BA (Hons) Drama, Theatre and Directing

Critical and Cultural Theory 1: Theory-Lite

The aim of this module is to introduce students to a variety of theoretical, cultural and critical ideas used in the practice and evaluation of the arts. It aims to explore ways of describing, analysing and interpreting theoretical concepts that are vital to an understanding of the arts.

Vocabularies and models such as intersectionality that describe the cultures in which the arts are seen and made are drawn upon and developed in order to explore the methods by which meanings are created and understood in the arts.

Critical and Cultural Theory 2: Modernism

This module interrogates the changing theoretical models and perspectives of the period that is often categorised as ‘modernist’. You will explore, examine and debate the historical, social, cultural and theoretical influence of modernism, its challenge to traditional structures, forms and styles, and investigate the impact this has upon contemporary arts practice.

Introduction to Directing

This module introduces you to a number of examples of innovative contemporary theatre directors and practitioners in the UK and abroad. It will introduce a wide range of practices for working with actors and performers, offering theoretical and practical classes to inform the understanding of key directorial concepts. You will pitch your own ideas for a possible theatre production; communicating creative ideas, justifying a critical context for the work and visually illustrating the potential aesthetic possibilities for the work.

Practical Dramaturgy – Modernism to Now

This module examines various approaches to the discipline of dramaturgy.

A number of post-19th-century texts are examined from the canon of theatrical practice. Texts are explored with reference to their particular cultural, social and historical context, as you explore the reciprocal relationship of texts informing culture – and culture-informing texts.

You will identify tropes and conventions of different theatrical movements through time and explore them theoretically and practically. You will then direct your own chosen extract from a play addressed during the module.

The extract will demonstrate your understanding of the text through critical research and practical engagement – whilst also realising the theatrical potential of the material.

Theatre Project 2: Physical and Visual Performance

This module introduces you to different modes of connecting conceptual ideas of the body with practical modes of creating visual and physical performance work. You will engage in analysis and practical exploration of the compositional challenges to dramatic conventions within existing performance works and professional theatre practices that are oriented in body-based aesthetics.

Theatre Project 3: Text and Deconstruction

This module introduces you to practices and approaches to making text-based devised theatre. The module also serves as an introduction to theories and practices of ‘deconstruction’: to identify and investigate deconstructive processes used by contemporary theatre practitioners, companies and thinkers, and apply that learning to a project of your own.

Theatre Project: Narrative

This module explores a variety of stimuli for performance-based devised theatre products, with a particular emphasis on narrative. It aims to investigate different approaches to devised story-telling theatre and identify specific crafting devices and methodologies to develop work.

Theatre Project: Site Specific

This module encourages you to consider the possible relationships of performance to everyday experience, society and political/historical contexts.

Through the analysis of a range of site-specific practices, you will explore geographic, architectural and philosophical approaches to the creation of site-specific theatre.

You will question the various definitions of ‘site-specific’ practice, developing your critical awareness and understanding of how performance interrogates ideas of place and space.

Children and Young People’s Theatre

This module introduces you to a number of examples of innovative contemporary theatre work for children and young audiences in the UK.

You will produce your own short (20 to 30 minute) work for children, ensuring that a dialogic relationship with students inform your research agendas and devising methodologies. Your compositions and professional work are analysed and evaluated with specific reference to appropriate devising methodologies and theatrical concerns.

Critical and Cultural Theory 3: Romanticism

This module explores the importance of revolution, the sublime, the gothic, landscape and imagination as motive forces in the making of art and culture.

By examining the notion that Classicism and Romanticism are opposites, as the reaction of many 19th century artists to 18th century Enlightenment would appear to demonstrate, the module aims to investigate notions such as wilderness, fantasy, heroism and nationalism, and to initiate a discourse between the art of the present day and that of 19th century romanticism.

Critical and Cultural Theory 4: Postmodernism

This module relates theories of postmodernism to contemporary arts practice.

It begins by considering postmodernism’s relationships to both romanticism and modernism, exploring ‘definitions’ of postmodernism and illustrating postmodern features in a range of arts practices. A selection of postmodern term and practices such as pastiche, hyperreality, event, a crisis in subjectivity, intertextuality, the merging of ‘high’ and ‘low’ art, deconstruction and recognition of the ‘other’ are explored in more detail in relation to specific arts practices and texts.

