- UCAS course code
- WW34
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA Music and Drama
Explore your passion for performance through the interdisciplinary study of music, theatre and film.
- Typical A-level offer: AAB including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: ABC including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: BBC including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 35 points overall with 6,6,5 at HL including Music
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £28,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
- Find out more from student finance
- Eligible UK students can apply for bursaries and scholarships
- Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
- Many students work part-time or complete a student internship
Course unit details:
Professional Practices: Dramaturgy, Curation and Creative Programming
Unit code | DRAM30311 |
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Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 3 |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
In this unit you will engage with both theoretical and practical approaches to the fields of dramaturgy, curation and creative programming. As part of this, you will receive training in related professional practices including: production dramaturgy, creative programming, performance curation, and outreach/communication. These are growing areas in the professional theatre sector in the UK. With their double emphasis on theoretical/historical understanding and creative practice, these fields provide a career pathway that lets you make the most of the skills you acquire during a Drama degree. This is a hybrid theory-practice module which will give you the opportunity to explore key contemporary theories in programming, dramaturgy and curation, and design a dramaturgical concept or curated event tailored to the Greater Manchester area or another selected context. To enhance your understanding of the context of your work, we will explore the curatorial, programming and dramaturgical work of local theatres. This part of the course will provide you with insight into the theatre ecology of the region and current developments in creative programming.
Pre/co-requisites
Pre-requisites:
Any L1 Theatre study course unit
Any L2 Drama Core study course unit - Theatres of Modernity; Screen Culture and Society
Aims
- To introduce students to the professional practices, key theories and critical contexts of dramaturgy, creative programming and curation..
- To develop the intellectual, practical and professional skills necessary for successful dramaturgical, curatorial and programming work on both a production and institutional level in preparation for a career in the creative industries.
- To enhance students’ understanding of the ecology of contemporary theatre, taking the Greater Manchester region as a central case study and to enable them to respond inventively and critically to its needs.
- To provide students with a range of techniques for developing dramaturgical and curatorial concepts (which includes season programming and festival curation).
Knowledge and understanding
- Articulate a range of historical and contemporary approaches to professional dramaturgy, curation and programming, and demonstrate an understanding of their usefulness for developing new work.
- Apply learnt dramaturgical techniques and professional skills to the development and realisation of concept pitches and a written concept.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the theatre and performance ecology of Greater Manchester or another self-selected context by creating practical and conceptual work tailored to it.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the critical contexts of dramaturgical, curatorial and programming work
Intellectual skills
- Critically evaluate a number of approaches to dramaturgy, creative programming and curation by articulating their relevance in a specific location and historical moment.
- Recognise and discuss the social, political and ethical goals underpinning particular forms of dramaturgical, curatorial and creative programming work.
- Evaluate and critically reflect on their own and colleagues’ practice.
- Draw on professional case studies to inform and develop their own professional practice.
Practical skills
- Apply professional skills to researching, composing and delivering a concept presentation
- Compile, edit and professionally present a professional skills portfolio.
- Evaluate and reflect on their own and others’ practice
Transferable skills and personal qualities
- Apply awareness of practical approaches to dramaturgy and curation to develop new projects, and use this in the development of own conceptual ideas
- Independently gather, synthesise, and organise information on current curatorial practices and critically evaluate their cultural significance
- Be able to articulate and give rationale for own creative ideas in relation to a delineated contemporary context, as preparation for activities such as project development, arts funding application and career development
Assessment methods
Discussion of individual concept | N/A |
Dramaturgical or curatorial concept | 70% |
Curatorial analysis | 30% |
Feedback methods
Feedback Method |
Ongoing feedback - oral, peer to peer and tutor to student |
Proposal |
Feedback on Dramaturgical concept |
Curatorial analysis - written |
Recommended reading
Davida, Dena et al. Curating Live Arts: Critical Perspectives, Essays, and Conversations on Theory and Practice. New York: Berghahn Books, 2019.
Hauptfleisch, Temple. Festivalising!: Theatrical Events, Politics and Culture. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2007.
Kelly, Philippa. Diversity, Inclusion, and Representation in Contemporary Dramaturgy: Case Studies from the Field. Abingdon: Routledge, 2020.
Romanska, Magda. The Routledge Companion to Dramaturgy. Oxfordshire: Routledge, 2015.
Meerzon, Yana and Katharina Pewny. Dramaturgy of Migration: Staging Multilingual Encounters in Contemporary Theatre. London: Palgrave, 2019.
Turner, Cathy, and Synne K. Behrndt. Dramaturgy and Performance. London: Palgrave, 2016.
Trencsényi, Katalin. Dramaturgy in the Making a User’s Guide for Theatre Practitioners. London: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2015.
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
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Practical classes & workshops | 3 |
Independent study hours | |
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Independent study | 197 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
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Cara Berger | Unit coordinator |