessment
Students will receive written feedback on all assessments. Students will also be offered one-to-one or small group tutorials on their assessment (as fits the task ¿ individual or group). Students will also be able to discuss their feedback with their personal tutors. \r\n\r\n
Courses
This module is Core for:
- Year 1 of UTHA-W421 Undergraduate Theatre and Performance Studies
- Year 1 of UTHA-W422 Undergraduate Theatre and Performance Studies (with Intercalated Year)
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 1 of UTHA-QW34 Undergraduate English and Theatre Studies
This module is Optional for:
- Year 1 of UTHA-QW34 Undergraduate English and Theatre Studies