BA (Hons) Drama, Theatre and Applied Performance

Modern and Postmodern Drama

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module will initially focus on selected Naturalist/Realist, Formalist/Epic, and Cruelty/Absurd drama, to introduce students to Modernist drama. It will then introduce students to the challenges of the postmodern when the notion of performance is no longer constrained by the theatre building. Students read and workshop selected plays and performance practices from the 1890s to the present. Where possible the module will include a field trip to a relevant local production.

Reading Identity Politics

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module will introduce students to the basic concepts, terminology, and politics of exploring identity in cultural texts. Through studying excerpts from popular critical commentaries on theories of gender, sexuality, race, disability, and class, students will develop skills in textual and cultural analysis, establishing an introductory critical vocabulary that will be developed and refined in subsequent levels of the program. Students will acquire knowledge of the history of cultural representations of identities and explore the extent to which these discourses are revisited and redressed in contemporary popular texts (fiction, film, television, music video, drama, etc.) The first part of the module focuses on applying accessible critical commentaries on feminism, queer studies, postcolonialism, disability studies, and Marxism to popular cultural case studies. Formative feedback opportunities on writing reviews and annotated bibliographies will be offered as part of the seminar-workshop teaching sessions.

Music Theatres

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

Music and Theatre have deep historical connections and this module aims to introduce and explore this diverse symbiotic relationship. Students will examine the history and practices of a range of performance disciplines, such as Peking Opera, Noh Theatre, Elizabethan Masque, Opera, American Musical Theatre, film musical, avant-garde Music Theatre, and Performance Art.

Introduction to Work-Related Learning

10 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module aims to equip students with the knowledge and self-management skills to make informed choices in preparing for work placement and the transition to employment or further study on graduation. Learners will be provided with the opportunities to develop an awareness of the workplace, identify different career and study options, recognize and articulate their own experience, accomplishments, and talents and plan and implement career management strategies for the short and long term.

Applied Drama 2 - Practitioner Skills

10 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module will be focused on Applied Drama/Theatre practitioner skills such as, for example, Augusto Boal’s ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’ participatory work and Forum Theatre (FT). You will undertake classroom both theoretical and practical sessions (lectures and workshops) to understand the theoretical perspectives on practice and to develop your skills as an Applied Drama practitioner with an understanding of the actor/facilitator role. You will take part in FT games for actors and non-actors, body exercises, group work, and interactive theatre techniques. You will be assessed on a reflection on your learning through the sessions in order to take responsibility for participating, understanding, and demonstrating the progress of your skills. You will be encouraged to review your development and discuss Applied Drama/Theatre practice.

Production Project 1

40 Credits

(Compulsory)

One of the key features of the Drama program at Newman is the Production strand. This module will develop students’ ability to use theories acquired regarding acting and directing, technical aspects of signing in theatre, analyzing text, and developing character. It will involve the production of a play, or part of a play, normally (but not exclusively) in the realist tradition. The module is practically-based but also encourages students to be reflective about their own practice. It utilizes a range of theatrical methodologies for example those of Stanislavski.

Work Related Learning

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This year-long module offers learners the opportunity to apply and explore knowledge within a work-based context, through the mode of workplace learning. The placement supervisor in the workplace will negotiate the focus for the learner’s role on placement, with the learner. Students complete 100 hours in the work setting. The learner will reflect critically on different dimensions of the workplace setting. This module provides an opportunity for students wishing to attain National Professional recognition with the Teaching and Learning Academy (TLA) to complete an AMTLA project.

Production Project 2

40 Credits

(Compulsory)

One of the key features of the Drama program at Newman is the Production strand. This module will develop students’ ability to use theories acquired regarding acting and directing, technical aspects of signing in theatre, analyzing text, and developing character. It will involve the production of a play, or part of a play, normally (but not exclusively) in the realist tradition. The module is practically-based but also encourages students to be reflective about their own practice. It utilizes a range of theatrical methodologies for example those of Stanislavski.

