Staging Histories

Course Description

Course Content:

This module runs in conjunction with DA4002 Making Theatre Happen. The module
introduces students to significant approaches and research methods associated with the
study of theatre history. The course will draw on students? previous and current studies
of performance texts and styles to investigate how we make theatre history, what
evidence we draw upon, and what implications these histories have for our current
performance making

In the first part of the module students will increase their knowledge and understanding
by investigating key periods in Western theatre history including the English renaissance,
the popular Victorian stage, modernism and the post-war theatre of the absurd. In a
series of tutor led seminar/workshops, the students will consider the historical contexts
that gave rise to changing conceptions of dramatic character, dialogue and action.

Particular attention will be given to the material conditions in which theatre artists
worked and the relationship between the theatre and the culture at large in any given
period.

Topics covered may include:
? textual analysis, drawn from the work of, for example, Simon Shepherd, Mick Wallis, and Thomas Postlwait
? performance analysis and the theatrical event, drawing on the work of,
for example, Patrice Pavis
? theatre iconography, drawing on the work of, for example, Robert
Erenstein, Christopher Balme and Jacky Bratton
? theatre aesthetics, drawing on the work of, for example, Artistotle,
George Bernard Shaw, Bertolt Brecht, Antonin Artaud and Howard Barker
? reception theory, spectatorship and audience, drawing on the work of,
for example, Susan Bennett and Helen Freshwater
? theatre architecture, drawing on the work of, for example, Christopher
Baugh, Iain Mackintosh and Marvin Carlson
? workshop analysis and practical exploration of historically distant play
texts
? the reconstruction of acting styles of the past

Autumn Semester:
Students study two distinct periods of European theatre history in relation to playtexts
from that era. Periods studied are not fixed but may include 17th century Revenge
Tragedy, 19th century Melodrama, 20th century Expressionism.

Teaching: Lecture, Presentations, Seminars and Workshops, and Group Practical Work.

Assessment:
STUDY OPTION 1:
Three Assessment Elements:
? 2000 word Individual Research Essay (40%)
? 10 min Group Presentation (20%)
? Performance (40%)
STUDY OPTION 2: 2000 word research essay on one of the historical periods studied

Study Option 1 = Whole Year
Study Option 2 = Autumn
Study Option 3 = Spring/summer