The module also allows you to debate the cultural, social and philosophical implications and validity of postmodernism for arts practice today.

Directing and Devising in the Contemporary Ensemble

This module equips you with knowledge of the working practices of notable companies across the last 60 years. You will appropriate and develop existing working methodologies to begin to refine your own performance practices.

Indicative performance companies explored as part of the module include:

• Stan’s Cafe
• Forced Entertainment
• Fevered Sleep
• Gobsquad
• Goat Island
• the Performance Group
• the Wooster Group
• GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN
• Elevator Repair Service
• the Builders Association
• Action Hero
• Ontroerend Goed.

At the close of the module, you will compose your own piece of original theatre in response to a performance company studied during the course.

Gender, Sexuality and Theatre

This module will develop your critical understanding and creative engagement with how notions of gender and sexuality inform approaches to the creation and analysis of theatre and performance. It aims to examine a variety of artistic approaches to the politicisation of gender and sexuality in contemporary performance.

Rooted in a critical understanding of feminist discourse and gender studies, the module introduces you to the work of key artists and performance theorists, providing appropriate case-studies to frame the creation of the student’s own performance work.

Performance Skills 3: Devised Text and Character

This module develops your devising, dramaturgical, directing and writing skills as they collaborate to produce and perform a staged dramatic scene.

Production 1: Ensemble Practices

This module provides you with extensive performance and production experience, as you explore the devising process rooted in character narrative, specifically in relation to dance theatre. You will be given insight into the way that characters can define (and hinder) a clear making process and, in the process, will consider structural processes, such as narrative as a key determinate to the progression of the piece.

Production 2: Postmodern Theatre Project

This module is designed to give you additional extensive performance and production experience as an integral development towards individual and independent arts practice.

Theatre, Politics and Activism

This module aims to explore the relationships between theatre and politics, alongside the idea of theatre as politics post-Brecht. You will be introduced to a number of artists and theorists exploring political ways of thinking about theatre and political approaches to theatrical engagement.

Adaptation and Direction

This module explores the process of the adaptation of materials from a source text to theatre performance.

The development of both a conceptually informed directing process is set alongside the employment of a breadth of devising skills. The research involved in and informing the adaptation and direction will be used to support the process alongside extension and application of prior learning.

The project engages devising/performance experiences and handling of performance texts with rehearsal organisation and workshop delivery.

Applied Arts

This module gives you the opportunity to plan and deliver a devised community production or arts-based workshop for/with a community client group.

Company Management

This module introduces you to a professional practice environment – the creative and cultural industries. You will discover how to take work into public and professional venues, platforms, festivals and events; regionally, nationally and internationally, post-graduation. This module provides the opportunity for you to develop “professional” knowledge and skills as creative artists, and create a portfolio and career plan to aid your pathway as a creative artist.

Directing A Script

This module allows you to explore directing short plays with a small cast. You will conduct extensive research into the text itself and previous adaptations to inform your directorial visual and delivery of the final performance.

Documenting Performance

This module develops your practical skills and critical understanding of documenting performance. Initially, you will analyse and discuss the problems and possibilities of documentation practices from a wide variety of Performance disciplines.

Performance and Material

This module explores the crossovers and intersections between visual art and contemporary performance, as you explore the performativity of different materials and the connection of materiality to the performance encounter. As part of this process, you will create an original piece of performance drawing on current practical models and theoretical frameworks on materiality, live art and participation.

Performance Writing

This module enables you to produce an original performance text through the acquisition of playwriting and dramaturgical skills by means of a systematic exploration of traditional plays and post-dramatic theatre texts.

Personal Study

You will have an opportunity to select an area of study of your choice over an extended period, to research and present your findings in written form.

Production 3

The module offers you the opportunity to work in an ensemble, as you develop your creative and performance vocabulary in a major performance of an original theatrical event.

Work Placement

This double module provides invaluable experience working as a performance analyst within a sporting organisation. It will enable you to foster an acute understanding of how performance analysis is used within sport, offer insight into organisational culture, develop essential professional knowledge and skills, facilitate reflective practice, and develop a network of professional contacts.

Workshop Project: Practice As Research

This module develops your devising, research, theoretical and interactive skills as you design, initiate and facilitate a series of creative workshops exploring key performance practices in an academic context.