Module Information

Module Identifier

TP10640

Module Title

PRODUCTION PROJECT

Academic Year

2010/2011

Co-ordinator

Mr Richard A D Cheshire

Semester

Semester 2

Co-Requisite

TP10220

Pre-Requisite

TP10120 and Relevant Workshop module

Other Staff

Course Delivery

Delivery Type	Delivery length / details
Other	16 x 3hr (2 x 3hr rehearsals/workshops a week for 8 weeks)
Other	2 x 6hr intensive workshop during the final two weeks of Semester

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment length / details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	Performance project (approx. 30-40 mins)	40%
Semester Assessment	Research portfolio (including written component of 3000 words)	40%
Semester Assessment	Group oral examination (individual mark)	20%
Supplementary Assessment	Essay (3000 words) on the work of key practitioners	40%
Supplementary Assessment	Essay reflecting on the rehearsal process (3000 words)	40%
Supplementary Assessment	Individual oral examination	20%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Develop and apply the basic skills necessary to work effectively within devising, rehearsal and production processes.
2. Work collaboratively as part of an ensemble, and to recognise the importance of team work in the pursuit of common goals within the workshop environment.
3. Recognise and articulate the relationship between an event and its specific space and site.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the different performance and scenographic elements in a live event.
5. Reflect, in an informed manner, upon the performance and workshop process from a range of critical and historical perspectives.

Aims

This module is designed to build and expand upon core theatre, performance and scenographic skills encountered during the first semester of part one. Through the creation and preparation of small group performances, the module asks students to contextualise and develop skills as part of a collaborative team, under the direction and/or facilitation of a member of staff. Accordingly, this module is intended to prepare students for practice-based and production-oriented modules in part two.

Content

Working in small groups in response to a communal theme under the guidance of a member of staff, students will develop and prepare a short performance (30-40 mins) for presentation to the year group at the end of the module. In this module, particular attention is paid to the exploration of space and site, with the aim of grounding students in their location and landscape. Accordingly, the devised events will be developed in response to the specific location of their presentation.

This module will draw on a foundation of core practical skills introduced during the first semester of part one, with an emphasis on the creative process leadibg from text or concept to live event. As such, that process involves (where appropriate) an engagement with the vocal and physical preparation necessary for live performance.

As an integral part of the module, students will be required to reflect upon their own experience and contributions to both the rehearsal/workshop/devising process, and the moment of live performance. This reflective process will also include an engagement with a range of critical perspectives, built around weekly directed reading. In doing so, students will be expected to begin to locate and contextualize their own work within past and contemporary practice.

Brief description

This module introduces students to the practical and creative process involved in preparing for and presenting a live event. In particular, this module asks students to examine how a performance work relates to both stage space, and the wider environment.

Module Skills

Skills Type	Skills details
Application of Number	Though students will be expected to develop an awareness of the monetary and resource implications of various staging concepts (and the significance of such concerns) this area is not directly assessed.
Communication	Each student's ability to articulate and communicate their ideas to one another and through theatrical performance is developed throughout this module. All forms of assessment include a consideration and evaluation of effective communication.
Improving own Learning and Performance	Students will be required to evaluate their own practical skills, historical knowledge and grasp of theoretical concerns throughout the module, tailoring preparation for rehearsals/workshops to reflect that awareness.
Information Technology	This is not directly taught on the module, however, it relates to work surrounding research skills, such as, collecting and collating information and contacting relevant people and resources.
Personal Development and Career planning	Students are required, through the group oral examination, to consider their own personal progress throughout the project and to begin to engage with potential future career intentions.
Problem solving	The identification of practical (and conceptual) problems in the staging of texts and concepts, alongside the assessment and pursuit of creative solutions is a key element of the rehearsal and production processes within the performance project.
Research skills	Alongside engagement with a directed list, students are encouraged to demonstrate independent research into past and contemporary practice and practitioners in the creation of their reflective portfolios.
Subject Specific Skills	Students will be required to build upon core theatre, performance and scenographic skills developed in the first semester of part one.
Team work	Students will be required to continually engage with their peers in preparation for and participation in the rehearsal and production processes, negotiating a range of opinions to creatively pursue common goals.

Reading List

Recommended Text
Alfreds, Mike (2008) Different Every Night Nick Hern Books Primo search Barba, Eugenio A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropolgy - The Secret Arts of the Performer Routledge/CPR Primo search Bartow, Arthur (ed) (2008) Handbook of Acting Techniques Nick Hern Books Primo search Berry, Cicely (2001) Text in Action 2nd ed Virgin Publishing Primo search Berry, Cicely (1993) Voice and the Actor 2nd ed Virgin Publishing Primo search Boal, A. (1992) Games for Actors and Non-Actors Routledge Primo search Carlson, M. (1989) Places of Performance: the Semiotics of Theatre Architecture Cornell University Press Primo search Case, S. (ed) (1990) Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre Johns Hopkins UP Primo search Counsell, C. (1996) Signs of Performance: An Introduction to Twentieth-Century Theatre Routledge Primo search Etchells, T. (1999) Certain Fragments: Contemporary Performance and Forced Entertainment Routledge Primo search Garner, S. (1994) Bodied Spaces: Phenomenology and Performance in Contemporary Drama Cornell University Press Primo search Gomez-Pena, G. (2000) Dangerous Border Crossings: The Artist Talks Back Routledge Primo search Goulish, M. (2000) 39 Microlectures: In Proximity of Performance Routledge Primo search Jones, A. and A. Stephenson (eds.) (1999) Performing the Body/Performing the Text Routledge Primo search Kaye, N. (2000) Site Specifics: Performance, Place and Documentation Routledge Primo search Pearson, M. and M. Shanks (2001) Theatre/Archaeology Routledge Primo search Phelan, P. (1997) Mourning Sex: Performing Public Memories Routledge Primo search Phelan, P. and L. Hart (eds.) (1993) Acting Out: Feminist Performances Michigan University Press Primo search Read, A. (ed.) (2000) Architecturally Speaking: Practices of Art, Architecture and the Everyday Routledge Primo search Rodenburg, Patsy (1998) The Actor Speaks: The Voice and the Performer Methuen Primo search Schechner, R. (1973) Environmental Theatre New York: Hawthorn Primo search Schechner, Richard (2002) Performance Studies: An Introduction Routledge Primo search Stafford Clark, Max (1989) Letters to George Nick Hern Books Primo search Tufnell, M. and C. Crickmay (1990) Body Space Image Virago Primo search

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4