This course is available through clearing for home and international applicants

If you already have your exam results, meet the entry requirements, and are not holding an offer from a university or college, then you may be able to apply to this course.

BA Music and Drama

Year of entry: 2024

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Course unit details:
Performance Practices 1

Course unit fact file
Unit code	DRAM10101
Credit rating	20
Unit level	Level 1
Teaching period(s)	Semester 1
Available as a free choice unit?	No

Overview

Students begin their practical element of their programme with a wide range of skills and experience. This course is designed to give all students a clear point of entry into practical skills in drama and theatre. It focuses on student’s skills in creating their own work with an emphasis on creating original pieces of performance through writing, devising and physical theatre.

Aims

To provide students with the opportunity to specialise in a range of key theatre/performance practices
To introduce students to key readings in theatre/performance practice
To prepare students for the practical work and theatre-making they will engage with during the rest of their programme
To introduce students to ideas and concepts around critical and reflective practices in relation theatre making

Syllabus

A series of practical workshops with visiting performance practitioners.

Teaching and learning methods

The course will be taught via:

Practical workshops and master classes
Discussion
Small group work and performances
Demonstrations

The course unit will be complemented by a Blackboard site that conforms to minimum requirements including a course handbook, weekly course breakdown, provision of reading material, reading lists. Supplementary material from workshops will be added as appropriate. The blackboard site will be prepared and available to students at least one week prior to the beginning of the first teaching week each semester.

Knowledge and understanding

Demonstrate an understanding of the role of reflection and analysis in developing practical work, and understand the role of practice in creating original work for performance
Understand the role of co-operation and collaboration in developing practical work for performance
Demonstrate knowledge about appropriate skills to use in specific settings

Intellectual skills

Reflect on their own practical skills in a critical and analytical way
Demonstrate a knowledge of their own skills in relation to professional practice
Demonstrate that they can apply an analysis of their experience to the completion of an assessment exercise

Practical skills

Demonstrate that they have acquired skills to a level of specialisation in specific areas of theatre/performance practice
Evaluate different approaches to theatre/performance making and execute a collaborative piece of live performance
Develop a style of journaling and record keeping and understand the importance of this in creating work for performance

Transferable skills and personal qualities

Basic interpersonal communication and team-working skills and working to deadlines and under pressure, independently and as part of a group
Develop an awareness of effective leadership and group-work skills and develop an ability to solve problems creatively and critically
Performing with confidence and precision for an audience

Employability skills

Innovation/creativity: Creative thinking – our teaching environment enables students to develop creative and critical approaches to problem-solving.
Project management: Project management – our teaching environment demands that students plan, undertake, manage and evaluate projects independently and as part of teams.
Written communication: Advanced communication skills – verbal, written; prepared/rehearsed and ‘off the cuff’/improvised.
Other: Emotional intelligence – our teaching environment encourages students to develop self awareness, and an ability to use emotional and cognitive capacities when approaching new challenges.

Assessment methods

Practical performance

60%

Reflective spoken assessment

40%