Module Information

Students progressing to this module will be allocated to a Departmental production of a dramatic text which is significantly different in genre and style from that previously experienced during their pre-requisite module. They will therefore encounter a rehearsal methodolgy which is specifically designed to challenge, develop and extend their existing skills and approaches to the rehearsal and performance process.

As with DR33830, students will again be allocated to roles integral to the performance and/or production team. The play will be directed by an experienced staff director or a guest theatre practitioner. He/she will construct the rehearsal and performance processes to give students opportunities to investigate, reflect upon and evaluate critically their experiences of working on the project.

Students admitted to this module will be given increased responsibility to devise their own strategies and methods for investigating and exploring the performance possibilities implied by the text. They will also be expected to work responsibly, constructively, creatively and safely with fellow students on solving problems as they arise and on specific challenges set.

Students will also be required to reflect critically upon their experiences, evaluate the effectiveness of the group's and directors' ideology and method, identify and analyse the complex interrelatedness of theory and practice from a range of critical perspectives. They will also be expected to develop a sensitive understanding and analysis of appropriate performance vocabularies, techniques, crafts, structures and working methods.

Students will be allocated as actors, members of the stage management or production team and/or assistants to the staff director (or any combination of the above) and work intensively on the project for seven weeks. The production will be led by an experienced practitioner. Where possible, this practitioner should be different from the previous director encountered during the pre-requisite module.

Students will be required to perceive and identify the performance and production possibilities implied by the text, and, as appropriate, realise these sources through directing, design, stage-management and performance.

As well as scheduling and leading the rehearsal and production processes, the director will be required to allocate appropriate workshop/rehearsal time for students to plan and organise their own rehearsals. Students will therefore be expected to create, lead and participate in peer-led rehearsals and form their own strategies for investigating, experimenting and working on the text within the guidelines set. Students will consequently have increased responsibility to manage their personal workloads, meet deadlines and negotiate and pursue goals with others.

During the rehearsal process, all students will be required to complete a research-inpractice presentation which is formally assessed.

The project will be performed at Aberystwyth Arts Centre, one of the Departmental performance venues or an appropriate site-specific location. There will be a total of five public performances which will give an opportunity for parents, friends and members of the public to view the practical work of the Department.

During the rehearsal and production processes, students are advised to keep a working notebook documenting significant developments and challenges they have encountered. The notebook is not formally assessed. At the end of the project, students will participate in an oral examination during which they will analyse and appraise their experiences of the module and reassess their previous achievements in the light of this.

Students should note that the assessment weightings for this module differ from those of their pre-requisite module: an increased percentage of marks is awarded for the oral examination.

During the oral examination students may refer to their working notebooks if they wish.

Further Details

Induction: All students following this module will be required to attend and Induction Session on Monday 22nd September 2008. Details of the venue will be e-mailed.

Rehearsal Schedule: It is the responsibility of the director of each project to circulate the schedule of work for the rehearsal and performance processes during the first week of the project.

Rehearsals and workshops will normally be arranged within the following times:
Tuesday 9.00a.m. - 6.00p.m.
Wednesday 9.00a.m. - 10.00p.m.
Thursday 9.00a.m. - 6.00p.m.
Friday 9.00a.m. - 10.00p.m.
Saturday 9.00a.m. - 6.00p.m.

Normally, the only exceptions to this schedule are made during Production week when it may be necessary to make additional calls outside these working hours to complete the technical and production schedule for each project.

All students should notify their director and Deputy Stage Manager of any lectures, seminars, workshops or meetings timetabled for any other modules being taken during the rehearsal and production processes for the project. Students should ensure that they attend these classes and should not be pressurised by any individual to miss them. The only exception to this is during production week when we respectfully request that students ask permission from the relevant teaching staff to be excused for Departmental technical and dress rehearsals. It is students' responsibility to ensure that they manage their time effectively and meet the deadlunes set for their chosen modules during the rehearsal processes.

