Research Skills for Theatre-Making - TFT00076M
- Department: Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media
- Credit value: 10 credits
- Credit level: M
- Academic year of delivery: 2022-23
Module summary
This module aims to introduce students to the critical and practical thinking and research skills that will be crucial to their work on MA Theatre-Making, through engagement with examples of contemporary theatre and performance practices and their contexts, discussion activities and lecture-workshop content. The module also begins to examine the theatre-making skills that will be more fully addressed in Spring Term, with opportunities to explore, for example, micro-performances in the students' own sited contexts.
In all of this, the module emphasises the importance of research (in its practical and library-based senses) to postgraduate study. We will explore how to locate, gather and evaluate primary and secondary sources, and how to apply critical thinking skills to essay-writing of various kinds.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Autumn Term 2022-23 |
Module aims
To develop a critical understanding of theatre and performance through analysis and discussion of a range of case studies and their contexts
To begin to develop a practical understanding of theatre-making and basic artistic decision-making skills
To begin to develop source-gathering, classification and analysis skills appropriate to postgraduate level research and writing
Module learning outcomes
The student will be able to:
- discuss, evaluate and critically analyse theatre and performance case studies
- situate theatre and performance case studies within a range of relevant contexts
- identify, classify and analyse a range of research sources
- make a solo micro-performance in their own sited context
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
Portfolio details:
The portfolio will include a written review of an online performance, a written exercise on gathering research sources and a video of a micro-performance each student has made in their sited context. Additionally, please note that I have selected 'variable' as the length for the portfolio. It will encompass approx 2000 words of writing and 1-2 minutes of video.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
Students will receive bespoke verbal feedback on their formative work within one week of completion of presentation, and written feedback on their summative work within 2020-21 University guidelines for return of feedback.
Indicative reading
Adiseshiah, S. & LePage, L. ed. (2016). Twenty-First Century Drama: What Happens Now
Arlander, A. et al ed. (2017). Performance as Research: Knowledge, Methods, Impact
Cottrell, S. (2017; 3rd edn.). Critical Thinking Skills: Effective Analysis, Argument and Reflection
Harvie, J. & Lavender, A. ed. (2010). Making Contemporary Theatre
Hilevaara, K. & Orley, E. ed. (2018). The Creative Critic: Writing about/as Practice
Kershaw, B. & Nicholson, H. ed. (2011). Research Methods in Theatre and Performance