This module engages students in the study of performance practitioners and forms (e.g. Boal, Brecht, Ancient Greek theatre, Agit-Prop, Worker's Theatre, Feminist Theatre, etc) which have an intended application beyond the entertainment of paying audiences by professional practitioners. The module includes an overview of such practice, and case studies of three such practitioners or forms.
Module Outline
1. Overview: Theatre and Society
A survey of forms of theatre and performance which refuse to be, or seek to be more than, entertainment and has agendas beyond the aesthetic.
2. Case study 1: Compulsory Theatre
An in-depth study of one form (e.g. Ancient Greek theatre festivals, Passion Plays, initiation rituals) in which the performance is an essential event in the life of the community that produces it.
3. Case study 2: Engaged Practitioners
An in-depth study of one form (e.g. Brecht, Agit-Prop Theatre) in which practitioners stage for an audience material with an explicitly radical socio-political content.
4. Case study 3: Engaging the Audience
An in-depth study of one form (e.g. Boal's Forum Theatre, Invisible Theatre, or Theatre of the Oppressed, Worker's Theatre, 1960s 'Happenings') which rely for their effect on the active involvement and participation of the spectator.
Module Aims
To engage critically and analytically with a range of applied performance forms
To raise awareness of the function of performance as a tool for social conformity, community identity or socio-political change, as well as aesthetic endeavour or entertainment
To undertake a substantial independent research project
To allow students to work collaboratively in creating a piece of applied theatre for a specific audience
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to demonstrate:
An understanding of several forms of applied and political theatre, and their relationships to their original cultural contexts
An ability to investigate, and to offer a critical and analytical account of, one major practitioner or form in the area
The ability to present complex information both orally and in writing so that it is clear, structured, accurate, and engaging
Project planning skills (including negotiation and communication skills) to realise a piece of group collaborative performance with minimal input from tutors
Performance and/or camera and video editing skills sufficient to create and/or make a record of a piece of Applied performance
The ability to articulate their ideas and research findings spontaneously
Module Outline
1. Overview: Theatre and Society
A survey of forms of theatre and performance which refuse to be, or seek to be more than, entertainment and has agendas beyond the aesthetic.
2. Case study 1: Compulsory Theatre
An in-depth study of one form (e.g. Ancient Greek theatre festivals, Passion Plays, initiation rituals) in which the performance is an essential event in the life of the community that produces it.
3. Case study 2: Engaged Practitioners
An in-depth study of one form (e.g. Brecht, Agit-Prop Theatre) in which practitioners stage for an audience material with an explicitly radical socio-political content.
4. Case study 3: Engaging the Audience
An in-depth study of one form (e.g. Boal's Forum Theatre, Invisible Theatre, or Theatre of the Oppressed, Worker's Theatre, 1960s 'Happenings') which rely for their effect on the active involvement and participation of the spectator.
Module Aims
To engage critically and analytically with a range of applied performance forms
To raise awareness of the function of performance as a tool for social conformity, community identity or socio-political change, as well as aesthetic endeavour or entertainment
To undertake a substantial independent research project
To allow students to work collaboratively in creating a piece of applied theatre for a specific audience
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to demonstrate:
An understanding of several forms of applied and political theatre, and their relationships to their original cultural contexts
An ability to investigate, and to offer a critical and analytical account of, one major practitioner or form in the area
The ability to present complex information both orally and in writing so that it is clear, structured, accurate, and engaging
Project planning skills (including negotiation and communication skills) to realise a piece of group collaborative performance with minimal input from tutors
Performance and/or camera and video editing skills sufficient to create and/or make a record of a piece of Applied performance
The ability to articulate their ideas and research findings spontaneously