DTS4130

Avant-garde! Theatre of challenge and experiment

S Tweg

12 points - 2 hours per week - Second semester - Clayton

Objectives Students successfully completing this subject should have developed an understanding of the historical development of avant garde performance, the basic principles governing this style of theatre and its ongoing cultural significance. They should also have gained sufficient familiarity with a range on unconventional texts and performance pieces to be able to articulate responses and, if they choose, to develop and demonstrate their own works.

Synopsis This subject explores avant-garde theory and performance practice from its historical foundations in nineteenth century Europe, via political analyses of creative arts in western society and cultural debates sparked off by twentieth-century practitioners. A number of texts, including films, short videos, readings and works for theatre, will focus seminar discussions in which the exciting and problematic nature of avant-garde (defined through form, style, content, performance and audience reception) will be explored. The course is designed to balance intellectual inquiry with practical issues, such as the challenge of decoding unconventional 'texts' and the generation of new texts through surrealist games. Attention will be paid to the problematics of creating, notating and recording unconventional performance pieces, design issues and the performer's search for an appropriate performance style. Students are not requried to perform except (if they choose) in short exploratory workshop environments, although they will be expected to share basic knowledge and ideas about performance theory and praxis from earlier studies. There will be opportunities to devise, direct and/or perform avant-garde pieces for the performance at the end of the course.

Assessment Two seminar presentations (each 2000 words): 25% each - Performance with script and commentary or essay (5000 words): 50%

Prescribed texts

To be advised in subject handbook each year of offering

Preliminary reading

Berger P Theory of the avant-garde U Minnesota P, 1994
Esslin M The theatre of the absurd Penguin, 1968
Innes C Avant garde theatre 1982-1994 Routledge, 1994
Matthews J Theatre in dada and surrealism Syracuse U P, 1974

Back to the 1999 Arts Handbook