Module Identifier PF20420  
Module Title DEVISING PERFORMANCE 1  
Academic Year 2004/2005  
Co-ordinator Ms Jill Greenhalgh  
Semester Semester 2  
Pre-Requisite PF20210 , PF20110  
Course delivery Lecture   10 Hours 10 x 1.5 hour practical lectures  
  Practical   1 Hours 1 weekend (16 hours)  
  Other   Practical work with third-year students  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment Performed essay equivalent to 3,000 words60%
Semester Assessment 20 minute performance etude  30%
Semester Assessment 1,000 word report on etude  10%

Learning outcomes

Typically, upon completion of the module, the student will be able:

to demonstrate an appreciation, understanding and critical application of various theories and practices of dramaturgy
to formulate, develop and realize effectively, conceptual procedures appropriate for conceiving non-textual performance
to demonstrate an ability to work under the direction of fellow students and to function effectively within the social environment of performance
to compose and organize intellectual and dramatic material specifically for live exposition, in the devising of a solo presentation in an academic context



Content

After an initial series of mainly theoretical lectures, students will be involved in the presentation of short performance etudes. These 'etudes' will be conceived by students from PF30520 Devising Performance 2. They will be linked to the theme or topic to be examined in more detail in PF30720 Performance in Practice 1.
The weekend workshop includes site visits to examine the ramifications of a variety of architectures and social contexts upon the spatial ordering of performance.

Lecture schedule :

1. Devised performance : definitions and procedures
2. Dramaturgy I : the nature of dramatic material and its accumulation
3. Dramaturgy II : the ordering and composition of dramatic material
4. Dramaturgy III : the modulation of the composed material
5. Composition I : the spatial ordering of performance
6. Site, place and location
7. Composition II : the temporal ordering of performance
8. Text in Performance
9. Scenography and objects : the construction of the performance environment
10. Audience : the role and spatial arrangement of the audience


Criteria for assessment :

i] Performed Essay : in assessing the performed essay the examiner will expect:
- an application of conceptual procedures discussed in the module in the articulation of essay material (25% of the overall performed essay mark)
- imaginative, intellectual reworking of academic argument (25%)
- an understanding of the relationship of the material to the new spatio-temporal context (30%)
- clarity of exposition (10%)
- persuasiveness of presentation (10%)

ii] Performance Etude : in assessing the etude, the examiner will expect:
- Personal contribution: attendance, punctuality and participation in both preparation and presentation (10% of the overall etude mark)
- Assimilation of information: effective enactment of procedures discussed in the module (20%)
- Group work: evidence of group working within the conceptual framework of the project (20%)
- Group achievement: coherent communal statement (40%)
- Individual achievement: effective functioning of the individual within the social environment of performance (10%)

iii] Written Report : in assessing the written report, the examiner will expect:
- reflection upon the relationship between the given theme and the conceptual procedures of the director (20% of the overall report mark)
- effective notation of procedures of devising (20%)
- reflection upon personal functioning within the etude (20%)
- reflection upon group functioning within the etude (20%)
- precise writing within the given parameters of length (20%)

Aims

The aim of this module is:

to introduce theories and practices of generating performance that does not rely upon the exposition of dramatic literature
to examine structures of dramaturgy and principles of dramatic and visual composition
to provide conceptual and practical techniques for the creation of performance events

Transferable skills

the generation and ordering of intellectual and dramatic material in contexts outside either the play script or the auditorium.
group creation, organisation and presentation.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Grotowski, Jerzy (1969) Towards a Poor Theatre Methuen
Kaye, Nick (1996) Art into Theatre. Performance Interviews and Documents Harwood
Kaye, Nick (2000) Site-Specific Art Routledge
Savran, David (1986) The Wooster Group 1975-1985 UMI Research Press
Etchells, Tim (1999) Certain Fragments: Contemporary Performance and Forced Entertainment Routlege
Garoian, Charles R (1999) Performing Pedagogy State University of New York
Goulish, Matthew (2000) 39 Microlectures. In Proximity of Performance Routledge
Fusco, Coco (1999) Corpus Delecti. Performance Art of the Americas Routledge
** Recommended Background
Auslander, Philip (1997) From Acting to Performance Routledge
Bachelard, Gaston trans. John R. Stilgoe (1994) The Poetics of Space Beacon
Goldberg, RoseLee (1988) Performance Art: From Futurism to the present Thames and Hudson
Hodges, Nicola (1994) Performance Art into the 90's in Art and Design Magazine No.38 Academy Group
Tschumi, Bernard (1994) Architecture and Disjunction MIT Press
Schimmel, Paul (1988) Out of Actions: between performance and the object 1949 - 1979 Thames and Hudson
Kaye, Nick (1994) Postmodernism and Performance MacMillan
Kaye, Nick (1996) Art into Theatre. Performance Interviews and Documents Harwood
Oddey, Alison (1996) Devising Theatre Routledge
Pearson, Mike (1997) Special Worlds, Secret Maps' in Staging Wales, ed. Anne-Marie Taylor University of Wales Press
Schechner, Richard (1973) Environmental Theatre Hawthorn
Schechner, Richard (1995) The Future of Ritual: Writings on Culture and Performance Routledge
Schechner, Richard (1988) Performance Theory Routledge

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5