Monash University Handbook 2011 Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Synopsis

Students work through three to five key playtexts from across a variety of theatre genres and traditions in the context of theoretical texts by practitioners and scholars, concentrating on how the works might be staged and performed. Histories of acting, directing and production theories are explored in detail, giving consideration to how the texts have been performed throughout their production histories. Students will apply the theories in practical exercises based on the texts and the writings of the practitioners. The unit emphasizes the comparative practical consequences of different approaches and understandings.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course students will:

1. possess a first-hand embodied knowledge of different approaches and techniques of a variety of practitioners and theorists from throughout the history of theatre;
2. have received an introduction to key concepts in the history of theatre performance;
3. have a practical understanding of the relationships between theory and practice in theatre performance;
4. be able to employ a variety of practical approaches to the analysis of playtexts;
5. understand and emply the concepts of a historiography based on performance;
6. have experience of the relative importance of actor, director, writer and other participants in different approaches to theatre performance;
7. have considered experience of the affective dimensions and assumptions of different understandings of theatre performance.

Assessment

Group class performance (15 minutes equiv. 675 words): 15%
Individual write-up of performance (900 words): 20%
Essay (2250 words): 50%
Participation (equiv. 675 words): 15%

Contact hours

One 2-hour seminar per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Comparative literature and cultural studies
Theatre
English
Film and television studies
Performance

Prerequisites

1st year sequence in Theatre