New Media Performance

Module Identifier: TP33220
Module Title: New Media Performance
Academic Year: 2027/2028
Semester: Semester 2
Co-ordinator: Dr Piotr Woycicki
Reading List: View on Aspire
Other Staff

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	Written Essay: 2000 Words	50%
Semester Assessment	Group-devised Presentation: Group-devised Presentation 20 minutes followed by Q&A 10 minutes 30 Minutes	50%
Supplementary Assessment	Solo-devised Presentation: Group-devised Presentation 10 minutes followed by Q&A 10 minutes 20 Minutes	50%
Supplementary Assessment	Written Essay: Essay to a different question if one was attempted first time round. 2000 Words	50%

Learning Outcomes

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

Locate new media performance within the historical trajectory of experimental and avant-garde theatre and performance.
Read analytically the presence of new media within/as forms of contemporary theatre and performance practice.
Articulate critically the impact of new media on key concepts such as space, text, narrative and the body.
Begin to develop critical and practical strategies for making use of new media forms in performance.

Brief description

This module examines the growing and diverse field of new media performance to question how the presence of new media and digital elements (such as virtual environments, hypertexts and avatars, as well as projected film) might lead us to reconsider key concepts within theatre and performance studies, including space/place, narrative, text and body/performer/character. The module engages in the critical analysis and study of the presence of new media and digital elements within the work of British and international practitioners, including Blast Theory, Katie Mitchell, Imitating the Dog, Robert Lepage, The Builder’s Association and Stelarc. This module is taught through lectures and mixed-mode seminar/workshop sessions. A key part of the module’s assessment will involve an investigation of one of the themes encountered on the module through the creation and presentation of a devised fragment incorporating elements of new media.

Content

Course Delivery:
Lectures: 10 x 1 hour
Seminars: 10 x 2 hour seminar/workshops
This module will be taught through a series of
lectures and seminar/workshops led by
departmental staff.
Lectures and seminar/workshops will explore
the following topics:

1. Introduction to New Media Performance
2. Liveness and Remediation
3. Screen and Space
4. Audio Theatre
5. Audio Theatre Workshop
6. Interactivity and Participation
7. Mixed-Reality Performance
8. Games as Performance
9. Post-Cinematic Performance
10. Posthuman performance

Module skills

Skills type	Skills details
Adaptability and resilience	The exploration of possible uses of new media and digital technologieswill aid students to identify possible career avenues presented by digitalliteracies, though this skill is not directly assessed.
Co-ordinating with others	This skill is indirectly addressed on the module and will be evaluated andassessed in the creation/presentation of a fragment of new mediaperformance.
Creative Problem Solving	The identification of problems, the development of creative approachesto solving problems, and the evaluation of potential solutions is a centralelement of this module. Students will be engaged, throughseminar/workshops, in the question of how new media and digitalpractices might inform traditional performance conventions.
Critical and analytical thinking	Students will develop critical and analytical thinking. They will also develop research skills will be developed in preparation for, and as a result of,lectures, and workshops, and assessed as part of the essay and thecreation of the performance fragment.
Digital capability	This is not directly taught on the module, though the performance formsand theories explored demand the engagement with various newtechnologies (including social media, wikis, blogs etc.) contributingdirectly to digital literacy.
Professional communication	Each student’s ability to articulate and communicate their ideas to oneanother and to specific audiences is developed throughout this module.All forms of assessment include a consideration and evaluation ofeffective communication.
Real world sense	There will be a specific reference to the funding and practicalities of staging new mediaperformances in a real-world setting. This will give students a sense of how their proposed project may function in different economic contexts. These areas are not directlyassessed.
Reflection	The exploration of possible uses of new media and digital technologieswill aid students to identify possible career avenues presented by digitalliteracies, though this skill is not directly assessed.
Subject Specific Skills	See QAA Dance, Drama and Performance Subject Benchmark Statement• describing, theorising, interpreting andevaluating performance texts and performance events from a range ofcritical perspectives • reading the performance possibilities implied bya script, score and other textual or documentary sources •engaging in performance and production, based on anacquisition and understanding of appropriate performance andproduction vocabularies, skills, structures and working

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6