Module Information

Students opting for this module will have already encountered various principles behind the devising process in the introductory Level 2 modules which are essential pre-requisite/s for this module.

In this module students will work in small groups on a devising a piece of theatre for a targeted group. This may be a theatre-in-education project for primary or secondary school children; a community theatre project created for a specific audience prisons, young offenders, the elderly, the unemployed etc; or a specially devised theatre text based upon a specific theme, image or concept. Central to the success of this module is the ability for students to work as members of a team under the guidance of staff or guest director/facilitator or leader. During rehearsals and workshops, the project leader will facilitate the development of a concept, strategy and methodology of work appropriate to devising theatre texts for performance. They will also be responsible for setting research projects and establishing clear aims and guidelines to ensure that there an realistic framework for the successful creation of the agreed theatre piece.

• This module intends to give students the opportunity to devise a piece of theatre for a specific targeted audience. It differs from the proposed new modules Production in Practice: Interpreting Theatre Texts 1 and 2 insofar as students will work in groups under the guidance of a director/director/facilitator to devise and create the material for presentation to specific theatre audiences. The prime emphasis will be n the creation and writing of a piece of theatre text. The director/facilitator, who will be an experienced staff or guest practitioner, will be responsible for enabling the group to work to a series of specific targets during the seven-week rehearsal and performance period and lead rehearsals and workshops designed to equip students with the expertise, skills and strategies appropriate to the devising process.
• Hitherto, devised work has been incorporated within the Level 3 Acting modules. Students have requested that the Department has separate and distinct Level 3 modules for devised theatre as the learning outcomes and methods of assessment for text-based project modules do not properly reflect the devising process. This view is endorsed by both Departmental staff and External Examiners.

Students will be allocated as either actors, designers, members of the stage management or production team and/or assistants to the staff director, assistant to the theatre-in-education director/facilitator or a combination of the above and work intensively for six weeks on an approved Departmental project. These allocations will be chosen and agreed through a formal interview with the Practical Semester Co-ordinator and Senior Production Manager.

The project will be led by an experienced practitioner who will construct an appropriate rehearsal methodology specifically designed for the project. During rehearsals students will encounter and experience appropriate theatre games, improvisations, exercises and workshops, which will be specifically designed to aid the devising process.

These projects will be performed either in an appropriate site-specific location or Departmental theatre space. There will be a total of five public performances.

During the rehearsal process, students will be expected to create and devise fragments of theatre text in small groups and on an individual basis. Students will be expected to keep a working notebook documenting significant developments and challenges they have encountered which will be 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.