Drama BA (Hons)

30 credits

This module complements and extends knowledge and understanding of key concepts of performance developed in Making Theatre Happen by focusing on the relationship between the actor and the written playtext.

There are two interweaving strands and each is designed to serve as a foundation for your ongoing studies. You will explore fundamental components of drama such as plot, action, character and dialogue and examine ways in which each is presented in a series of written playtexts. These plays are studied in detail and each is identified as a pretext for performance. You are introduced to ways of interrogating the texts and develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of the relationship between what is written on the page and what is presented on the stage. The same playtexts are also used to explore a range of differing performance methodologies that can be utilised to identify the performance potentials of a text in a workshop environment. You are led through cycles of Preparation, Exploration and Realisation – understanding what these terms mean and the actions they consist of will be an important aspect of the module. You will not only learn appropriate ways in which to create intelligent and imaginative performance informed by a written text but also develop a range of acting skills necessary to perform them effectively.

Throughout the module you are also introduced to the basic principles of theatre lighting and sound and will be encouraged to explore the impact of these technical elements when used in a performance context.

30 credits

This industry-focused module will introduce you to skills, vocabularies and methods associated with making theatre, creating performance and exploring ways in which these may be applied within a range of dramatic and theatrical contexts.

Professional skills such as creative problem solving, collaboration, adaptability and enterprise are developed alongside theatre-making skills. The main features of this module are the study and practice of key elements of performance such as: the use of movement and voice, play, ensemble collaboration onstage and off, devising methods, professionalism, critically reflective practice, performance structure and dynamics, connecting to an audience, and the creation of dramatic meaning and theatrical effect.

In the first part of the module, you will participate in a variety of tutor-led exercises to develop your understanding and skills in these areas. These are drawn from methodologies and techniques developed by 20th- and 21st-century practitioner-theorists, such as Jacques Lecoq, Anne Bogart, Ellen Stewart, Philippe Gaulier, Rudolph Laban, Keith Johnstone, Joan Littlewood and Augusto Boal.

In the second part of the module, you will apply what you have learnt in a student-led, staff-supervised project: a 15-minute ensemble-devised performance that draws on the methods and techniques explored in the module.

30 credits

This module introduces you to approaches and research methods associated with the study of World theatre histories, organised across 4 sections: rituals, formalisations, popularisations and reactions.

Within these separate thematic sections, you will study a variety of global historical practices which may include ancient Greek choral practices, Yoruba ritual processions, the Spanish Golden Age, Noh Theatre, Beijing Opera Victorian Melodrama and early twentieth century experiments. You will study a wide range of performance texts and styles to investigate how we make theatre history, what evidence we draw upon and what implications these histories have for our current performance making.

In the first part of the module, you will investigate key periods in theatre history, which might include English renaissance, classical Indian dance, the popular Victorian stage, Nritya, postcolonial formal interventions the post-war theatre of the absurd or British and American Black theatre. Particular attention will be given to the material conditions in which theatre artists worked and the relationship with the theatre and the culture at large in any given period and place.

In the latter part of the module, you will apply your knowledge and research skills in a performance presentation.

30 credits

In this module, you will be introduced to the technical skills which form part of theatre production: lighting and sound design, scenography and stage management, as well as basic marketing skills. This will be supported through skill specific workshops leading to a collaborative performance production which fully considers the role of technical elements which make for effective theatre practices. You will be specifically encouraged to reflect in practice on your work's ecological impact and openness to diversity.

30 credits

This module gives you the opportunity to continue advancing your acting training and begin exploring the discipline of directing for live and filmed performance. These two electives complement each other allowing the student actors to be directed by the student directors.

This module will advance your understanding of the theatre industries through collaborative practice which develops specific skills and experience in direction, devising, script reading, but also transferrable skills of time-management, producing, critical thinking, active listening, communication, and presentation skills.

Within the acting elective you will explore the themes and principles of Naturalism in theory and practice on stage and screen.

Within the directing elective, student directors navigate contemporary theatre practitioners and theoreticians, and are given the opportunity to lead a group of creative artists towards their own unified vision for a performance. The role of the stage and film director is examined through the lenses of design, script analysis, working with actors, proxemics and semiotics.

30 credits

Devising and ensemble practice support the development of skills and competencies that are not only applicable for theatremakers of all kinds but also valued by employers in a range of different professional sectors.

Exploring the work of ensembles embracing a collaborative approach to the creative process and supporting the acquisition of skills and methodologies they engage with; the module demonstrates the value of motivation and commitment; self-discipline; adaptability and flexibility; creative problem solving and an ability to work under pressure.

