Module Identifier
PF10100
Module Title
INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE
Academic Year
2008/2009
Co-ordinator
Dr Heike Roms
Semester
Semester 1
Co-Requisite
PF10320 and PF10420; or SG10320 and SG10420; or DR10210 and DR10220
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Lecture Semester 1: 10 x 1 hour
Seminars / Tutorials Seminar 1: 10 x 1 hour
Lecture Semester 2: 10 x 1 hour
Seminars / Tutorials Semester 2: 5 x 1 hour
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Critical commentary (1,000 words)  20%
Semester Assessment Seminar contribution  20%
Semester Assessment Portfolio (total 3,000 words)  Comprising of 1. Research project (1,500 words) and 2. Critical evaluation (1,500 words)  60%

Learning Outcomes

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

  1. describe, interpret and evaluate a diverse range of contemporary performance texts, practices and forms
  2. demonstrate an appropriate ability to analyse the structure and staging of performance as a live event within a variety of stylistic conventions and genres
  3. demonstrate an appropriate understanding of key theoretical frameworks and methodologies relevant to the analysis of contemporary performance practices
  4. employ appropriate personal research strategies in the examination of contemporary performance practice and to realise this through academic presentation

Brief description

This module offers a comprehensive introduction to the major artists and the main artistic and analytical concerns in contemporary performance. Through key readings and extensive video viewings the module explores how new forms of performance have questioned conventional theatrical treatments of narrative, character, the body, space and time in order to foreground the physical/ visual aspects of performance and the live interaction with an audience. The emergence of new sites for performance, the development of increasingly interdisciplinary performance practices and the influence of popular culture and new media technologies on contemporary forms will also be discussed. Students will gain a sense of the variety of the work produced in this area and a critical vocabulary with which to address this work in order to apply these skills toward an analysis of live performance.

Content

The module offers a series of lectures on major forms, genres, histories and theories of performance practice in the late 20th and 21st century, incorporating a series of extensive video viewings of key performances. The lectures will be accompanied by tutor-led seminars, which will help to deepen student's engagement with the critical vocabulary introduced in the lectures, and provide students with ways of applying this vocabulary to an analysis of live performance.

Lectures will cover, among other aspects:

1. Definitions of 'performance' and its relationship to theatre and drama
2. An introduction to performance analysis
3. 'Postdramatic' performance since the 1960s
4. Character: From acting to performance
5. Body: The development of physical theatre
6. Audiences: Voluntary or involuntary
7. Space: stage versus 'site'
8. Time: Performance as a 'real-time' event
9. Media: Performance, liveness and multimedia
10. Text: New forms of writing for performance

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Communication The ability to communicate ideas effectively is developed in the seminars and assessed directly through Assessment 1 and 2.
Improving own Learning and Performance Self-regulation, motivation and time-management skills are developed through the module and are demanded for the successful completion of its assignments. These skills are directly assessed through Assessment 3.
Information Technology Effective group work through negotiating ideas and opinions is addressed through the seminars. Seminar discussions demand the application of skills necessary to conduct collaborative activity. These skills are directly assessed through Assessment 3.
Personal Development and Career planning Transferable skills (managing personal workloads and meeting deadlines, designing and realizing research project) are developed through the completion of assessment tasks. Career¿s awareness does not of itself constitute an assessed element of this module, however.
Problem solving Analytical problem solving, outcome recognition and the identification of appropriate strategies and procedures are encouraged and assessed across the duration of the module
Research skills Appropriate personal research and the development of effective personal research practices are directly assessed through Assessments 1 and 2.
Team work Effective group work through negotiating ideas and opinions is addressed through the seminars. Seminar discussions demand the application of skills necessary to conduct collaborative activity. These skills are directly assessed through Assessment 3.

Reading List

Recommended Text
Barba, Eugenio and Savarese, Nicola (1997) From acting to performance - Essays in Modernism and Pstmodernism London/New York: Routledge Primo search Carlson, Marvin (2003) Performance: A Critical Introduction Routledge Primo search Childs, Nicky and Jeni Walwin (eds) (1998) A split second of paradise: live art, installation and performance London;New York: Rivers Oram Press Primo search Counsell, Colin (1996) Signs of performance: an introduction to twentieth-century theatre Routledge Primo search Counsell, Colin (ed.) (2001) Performance analysis: an introductory coursebook Routledge Primo search Drain, Richard (1995) Twentieth-century theatre: a sourcebook Routledge Primo search Fischer-Lichte, Erika (1997) The show and the gaze of theatre: a European perspective University of Iowa Press Primo search Huxley, Michael & Witts, Noel (eds) (1996) The Twentieth Century Performance Reader Routledge Primo search Kaye, Nick (2000) Site-specific art: performance, place and documentation Routledge Primo search Pavis, Patrice (2003) Analyzing performance: Theatre, Dance and Film University of Michigan Press Primo search Schechner, Richard (2002) Performance Studies - An Introduction Routledge Primo search
Auslander, Philip (1997.) From acting to performance :essays in modernism and postmodernism /Philip Auslander. Primo search

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4