Good Practice

Involvement in Departmental practical work requires each student to learn and to apply consistently appropriate professional standards of personal conduct and self-discipline, and to work as part of a creative team As with all modules in TFTS, regular attendance and punctuality is important. The student who is frequently late or missing fails to make the most of his/her opportunity and wastes a place which might more profitably have been allocated to another student. He/she also sustantially undermines the work of fellow students by demondtrating a lack of commitment, thereby disrupting the creative eneregy of the group, and becoming the kind of person with whom, eventually, no-one else wishes to work. Students are requested not to be late, or miss rehearsals, workshops or meetings without good cause. Students whose punctuality and attendance give cause for concern will be referred to Student Support and may be asked to withdraw from the allocation.

Criteria for Assessment

In awarding the final mark for the module, the rehearsal and performance processes for each project will be given proportional weighting as indicated above. When assessing each individual student, the examiners will take into account variables such as the nature and difficulty of the task undertaken. Not all of the criteria below will be applicable or relevant to all allocations or projects.

1. The rehearsal process: development and progress throughout the period of preparation and rehearsal 35%

When assessing the above, the examiners will refer to the following criteria (where criteria) and expect to see evidence of:

• Imaginative and practical responsiveness to alternative directorial concepts, working methods and frameworks for investigation.
• Reading, investigating and engaging with the performance possibilities implied by the text.
• Engagement with independent, group and/or performance based research.
• Application and development of acting, directing and/or stage-management skills.
• Willingness and ability to take risks, to experiment with new techniques and approaches and work safely and responsibly within the rehearsal and production processes.
• Willingness to work collaboratively and co-operatively as part of a team towards the collective presentation of the project.
• To take initiative and to demonstrate qualities of leadership when appropriate.
• Make appropriate artistic choices and directorial decisions within the conceptual framework and guidelines of the project.
• Advanced competence in the use of various technical apparatus necessary to realise the demands of the production during the rehearsal and performance process.
• The ability to manage personal workloads efficiently and effectively to meet deadlines.

2. The active manifestation and development of rehearsal work in public performance: 35%

When assessing the above, the examiners will refer to the following criteria (where appropriate) and expect to see evidence of:-

• Ability to apply and sustain an active and consistent understanding of the role/s within the guidelines of the project, given circumstances of the text and production schedule.
• Ability to integrate and apply the creative discoveries made during the rehearsal period to live performance.
Application of appropriate physical and voice skills to communicate effectively with an audience.
• A developing awareness of the audience or client group for performance and ability to respond and adapt to it through flexible means.
• Ability to give, receive and apply constructive criticism and feedback.
• Developing consciousness and responsiveness to the challenges of consecutive performances.
• Effective handling of stage space, technical equipment, set, costumes, and props.
• The ability to work creatively, efficiently and effectively within the production and performance schedules and the context of the role/s allocated.
• Ability to manage personal workloads efficiently and effectively.

3. Group Oral: 30%

The oral examination for this module will take place in a two and a half hour session which will be scheduled as soon as possible after the completion of the project. In this presentation the group will be expected to reflect critically upon and appraise the rehearsal and performance processes from a range of critical perspectives.

This presentation must involve contributions (of approximately 5 minutes) from all students allocated to the module and should be organised by the group independently. Students are advised to refer to the learning outcomes of the module when structuring their presebtation and may refer to their working notebooks where appropriate. The working notebooks are not formally assessed.

In accordance with the generic modes of assessment at level 3 this reflective analysis:

Will be presented by means of a sustained and consistent argument, incoprporating discussion of the individual's experience of specifuc performance environments, and demonstrating a critical awareness of the chosen/assigned roles within a production, setting this knowledgeably within historical trends and relevant theoretical discussions.

When assessing the above, examiners will refer to the following criteria (where appropriate) and expect to see evidence of:-

• An objective self-assessment of the role/s undertaken.
• The ability to reflect upon and analyse the effectiveness of the group's and directors' ideology, process and method.
• The ability to engage critically with the production/performance processes through a developed and sensitive understanding and analysis of appropriate performance vocabularies, working methods and relevant contexts.
• The ability to identify and analyse the complex interrelatedness of theory and practice from a range of critical perspectives.