Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Synopsis This subject will provide a basic introduction to those aspects of semiotic, social and textual theory that have been used in developing approaches to the analysis of performance texts. We will use versions of Don Juan in performance for the introductory work. The focus of the subject will be on reading and analysing performance texts in a number of sites and locations, not all of them `theatrical', and on understanding the many different ways in which such texts are `authored' and `produced'. We will look at drama in performance, street theatre and outdoor performance; poetry readings; public events as performance (Australia's bi-centenary celebrations on video); the intersections between the performance of law in courts of law and some of its televisual counterparts; the role of performance in everyday life (in shopping malls for example). The aim will be to arrive at some definitions of performance and some understanding of the social and cultural functions of performance in late twentieth century Western and Australian society.
Assessment Tutorial participation and presentation (1500 words): 20% + Short exercise (1000 words): 20% + Long essay (3500 words): 60%