Modern and Postmodern Drama

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module will initially focus on selected Naturalist/Realist, Formalist/Epic, and Cruelty/Absurd drama, to introduce students to Modernist drama. It will then introduce students to the challenges of the postmodern when the notion of performance is no longer constrained by the theatre building. Students read and workshop selected plays and performance practices from the 1890s to the present. Where possible the module will include a field trip to a relevant local production.

Reading Identity Politics

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module will introduce students to the basic concepts, terminology, and politics of exploring identity in cultural texts. Through studying excerpts from popular critical commentaries on theories of gender, sexuality, race, disability, and class, students will develop skills in textual and cultural analysis, establishing an introductory critical vocabulary that will be developed and refined in subsequent levels of the program. Students will acquire knowledge of the history of cultural representations of identities and explore the extent to which these discourses are revisited and redressed in contemporary popular texts (fiction, film, television, music video, drama, etc.) The first part of the module focuses on applying accessible critical commentaries on feminism, queer studies, postcolonialism, disability studies, and Marxism to popular cultural case studies. Formative feedback opportunities on writing reviews and annotated bibliographies will be offered as part of the seminar-workshop teaching sessions.

Music Theatres

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

Music and Theatre have deep historical connections and this module aims to introduce and explore this diverse symbiotic relationship. Students will examine the history and practices of a range of performance disciplines, such as Peking Opera, Noh Theatre, Elizabethan Masque, Opera, American Musical Theatre, film musical, avant-garde Music Theatre, and Performance Art.

Dissertation

40 Credits

(Optional)

The dissertation provides an opportunity for a sustained and focused study on a particular area of Drama, Theatre, and Applied Performance. By the end of the module, students should be able to demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of a wide range of concepts, theories, and methodologies. The dissertation must reflect critical reading and independent research. Wherever possible, and appropriate, the writing should relate theoretical studies to applied methodologies, and/or practice. The written work should establish clear lines of original inquiry in independent research. Academic conventions are essential – elegant and lucid writing desirable.

Practical Dissertation

40 Credits

(Optional)

In this module students, drawing on their previous experience will have the opportunity to develop a small-scale theatrical performance that engages with the ideas and practice of relevant theatre practitioners. This may be either a performance of an existing theatrical text or an original piece of work devised by the student. Performances may take the form of a solo piece but may also involve collaboration with other performers. Students, whether working on group or solo productions, will take directorial responsibility for all aspects of the production including issues relating to performance and technical, scenographic, and administrative requirements. Students will be expected to work independently in the planning, researching, and rehearsal processes but will be allocated a member of staff who will supervise the process. Students will be expected to keep documentary evidence of their process, as well as undertake independent research, which will form the basis of an accompanying reflective logbook

Negotiated Work-Based Research Project

40 Credits

(Optional)

This module offers students the opportunity to build on their level 5 work placement through the more developed application of a negotiated work-based research project. Students will agree with their placement tutor and workplace mentor a brief for a project which addresses a need within the organization. Learners should complete a minimum of 100 hours in the workplace. It is in the spirit of this module that wherever possible, the focus will be on social or community / sustainable development.

Writing for Theatre

20 Credits

(Compulsory)

This module will focus on developing the students’ understanding of the dramatic structure and their experience of the creative process in writing a piece of the original theatre. The teaching sessions will be a combination of the study of key theoretical ideas, dramatic structure, and creative writing linked to playwriting, with a close examination of how different playwrights have structured their work. There will be a mixture of practical and written work. Towards the end of the module, students will be increasingly encouraged to bring in examples of their own works-in-progress and work on them with the group, for example in rehearsed readings and/or by students directing their own work, with the aim of then redrafting before the final submission. The assessment is of a script plus a supporting account detailing and analyzing the thinking behind the script.

Final Production Project

40 Credits

(Compulsory)

One of the key features of the Drama program at Newman is the Production strand. This module will develop students’ ability to use theories acquired regarding acting and directing, technical aspects of signing in theatre, analyzing text, and developing character. It will involve the production of a play, or part of a play, normally (but not exclusively) in the realist tradition. The module is practically-based but also encourages students to be reflective about their own practice. It utilizes a range of theatrical methodologies for example those of Stanislavski.