| Unit name | Choreography for Theatre |
|---|---|
| Unit code | THTR20004 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. McCormack |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None. Students with all levels of movement experience are welcome. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Theatre |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important:
This unit will provide you with the opportunity to explore choreographic strategies and practices at the intersections of theatre and dance. You will introduce you to choreographic strategies for working with movement for performance: from sourcing everyday movement material to arranging these building blocks in more complex ways, for instance involving theme and variation, and refining that arrangement. It will explore movement that supports theatrical productions (as in movement direction), as well as more dance-theatre or physical-theatre styles in which the movement is primary. Although student practice is at the core of this unit, you will also become familiarised with a range of contemporary practitioners and the strategies they use in staging bodies. This unit will also provide you with the opportunity to develop your reflective skills, as you critically reflect on your individual contribution to the devising process and your creative decision making. No prior experience with choreography or dance is necessary.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study:
This Year 2 unit builds on the existing theatrical and critical skills introduced in Year 1 and develops them through a specialist investigation of choreography for theatre. This unit provides you with the opportunity to engage in an in-depth movement-based performance-making process. This unit also provides the opportunity for you to develop and deepen your reflective skills as you critically reflect on your individual contribution to the artistic process, as well as on the choreographic processes and compositional strategies used.
Overview:
This unit will advance students’ knowledge of a range of contemporary choreographers, movement directors, and performance makers who are creating work at the intersections of theatre and dance. Practical workshops will explore choreographic strategies for working with movement for performance: from sourcing everyday movement material to arranging these building blocks in more complex ways, for instance involving theme and variation, and refining that arrangement. Workshops will explore movement that supports theatrical productions (as in movement direction), as well as more dance-theatre or physical-theatre styles in which the movement is primary. This unit will also provide students with the opportunity to develop their reflective skills, as they critically reflect on their individual contribution to the creative choreographic process and on their creative decision making. No prior experience with choreography or dance is necessary.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit:
The unit aims to embed interdisciplinary practical knowledge and understanding of choreographic strategies and practices at the intersections of theatre and dance. Students will develop confidence in choreographing performance material for a set purpose. Students will be able to apply these practical skills in their final year performance projects. As well as developing detailed knowledge of a range of contemporary dance/theatre/performance companies/practitioners, they will also be able to reflect upon their own development as practitioners and upon their creative decision making throughout the choreographic process. Through the workshops, and the skills developed through the group performance project’ students will develop the confidence to take an idea from its initial stages through a process of rehearsal and development towards a final performance for a set purpose. Students will develop their understanding of how the different performance and productions elements come together in a final performance. Students’ will develop their organisation, time management and communication skills.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Weekly interactive practical workshops will introduce students to choreographic strategies and practices informed by or derived from specific companies/practitioners working at the intersections of theatre and dance. Workshop discussion and 1-2-1 tutorials will also be used to build the analytical skills needed for students to reflect upon their individual creative decision making. The students will then work in groups (or individually if needed) to apply and adapt some of these techniques to produce performances. The last part of the unit will be focused on student-centred rehearsal and development workshops, with tutors providing feed-forward on work-in-progress. Learning across the unit will also be supported where possible by industry-focused visiting practitioners, and optional theatre trips.
Formative:
There is no formal formative assessment for this unit. Weekly formative feedback will be given to facilitate learning. Each week students will be asked to reflect on their developing skills and on their creative decision making, receiving feedforward from the unit tutor. In the second half of the unit students will have regular opportunities to share their work-in-progress and receive feedback from both peers and unit tutors.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative)
Group performance, 3 minutes per person
Individual, no longer than 1000-words or 7-minutes of recorded verbal discussion
When assessment does not go to plan:
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year. In the case of the performance the re-assessment would be an individual rather than group presentation - Individual Presentation (digital – narrated PowerPoint or similar) (100%) (no longer than 12 minutes) (ILOs 1, 2, 3)
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. THTR20004).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
