ATS3913 - Playtext study 2 - Shakespearean stages - 2018

Students work through three to five key play-texts by, or related to, Shakespeare , analysing these in the context of theoretical texts by practitioners and scholars, and 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 emphasises the comparative practical consequences of different approaches and understandings.

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 employ 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.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Theatre