Search results: 3

EA221-5-AP : Expressionism in Visual Theatre, Physical Theatre and in Text

This module constitutes Part I of the two-part actor training in the second year in which the emphasis progresses from the foundation training of first year to examine a range of contemporary theatre styles and forms. You will continue to develop your performance skills through the practice of acting, devising, writing and script analysis. Opportunities will be provided to experiment with expressionism in text, music and visual art, European contemporary physical theatre, commedia dell'arte, the theatrical clown, post-modern and non-traditional text structure, tragedy, objects and puppetry.

Students are assessed on their contribution and participation during the rehearsal process and performance of projects. Projects in the first part of the module are shown in studio-based performance to audiences drawn mainly to invited audiences of staff and students, progressing to a theatre-based Music and Theatre showing at the end of the module. Self-created work, rather than scripted or directed work, is introduced as the module progresses.

Theatre as a Medium of Expression
The work of this module is focussed on introducing you to theatre as a form of artistic expression, using devising and improvising techniques as well as experimenting with writing, structure and behavioural dynamics.

Expressionism - Visual Theatre Project
Using visual art as a starting point, students will devise a piece of work with a practitioner working in the area of new dance and visual expressionism theatre. Emphasis will be on observation and students will start by visiting galleries, buildings and busy streets as research. You will learn how to stage a piece of work starting from a blank page, how to share creative ideas and work as an ensemble. Preparation and rehearsal takes place over four weeks, culminating in an assessed studio-based performance in Week 6 of Term One.

Expressionism in Text and Theatre of the Absurd
Lead by a director, students will stage a production of an unconventionally-structured text, for example works of Beckett, Ionesco, Pirandello, Jarry. This part of the module encourages you to develop the ability to follow and stage an existing text imaginatively. You will learn skills of text interpretation and widen your familiarity with the expressive possibilities of the written word. You will begin the work of responding to the demands of a director. Work on this project lasts for five weeks. There is an assessed studio-based performance in Week 11 of Term One.

Self-Creation
At the end of Term One students will work in groups for a short intensive period developing their own self-created pieces. Under the supervision of the Head of Course they will decide on style, content, method of presentation and division of roles within the piece eg writer, director, actor, choreographer, designer, composer etc. As a group they will take all the decisions necessary to give a final assessed presentation. You will become familiar with and learn how to overcome obstacles to the creative process by putting together a piece of theatre under pressure of time and resource. You will use devising, improvisation and story-telling skills.

Physical Theatre Techniques & Performance Styles
The work of Term Two is an intensive period of study in techniques and performance styles used in European physical theatre. You will undertake short blocks of work on:
The Fool
Music & Theatre

The module will conclude with a Music and Theatre performance in Week 5 to an invited audience which will introduce you to the experience of performing in a theatre environment in an external venue, e.g. the fully-equipped theatre at nearby Chigwell School.

Technical Studies
An integral part of this module is an introduction to the basic technicalities of production - stage management, design, set construction, lighting, sound, props, costume and equipment. Tutors from the School's Technical Department will, through a series of practical classes and technical 'surgeries', encourage students to develop an understanding of how technical resources are applied to audience requirements, of how to research, source and make use of technical resources and of how to adapt to a variety of performance environments safely and creatively, related to their practical projects through the year. Assessment of Technical Studies is continuous through observation of class work and its realisation in projects.

Category: Loughton

EA223-5-FY : Voice II

This is a compulsory second year course for students on the BA Hons Contemporary Theatre degree scheme. In the second year the rigorous foundation work of first year is developed and the individual range of vocal choices is explored in association with the work EA221 and EA222 Expressionism I and II. You will work on developing vocal skills for devised and improvised work, for the vocal expression of original creative writings such as poetry and for performance in a range of contemporary theatre styles and forms. By the end of this three-term module you will have the vocal flexibility (breath, pace, resonance, pitch and articulation) to meet the specific demands of self-created projects.

Term One
Exploring accents and dialects
Breath support and physical energy
Developing pitch and resonance range
Understanding poetic styles and devices
17th century commedia dell'arte rhetorical devices

Term Two
Exploring rhythmic text through voice and language
Style, form and use of language in poetry
Adapting breath and articulation to the demands of poetry
Pitch and resonant range for poetry and emotion
Use of Received Pronunciation in sustained and emotionally demanding contexts

Term Three
Warm-ups for specific character styles
Developing sensitivity, power and passion in the voice
Muscular and resonant articulation for emotional flexibility
Techniques to carry intimate speech into performance space.

Category: Loughton

EA226-5-FY : Contextual Studies II

This is a compulsory second year course for BA Hons Contemporary Theatre students. The work of the module supports the content and practical project work of EA221 and EA222 Expressionism I and II. You will begin the work of this module by learning to make the connections between the different era of the evolution of Commedia as a theatrical form. You will prepare for a site-specific interpretation of a classic text later in the year by acquiring a general understanding of the history, politics and cultural life of the Elizabethan era. From this you will progress to analysis of Shakespeare text in both historical and contemporary contexts. In the second term you will examine the work of influential acting theorists and practitioners of progressively increasing complexity so that by the final term you are equipped to undertake a comparative analysis of a range of styles and forms of contemporary 'political' theatre.

A unique and important aspect of this module is the creative writing content. Throughout the year you will work with a creative writing tutor to develop your ability to write self-created work for performance. By the end of the module you will be prepared to progress to the final year of the degree scheme in which the strongest emphasis is placed on students' own work.

Term One
Origins of commedia as a theatrical form
Social and cultural contexts of commedia
Modern commedia dell'arte applications, eg Copeau, Lecoq
Shakespeare and the Elizabethan era

Term Two
Naturalism and Realism: Chekhov, Stanislavski and Strasberg
Contemporary acting theory: Grotowski, Meyerhold and Biomechanics

Term Three
An examination of the term 'political' in a theatrical context
Playwrights and practititioners associated with political theatre: Dario Fo, Bertolt Brecht, Augusto Boal, John McGrath
The emergence of the American avant garde in the 1960s
Post-modernism in the work of Robert Wilson and Pina Bausch.

Category: Loughton