BA Music and Drama

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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-requisites:   

Any L1 Theatre study course unit 

Any L2 Drama Core study course unit - Theatres of Modernity; Screen Culture and Society

• 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). 

• 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

• 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. 

• 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 

• 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 

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.