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Practical Essay

Module description

This module allows you to spend a term developing and delivering a performance project with a small group of like-minded peers from your year-group. This is a practical essay, so the research element is as important to the project as your performance. You will spend your time reading and practically interpreting a defined research question, building on material you might have encountered on any part of the Drama programme. You will work in small groups with shared interests. Each group identifies a core audience and creates a piece of researched practice for a context beyond the University. You will primarily be assessed on the appropriateness and success of the choices you make in relation to the context in which you work. This module is a jewel in the crown of the degree and a chance to realise your research in practice -- in public!

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to allow you to:

• Draw together the experience of theatre-making gained through the degree programme;
• Work in a group (usually of 5-7) in the complex logistics of mounting a culminating presentation, that is likely to take the form of a performance;
• Guide an individual and collaborative process of creative work, and to contribute to the creative work of your peers.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Collaborate with others to produce an original piece of researched performance for a student-selected audience beyond the University
• 2. Articulate appropriate research questions and working methodologies in a mid-process presentation to the full year group and an abstract presented to staff in advance of the performance
• 3. Utilise practical, creative and organisational skills in bringing work to performance, engaging with the selected audience throughout the production process
• 4. Analyse and evaluate the creative process with an appropriate critical distance

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Work effectively with others to initiate and sustain creative, analytic and interpretative work within strict time limits
• 6. Engage creatively, critically and analytically from different theoretic perspectives, to explore theoretical concerns through practice, and vice versa, and to synthesise findings in practical tasks

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Develop group co-operation skills, including the ability to give and receive constructive critical feedback, and to improve communication skills and advanced analytic abilities in discussions
• 8. Develop advanced confidence in performance skills and public presentation, in a variety of situations and/or with a variety of audiences, both of dramatic practice and researched material
• 9. Collaborate to learn elements of teamwork and presentation, and to negotiate and manage conflict when appropriate, to think laterally and demonstrate originality in problem solving, and to demonstrate leadership skills when appropriate

Syllabus plan

This module is the culminating practical element of a full-time Drama student's work over the three-year programme. It is an invitation to create collaboratively an original work for performance/presentation. To some extent, it replicates the processes of professional theatre groups whilst allowing students to build on their previous experience. Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

Three sessions with tutors will take place during the process, at which the students will present and discuss their work. Additional support/feedback is available from peer 'buddy' groups. In addition, each group is expected to:

• Provide regular reports to a supervisor
• Give a short, mid-module progress report to the full year group, to include pertinent ethical considerations
• Submit an abstract (comprising a set of research questions appropriate to context/audience, a research context and a set of working methodologies) to the module convenor in advance of the final practical work.

Examiners will take account of this abstract when assessing the practice. Individual fifteen-minute vivas are conducted after the final performances, at which each student is expected to reflect on, analyse and evaluate the creative process with an appropriate critical distance. Students will be encouraged to keep personal documentation of their work, which will help them prepare for their vivas.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

 Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

In conjunction with the supervisor, each student devises a personal reading and research programme.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=646

Key words search

drama, practical essay, performance, contextual practice, relational, devising