University of the West of England

MODULE SPECIFICATION

(Revised )

Code UARAEL-60-1 Title: Introduction to Drama Version: 1

Level: 1 UWE credit rating: 60 ECTS credit rating: 30

Module type: Standard

Owning Faculty: Faculty of Creative Arts Field: Drama Field Leader: S Fraser

Valid from: September 2008 Discontinued from:

Contributes towards: Awards up to BA (Hons)

Pre-requisites: None

Co-requisites: None

Excluded combinations: None

Learning outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students will be able to demonstrate:

• the ability to identify the relationship between the social and political content of the drama and the genre of drama employed by the playwright (assessed through all components and elements of assessment);

• an understanding of dramatic content and the practical concerns of contemporary theatre, including staging and performance style (assessed through all components and elements of assessment);

• an understanding of comedy and tragedy, and how these genres have been built upon or subverted throughout history (assessed through all components and elements of assessment).

• a critical awareness of the role of stage design practices within production processes (assessed through all components of assessment);

• the ability to apply design production techniques to a range of text and performance genres, in an imaginative manner, based upon both practical understanding and a coherent analysis of the source materials (assessed through all components of assessment);

• practical and applicable knowledge of health and safety issues relevant for users of performance spaces and equipment;

• sufficient technical and design skill to realise a production design in performance (assessed through all elements of Component A);

• an ability to demonstrate key transferable skills in academic research and writing (assessed through all components of assessment).

Syllabus outline:

The emphasis of this module will be on a comprehensive range of texts, practices, and approaches:

1. Dramatic Literature: students will be introduced to a wide range of theatrical texts and will be encouraged to make connections and draw distinctions between different historical periods, dramatic languages and genres, and the political place of the stage in society.

2. Design and Technical Theatre: students will be introduced to techniques of designing and realising visual and aural aspects of the theatre. They will be given instruction in lighting, sound, and set design and will develop a production portfolio of design ideas. They will also receive instruction in methods of realising these ideas in performance.

3. Rehearsing and Performing: students will explore the stylistic and interpretative challenges of dramatic texts through practical work. These experiments in genre and interpretation will interact with the production design experiments.

4. Analysing Performances: students will be introduced to the practice of analysing performance texts.

Teaching and learning methods:

This module will operate via a weekly one-hour lecture, one-hour seminar, and two-hour workshop.

Reading Strategy

All students will be encouraged to make full use of the print and electronic resources available to them through membership of the University. These include a range of electronic journals accessible via the Library Services web page, and a wide variety of resources available through web sites and information gateways; lists of recommended resources are provided in the Module Handbook and on UWE online. Students will also be presented with opportunities within the curriculum to develop the information retrieval and evaluation skills gained at Level One in order to identify such resources effectively. Any essential reading will be indicated clearly in the Module Handbook, along with the method of accessing it; e.g., students may be expected to purchase a set text, or be referred to texts that are available online. This information will also be available on Blackboard. If further reading is advisable, this will be indicated clearly.

Indicative Reading List:

The following list is offered to provide students and validation panels/accrediting bodies with an indication of the type and level of information students may be expected to consult. As such, its currency may wane during the life span of the module specification. However, as indicated above, current advice on readings will be available via other more frequently updated mechanisms.

Aston, Elaine, & George Savona.

Theatre as a Sign System: A Semiotics of Text and Performance (London: Routledge, 1991).

Baugh, Christopher.

Theatre, Performance and Technology: The Development of Scenography in the Twentieth Century (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2005).

Brandt, George W., ed.

Modern Theories of Drama: A Selection of Writings on Drama and Theatre, 1840-1990 (Oxford: OUP, 1998).

Carlson, Marvin.

Theories of the Theatre: A Historical and Critical Survey, from the Greeks to the Present (Ithaca. London: Cornell University Press, 1984).

Eyre, Richard & Nicholas Wright.

Changing Stages: A View of British Theatre in the Twentieth Century, (London: Bloomsbury, 2000).

Mayne, Andrew & John Shuttleworth

Considering Drama (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1986).

Palin, Gail.

Stage Management: The Essential Handbook (London: Nick Hern, 2003).

Reid, Francis.

The Stage Lighting Handbook 6th ed. (London: A&C Black, 2001).

Trussler, Simon.

Cambridge Illustrated History of British Theatre (Cambridge: CUP, 1994).

Worthen, W. B., ed.

The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama, Fourth Edition (Boston: Thomson, 2004).

Assessment

Weighting between components A and B (standard modules only) A: 50% B: 50%

ATTEMPT 1

First Assessment Opportunity

Component A

Description of each element Element weighting

1. Exam (1 hour) 10%

2. Exam (2 hours) 20%

3. Performance One 10%

4. Performance Two 10%

Component B

Description of each element Element weighting

1. Essay (2000 words) 15%

2. Essay (2000 words) 15%

3. Performance analysis 10%

4. Attendance (for the whole module) 10%

Second Assessment Opportunity (further attendance at taught classes is not required)

Weighting between components A and B (standard modules only) A: 50% B: 50%

Component A

Description of each element Element weighting

    1. Exam (1 hour) 10%

    2. Exam (2 hours) 20%

    3. Performance One 10%

    4. Performance Two 10%

Component B

Description of each element Element weighting

    1. Essay (2000 words) 20%

    2. Essay (2000 words) 20%

    3. Performance analysis 10%

SECOND (OR SUBSEQUENT) ATTEMPT Attendance at taught classes is required.

Specification confirmed by …………………………………………………Date ……………………………

(Associate Dean/Programme Director)

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