| Unit name | Methods and Questions in Performance: Practice as Research |
|---|---|
| Unit code | DRAMM0018 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Jones |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Theatre |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will explore key concepts of, and questions about, research into and through practice in performance. It will draw on a range of contrasting practical research methodologies developed in theatre and performance studies and investigate their application through a series of workshops and seminar discussions. In dealing with these practical methods it will address the formulation of key questions in performance research in the light of debates surrounding notions of process and product, of the live and the mediated, of ephemerality and documentation and so on. Overall, the unit will help inform the student’s understanding of key debates in performance and theatre studies, using relevant sources, and help develop transferable methodologies for other units of this programme and the dissertation itself.
1. To demonstrate knowledge of practice-as-research methods in a range of performance practices. 2. To be aware of, and able to apply to an advanced level, a range of established critical and theoretical ideas and to develop a critical approach towards them in the context of practice-as-research. 3. To be able to present a clear and well-structured argument concerning practice as research, supported by relevant critical and theoretical literature. 4. To plan and execute a practice-based research project to an advanced level. 5. To be able to write a reflective account of practical work, making connections with an appropriate range of critical and theoretical ideas. 6. To be able to work constructively and creatively in a group-based workshop. 7. To be able to work within the disciplines of practical production and project processes, working to deadlines and within production budgets. 8. To work independently and reach individual/personal judgements, as appropriate, within a collaborative context. 9. To be able to reflect on individual work within a collaborative production context and with reference to an appropriate range of critical ideas.
3-hour weekly workshops delivered in a performance-specific space such as a rehearsal studio, Theatre 2, Wickham Theatre
These may take the form of: Lecture presentations and workshops by staff and visiting professionals; close-reading; performance or video viewings; student-led workshops/practice; individual or group tutorials; student-led performance presentations.
1. performance presentation (15-20 minutes) [50%] (Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8) AND 2. critical analysis (2,500 words) [50%]. (Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 5, 9)
The performance presentation may be individual or collaborative. You will receive a group mark for all collaborative work. The critical analysis is an individual piece of work and assessed as such.
Ludivine Allegue, Simon Jones , Baz Kershaw, & Angela Piccini, (eds.) (2009) Practice as Research in Performance and Screen, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Stephen Bottoms and Matthew Goulish (2007) Small Acts of Repair: Performance, Ecology, and Goat Island, London: Taylor & Francis. Dwight Conquergood (2002) 'Performance Studies: Interventions and Radical Research', TDR, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 145-56. John Freeman (ed.) (2010) Blood Sweat and Theory: Research Through Practice in Performance, Faringdon: Libri Publishing. Shannon Jackson (2004) Professing Performance: Theatre in the Academy from Philology to Performativity, Cambridge: CUP. Baz Kershaw & Helen Nicholson (eds.) (2009), Research Methods in Theatre and Performance, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
