This is a core requirement for full field Drama students and an option for students taking Drama as a major field. It continues from DA6001, enabling students to develop the ideas and research they have undertaken in that module and carry them through to realisation. It is a capstone project which allows students to draw together their learning from across the Drama programme and apply it in a 'real-world' context through the creation, rehearsal and performance of a theatre production.
This module is largely undertaken through independent group-based rehearsal, although there is also a series of presentations and workshops addressing specific areas such as groupwork strategies, problem-solving, rehearsal planning and scheduling, managing budgets and publicity and marketing. Students form groups, select roles and choose scripts, themes and modes of performance based on the 'pitch' they made and the feedback received at the end of DA6001. The size of groups may vary but groups should not be made up of fewer than 5 students or more than 12. Each group will have a designated supervisor and a budget allocated on the basis of group size. The rehearsal process will be constructed around a series of formatively and summatively assessed stages such as work in progress performances, group and individual reflective exercises, submission of design and technical plans and presentation of publicity materials. Performances will be scheduled across a number of weeks in consultation with the Drama Technical Production Manager.
This module aims to:
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
As a final year, final teaching block, capstone project, the largest part of students' learning takes place through independent study, mainly in the form of group-based rehearsals. There are two types of more formal teaching input. The first is a series of workshops, as identified in the curriculum content, which encourage students to engage with the practical aspects of organising a theatre production, require them to reflect on their previous experience of doing so and offer advice about methods and approaches. The second is achieved through interaction with a designated staff supervisor, who is allocated on the basis of the mode and style of production of each group. The supervisor meets with the group on a regular basis and provides feedback on their rehearsal process. In addition, groups share their work with each other through formal and informal presentations of work in progress. Technical staff also advise and assist students in relation to the technical aspects of their productions.
Definitive UNISTATS Category | Indicative Description | Hours |
---|---|---|
Scheduled learning and teaching | Five 2 hour workshops | 10 |
Scheduled learning and teaching | Work in progress presentations | 3 |
Scheduled learning and teaching | Technical and dress rehearsal | 4 |
Scheduled learning and teaching | Formal supervision sessions | 5 |
Guided independent study | Individual independent study | 78 |
Guided independent study | Group rehearsal | 200 |
Total (number of credits x 10) | 300 |
Students are assessed on process, performance and reflection. Process and reflection will both be assessed through a portfolio (equivalent to 2500 words, worth 40%), submitted towards the end of their process but before their performance. This contains material evidence of their individual creative and organisational contribution and a reflective, critical commentary upon that material. Because students have different roles and the productions take different forms, students' contributions will be demonstrated in a variety of ways. For instance, directors may be asked to submit a rehearsal plan, designers to submit designs, devisers to produce a performance score and actors a character biography. Reflecting the ways in which professional theatre is judged, the largest percentage of the final grade (60%) comes from the Performance, which means the overall success and effectiveness of the final product as well as the specific skills exhibited by each student within that product. Performances will vary in length depending on the size of the group and the nature of the performance.
Formative assessments include the submission of a group rationale approximately 4 weeks into the process, an informal work in progress performance at which students get feedback from both staff and fellow students and roundtable discussions with supervisors during which students are asked to reflect on their work up to that point.
Learning Outcome | Assessment Strategy |
---|---|
Identify and respond to the various intellectual and creative choices that need to be made in order to produce a full theatre production (KS: Creativity and Problem Solving) | Formatively in group rationale, informal work in progress presentation and roundtable discussions; summatively in, portfolio and performance |
Demonstrate the key skills associated with a specific role within theatre creation and production (eg, actor, deviser, director, designer, dramaturg) (KS: Interpersonal, Management and Leadership) | Formatively in group rationale, informal work in progress presentation and roundtable discussions; summatively in, portfolio and performance |
Make useful and productive links between research, practice and reflection in the context of a theatre-making process (KS: Self Awareness, Research and Information Literacy) | Formatively in group rationale, informal work in progress presentation and roundtable discussions; summatively in, portfolio and performance |
Communicate and collaborate effectively in an ensemble context (KS: Communication, Interpersonal) | Formatively in group rationale, informal work in progress presentation and roundtable discussions; summatively in, portfolio and performance |
Demonstrate skills of organisation, time-management and problem-solving (KS: Numeracy, Creativity and Problem Solving) | Formatively in group rationale, informal work in progress presentation and roundtable discussions; summatively in, portfolio and performance |
It IS NOT a requirement that any major assessment category is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module
Bibliography will be developed by the individual student in consultation with academic staff.
Recommended texts will differ depending on the mode and style of production and the student's role within it