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Northcott Production

Module description

In this module you will work with a professional director on a new piece of theatre to be performed, ideally, at the Northcott Theatre for a general audience or in another venue or format, if required. The show will be programmed before the module begins and will be different every year. It will have a short production run near the end of the module. The production may take the form of a newly adapted text or an existing drama, for example. You will have the opportunity to audition for a performance role once the module begins. Other roles you may fulfil include contributing to design processes, assisting the director in rehearsals, understudying, dramaturgy, promotion, production managing, helping in the technical running of the show, etc. The precise nature of your contribution(s) to the production will be determined in consultation with the director and the module convenor. You and your peers will form a company, working together to stage a production in, or associated with, Exeter’s flagship professional theatre. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

In this module you will learn how to collaborate with your peers and work with a professional director in order to stage a show at the Northcott Theatre, or in another venue or format, if required, for a general audience with a short production run. The aim is to replicate professional practice as much as possible.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. Collaborate with your peers and with a professional director to mount a production at the Northcott Theatre or in another venue or format, if required
• 2. Demonstrate professional development and refinement of practical skills
• 3. Critically reflect on your contribution to the staging of a theatre production and articulate your learning

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 4. Relate to others in theatrical processes and performances; to work effectively with others in small task-orientated groups and to initiate and sustain creative, analytic and interpretative work within strict time limits and basic technical competence.
• 5. Engage critically and analytically with physical discipline; the development of thoughtful creative processes and understanding of physicalisation in performance.
• 6. Explore theoretical concerns through practice, and vice versa, and to synthesise findings in practical and written tasks. The ability to interpret research into physical practice and vice versa.

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 7. Develop group cooperation skills, including the ability to give and receive constructive critical feedback and to improve communication skills and analytic abilities in discussions.
• 8. Balance between self-direction and collaborative work; self-management, collaborative working skills, problem solving, critical analysis and valuing own and others’ ideas and beliefs.
• 9. Develop confidence in performance skills and public presentation, both of dramatic practice and researched material.

Syllabus plan

The beginning of the module will involve consultation sessions with the director, in which production and possible role allocations are discussed, and self-directed tasks are assigned.  In the middle weeks of the term  there will be an intensive rehearsal period that mirrors professional practice. You will have an individual tutorial at the end of the term in preparation for the essay assignment.

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

Basic reading:

• Britton, John (ed.) (2013) Encountering Ensemble, London: Methuen Drama.
• Cohen, Robert (2011) Working Together in Theatre: Collaboration and Leadership, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
• Roznowski, Rob (2009) Collaboration in Theatre: A Practical Guide for Designers and Directors, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
• Sennett, Richard (2013) Together: The Rituals, Pleasures and Politics of Co-operation, London: Penguin.

Key words search

Theatre, production, collaboration, Northcott, drama