Ultimately, these skills and attributes are brought to bear in the Explore element of the module which enables you to engage with students from other courses, schools and faculties, to create new and original interdisciplinary dramatic work.

30 credits

This module explores the centrality of the play in the Anglophone world across two elective strands: Global Shakespeares and Contemporary Plays and Playwrighting. Each of these strands will serve to investigate the primacy of dramatic literature in the context of historical and contemporary Anglophone theatre production, through a mix of academic research methods as well as a creative portfolio of work in written or performed form.

You will delve into details and questions raised by plays assigned over the module, covering the playwright's intention, style of writing, dramatic structure, characters along with the context in which the work was completed – whether this be the social and historical climate or the production environment. Specific attention will be given to the production of Anglophone plays in a global context to reflect on the role of theatrical culture in either maintaining or challenging global hierarchies of power.

30 credits

For some, popular performance is simply a style of performance that is well liked by many people. For others it is commercial performance that is produced and sold for mass consumption. Others still believe it is an "authentic" style of performance made by "the people" for "the people". These are just some of the definitions of popular performance examined in this highly practical module.

This module explores the history, theory and practice of theatre and performance traditions that might include but are not limited to: commedia dell'arte and other forms of masked performance; clown, pantomime and physical comedy; bouffon and political satire; carnival, festival and pageantry.

The practical exploration of these traditions, through games, exercises, improvisation, and performance, will enable you to encounter concepts such as presence, play, and the role of the spectator in the creation of meaning as well as common themes such as marginality, transgression, and chaos.

This embodied learning will be supported by critical engagement with the work of artists and academics such as Jacques Lecoq, John Rudlin, Dario Fo and Franca Rame, Natalie Palamides, Carlo Mazzone-Clementi, Red Bastard, Domnica Radulescu and Louise Peacock.

30 credits

This module is a core requirement for single honours students. It enables students to develop ideas and research and carry them through to realisation. The assessment for this module is a capstone project which allows students to draw together their learning from across the degree 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 group work 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 a 'pitch' they make and the feedback received at the end of Teaching Block One. The size of groups may vary but groups should not be made up of fewer than five 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.

30 credits

This module provides an opportunity to study a range of contemporary popular performance forms such as cabaret, variety, music hall, revue, stand-up comedy, drag and burlesque from historical, theoretical, and practical perspectives. You are supported to develop relevant techniques and performance skills, such as crafting a stage persona, creating rapport with the audience, generating material, presence and spontaneity.

You will have the opportunity to apply ideas and creative skills to explore the role of performance in identity construction, the significance of liveness in performance, perceptions of theatre's agency and issues of power and representational visibility. It therefore enables you to investigate issues such as the impact of Modernism and the emerging Avant Garde on the cabaret culture that spread throughout Europe and Africa; the importance of these forms in the development of popular culture; the birth of alternative cabaret and subsequently alternative comedy and the current popularity of neo-burlesque.

You are responsible for the overall development of a popular performance piece, enabling you to develop key industry skills related to collaborative working practices as well as practical performance experience in the arts industry.

30 credits

This module explores the breakdown of boundaries between different theatre and performance forms in the late-20th century, focusing on avant-garde performance and how it has developed from the mid-20th century to the present day.

Postmodern cultural theory and Hans-Thies Lehmann's notion of the ‘post-dramatic' provide context for the study of a range of avant-garde approaches to performance such as conceptual performance art, live art, site-specific and autobiographical performance, and a wide array of post-dramatic, experimental theatre practitioners. For example, Forced Entertainment, Gob Squad, Peeping Tom, Rimini Protokoll, Jérôme Bel, Blast Theory and Belarus Free Theatre.

The first part of the module is a practice-based study of live art and performance art lineages. You will explore how, for example, feminist, postcolonial, critical race, queer, crip, and performance theory intersect with your own work and that of artists such as Marina Abramovic, Tehching Hsieh, Hannah Wilke, Coco Fusco, Adrian Piper, Bob Flanagan, Franko B, Maurizio Cattelan, Senga Nengudi, Noemi Lakmaier, and ORLAN.

The second part of the module allows you to explore post-dramatic approaches to text across two elective strands: Experimental Playwriting: Beyond Text and Post-dramatic Performance: Creative Research. Each of these strands investigates how avant-garde performance since the mid-20th century evolved toward contemporary practice through a mix of academic research methods and creative textual responses.

30 credits

This is an employability-focused module that encourages students to consolidate their individual approaches to career management and future learning by continuing to enhance their reflexivity, plan their own personal and professional development, and formulate their exit strategy from the university.