Units
Contemporary Performance
Unit code: KTP401
Contact hours: 3 per week
Credit points: 12
Information about fees and unit costs
School curriculum documents present Drama as a stable field of study. The elements of Drama and the conventions of various periods have provided the pivot around which genres and forms of Theatre can be studied. However, in recent decades a fresh species of Drama has emerged called Performance to challenge many of the traditional terms we use to define Theatre.
Availability
| Semester | Available |
|---|---|
| 2013 Semester 1 | Yes |
Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013
Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.
Rationale
This unit examines postdramatic theatre that was heralded by the emergence of postmodernism. The unit will investigate the challenges postdramatic theatre makes to traditional notions of unitary art form, character, audience, site, time and narrative. The unit will investigate the postmodern aesthetics inherent in intermedial and liminal theatre practices.
Aims
This unit aims to provide you with the theoretical perspectives and practical applications ascribed to the field postdramatic theatre. Understanding the specific nature of postdramatic theatre will enable you to expand your knowledge of the theatre/performance event that can be applied to your own practice and the theatre practice of others.
Objectives
On completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. Synthesise theory related to new and emerging theatre and performance genres
2. Assemble knowledge and understanding related to postdramatic theatre through the effective use of written communication skills
3. Evaluate critically postdramatic theatre traits and meaning making for audiences in live performance.
4. Critique key characteristics and aesthetic frames attributed to the field of contemporary performance.
Content
This unit addresses content such as: the hallmarks of postdramatic theatre, the activating practices of postdramatic theatre such as intermediality and liminality and the exploration and use of differing critical reviewing frameworks appropriate to postdramatic theatre practice and they way in which audiences are positioned and their contribution to the postdramatic theatre events.
Approaches to Teaching and Learning
Teaching and learning strategies for this unit will combine lectures and tutorials with analysis of examples of postdramatic theatre both live and through video/dvd. On one occasion during the semester you will view a performance. If the performance schedule allows, the productions will be viewed in place of a tutorial. Students will be required to pay for their own tickets to each performance. This performance will be critiqued and discussed within the lecture and tutorial and will be used as the focus for one assessment item.
Assessment
LATE ASSIGNMENTS
An assignment submitted after the due date without an approved extension will not be marked. If you are unable to complete your assignment on time, you should submit on time whatever work you have done.
Faculty Assessment Information
To access the Creative Industries Faculty Assessment Information see the Blackboard site for this unit.FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
The unit coordinator and tutors will be available throughout the semester to provide advice and feedback on written assessment items. Weight: 0%
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
All summative assessment items must be submitted to pass this unit. A grade of 2 or lower may be awarded for non-submission of one or more assessment items.
Assessment name:
Essay
Description:
(Summative) Written performance analysis in response to viewing pre-determined live performance. (1000 words)
Relates to objectives:
1, 2, 3.
Weight:
50%
Internal or external:
Internal
Group or individual:
Individual
Due date:
Early/Mid Semester
Assessment name:
Essay
Description:
(Summative) Written analysis of contemporary performance company or practitioner from a pre-detemined list with supporting performance proposal based upon the work of the selected company or practitioner. (2000 words)
Relates to objectives:
1, 2, 4.
Weight:
50%
Internal or external:
Internal
Group or individual:
Individual
Due date:
End Semester
Academic Honesty
QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.
A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.
Resource materials
Required Text
Required unit readings for each week will be made available on CMD accessable through the KTB302 Blackboard site.
Recommended Texts
Bay?Cheng, S. (2010) Mapping intermediality in performance [electronic resource]. Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press.
Campbell, P. (Ed) (1996) Analysing Performance. Mancester: Manchester University Press.
Carlson, M. (1996) Performance: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge.
Chapple, F, and Kattenbelt, C. (eds.) (2006) Intermediality in Theatre and Performance. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
Counsell C. & Wolf L. (Eds.) (2001) Performance Analysis. London: Routledge.
Giannachi, G. (2004) Virtual Theatres: an introduction. London: Routledge.
Goldberg, RL. (1988) Performance Art: From Futurism to the Present. London: Thames & Hudson.
Goodman L. & de Gay J. (Eds.) (2000) The Routledge Reader in Politics and Performance. London: Routledge.
Harvie, J. & Lavender, A. (2010) Making Contemporary Tehatre international rehearsal processes. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Huxley M. & Witts N. (Eds.) (2002) (2nd Ed) The Twentieth Century Performance Reader London: Routledge.
Kaye, N. (1994) New Directions in Theatre: Postmodernism and Performance London: Macmillan.
Kershaw, B. (1992) The Politics of Performance: Radical Theatre as Cultural Intervention. London: Routledge.
Lehmann, H-T. (2006)Postdramatic Theatre.(Translated and with an introduction by Karen Jurs-Munby). London ; New York : Routledge.
Parker, A. & Sedgwick, E. K. (Ed) (1995) Performativity and Performance. London: Routledge.
Read, A. (1993)Theatre and Everyday Life. London: Routledge.
Sandford, M.(Ed) (1995) Happenings and Other Acts. London: Routledge.
Sauter, W. (2000),The Theatrical Event - Dynamics of Performance and Perception, Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.
Schechner, R. (2002) Performance Studies: An Introduction. London: Routledge.
Shusterman, R. (2000) Performing Live: Aesthetic Alternatives for the Ends of Art. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press.
Turner, V. (1987) The Anthropology of Performance. New York: PAJ Publications.
Risk assessment statement
There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit. Some activities and exercises may include physically or emotionally strenuous activities. If you are aware of personal physical or emotional vulnerabilities you should inform your tutor if you are feeling unsafe or at risk in any way.
Every effort is made by Performance Studies staff at QUT to ensure that you work in a safe environment. You are expected to follow all safety rules, procedures and directions, and to ensure that you do not put at risk the safety of others, or yourselves, or of the highest artistic fulfilment of the project in any way.
Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.
Last modified: 17-Oct-2012
