| Unit name | Producing the Performance |
|---|---|
| Unit code | THTR10007 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Mr. Rod Terry |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
Introduction to Performance Practices
|
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Theatre |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit builds on the skills introduced on Introduction to Performance Practices, enabling students to apply their design knowledge and technical skills to making a theatre production. Through close supervision, Producing the Performance will enable students to take the play studied in Staging the Text through to performance. Students will develop their expertise by specialising in a production area, choosing a particular role in the process, for instance - costume, lighting, sound or stage design, stage management or marketing. The unit will explore examples of plays in production, exemplary designers and practitioners, and will develop students’ abilities to reflect critically and pragmatically on their creative practices.
On successful completion of this unit, students will have
(1) produced a performance that effectively applies the creative and technical processes involved in making live theatre;
(2) developed their ability to collaborate as part of a production team, to contribute productively to group decision-making, listen to others’ proposals and effectively put design ideas into practice;
(3) a close understanding of a production role, having developed their technical and design skills through a practical theatre project;
(4) developed their ability to reflect critically on their staging and production processes, and to contextualize and evaluate their design decisions.
Students will take part in production workshops, which will initially be taught, but will become more self-directed and responsive as students progress through the unit. The unit ends with production period, in conjunction with Staging the Text, which concludes with a performance, where possible, of the play studied. If a live physical performance is not possible, digital and other alternatives will be used to assess student practical work. Production tutors will deliver skills tailored to the needs of each group's interpretation, their chosen approach and aesthetic. Later in the unit they will offer tutorial support and critical feedback to those working in their production area.
Practical production work (50%) ILO 1-3
Reflexive journal, kept over the duration of the unit (50%) ILO 4
Producing the Performance is assessed summatively, through the production work students achieve, and their critical reflection on this work. Both assessments are for an individual mark.
Aronson, Arnold (2005). Looking Into the Abyss: Essays on Scenography, University of Michigan Press.
Cody, Gabrielle H. and Schneider, Rebecca (2002) Re:direction: A Theoretical and Practical Guide, London: Routledge.
Cole, Susan Letzler (1992) Directors in Rehearsal: a Hidden World, New York: Routledge.
Collins, J. & Nisbet, A. (2010) Theatre and Performance Design: a reader in scenography, Routledge.
Hannah, Dorita and Harsløf, Olav, eds. (2008) Performance Design, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press.
Oddey, A. and White, C. eds. (2006) The Potentials of Spaces: The Theory and Practice of Scenography and Performance. Bristol: Intellect.
