This module is an option for those students taking Full Field and Half Field Drama in Level 6. It is an opportunity for students to enlarge particularly on studies in Shakespeare: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow from Level 5. Five or six key play texts are chosen from the period (including no more than one of Shakespeare's), which may include works by playwrights such as Marlowe, Middleton, Webster, Massinger, Jonson, Dekker, Heywood, Beaumont and Fletcher. The texts are studied in a practical way to reveal their context in the European Renaissance, their role in the design and development of public theatre spaces, methods of staging, their impact on acting and acting styles, reflection of contemporary politics and society and their potential as texts for performance today.
This module aims to:
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to demonstrate:
The module is taught in a weekly series of two hour long classes, through the academic year. The classes include a mix of lectures and practical workshops, although there is no formal allocation of time within any particular class. The practical nature of the work increases as the module progresses into the second term and students are expected increasingly to become informed by their own research, both individually and jointly. From time to time, students are expected to give short presentations, both of research material and of performed extracts. These lead to the formative assessments which take the form of a practical scene study at the end of January and a performance essay and reflective essay at the end of the module.
Definitive UNISTATS Category | Indicative Description | Hours |
---|---|---|
Scheduled learning and teaching | 22 x 2 hours | 44 |
Guided independent study | student independent study | 206 |
Guided independent study | group work | 50 |
Total (number of credits x 10) | 300 |
Summative assessment is through Academic essay (3000 words), completed by Week 14 and group Performance essay (20 minutes) presented in a practical examination at the end of the course. This pattern of assessment is appropriate to the learning outcomes as it tests the students' grasp of both the historical, political and social contexts of Renaissance theatre and their embodied understanding of its conventions and manifestations as performance. It also allows students to demonstrate both individual skills in research and writing and their ability to share knowledge and ideas in a group context and to present it in a verbal and visual way.
Formative assessments such as short performances, presentations of independent research and writing exercises prepare students for both the essay and performance essay.
Learning Outcome | Assessment Strategy |
---|---|
a developed understanding of the formal characteristics and ideological content of a variety of Renaissance playtexts | Formatively, through short presentations, performances and writing exercises; summatively, through Academic essay and Performance essay |
an increased understanding of the social, political and cultural background to the plays of the period | Formatively, through short presentations; summatively, through Academic essay and Performance essay |
a particular awareness of the relationship between space and performance | Formatively, in short performances; summatively, Performance essay |
the ability to evaluate contemporary resonances in the plays | Formatively, in short writing exercises; summatively, in Academic essay and Performance essay |
the ability to express ideas effectively and unambiguously in group presentation and performance (Key Skills 3: Interpersonal Skills) | Formatively, through short writing exercises; summatively, through Academic essay and Performance essay |
the capacity to present, defend and challenge ideas effectively (Key Skills 2: Communication Skills) | Formatively in short presentations and writing exercises; Summatively, in Academic essay and Performance essay |
Description of Assessment | Definitive UNISTATS Categories | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Coursework | Academic essay | 50 |
Coursework | Performance essay | 50 |
Total (to equal 100%) | 100% |
It IS NOT a requirement that any major assessment category is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.
Core texts will consist of a range of Renaissance plays but these will change annually depending on factors such as whether a particular play is in production in London that year.
Abbott, M. (1996) Life Cycles in England, 1560-1720. London, Routledge
Astington, J. H. (2010) Actors and Acting in Shakespeare's Time. Cambridge, CUP
Barker, S. and Hinds, H. (eds)(2002) Routledge Anthology of Renaissance Drama . London, Routledge
Briggs, J. (1997) This Stage-Play World. Oxford, OUP
Gurr, A. (2004) Playgoing in Shakespeare's London (3rd Edition). Cambridge, CUP
Gurr, A. (1996) The Shakespearian Playing Companies. Oxford, OUP
Hattaway, M. (1982) Elizabethan Popular Theatre. London, Routledge
Holbrook, P. (2012) English Renaissance Tragedy in Context, London, Continuum
Rutter, C. C. (ed)(1999) Documents of the Rose Playhouse. Manchester, MUP
Thomson, P. (1992) Shakespeare's Theatre (2nd edition). London, Routledge
White, M. (1998) Renaissance Drama in Action. London, Routledge