Studying at York
Business for Performance - TFT00033C
Module summary
This module will introduce you to the key business models that drive live performance in the theatre and live cultural and mass audience events. It will also introduce you to some of the leadership issues in managing performance when it comes to working with creative teams, and creative individuals, in the development and delivery of creative projects. You will explore the stage business from the subsidised to the commercial, from the local rep' to the West End, from the local cultural venue to the national, or international, arena. And you will start to analyse, and engage with, what it is about the creative industries that distinguishes them from more traditional industrial forms: the emphasis on individual and collective creativity that drives live events, as well as producing innovative films, programmes and games on screen.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2023-24 |
Module aims
This module aims to:
Acquaint you the core business models that drive the financing and production of live performances on stage, and in public events.
Acquaint you with how business models adapt to different performance spaces, institutional conditions, and audiences.
Explore some of the key distinctions between the subsidised and the commercial, in both live theatre and in the making and promotion of live cultural events.
Explore the degree to which working with creative talent - individually or in teams - impacts on business, development and production workflows.
Investigate some of the leadership skills involved in managing the performance of creative talent through production cycles.
Module learning outcomes
And the end of this module you will be:
Familiar with the key business models and structures that condition live performance on the stage, and inspire the creation of live public cultural events.
Able to begin adapting essential business ideas to different performance contexts: the commercial and the subsidised, the small venue and the large arena, the local and the national.
Familiar with the distinctive role creative talent - whether individual or collective - plays in the performance of creative businesses.
Able to apply some leadership techniques to the management of talent,. and to the co-ordination of teams - in developing and producing work for both live performance and the screen.
Module content
This module will combine formal lectures and seminars in delivering core business information with a series of practical sessions in which leadership and inter-personal skills are explore in group scenario work.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 70 |
| Oral presentation/seminar/exam | 30 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
Formative feedback is embedded in all seminars and practicals. Presentations in weekly seminars.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 70 |
| Essay/coursework | 30 |
Module feedback
You will receive written feedback in line with standard University turnaround times.
Indicative reading
Conte, D. (2007). Theatre Management: Producing and Managing the Performing Art. London: Quite Specific Media.
Green, J. (2012). How to Produce a West End Show. London: Oberon Books.
Lencioni, P. (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. San Francisco; Jossey Bass.
Sawyer, K. (2008). Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration. London: Basic Books.
Seabright,J. (2010). So You Want to be a Theatre Producer. London: Nick Hern.
Sonder, M. (2004). Event Entertainment and Production. London: John Wiley and Sons.
Sutherland, R. (2017). Introduction to Production: Creating Theatre Onstage, Backstage and Offstage. London: Routledge.