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Staging the Text

Module description

In this module you will learn key skills involved in staging a dramatic text, including, for example, textual analysis and dramaturgy, theatrical adaptation, directorial conception, principles of light and sound design, and ensemble approaches to performance making. You will learn to develop confidence in your own individual creative conceptualization process as well as how to adapt that concept to the collaborative ensemble’s process. You will work in medium sized ensembles on staging a particular play-text, working together as actors, directors, designers, etc. You will be supported throughout your creative process by one or more members of the teaching staff to make work that is relevant for a contemporary audience.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module will familiarise you with a range of strategies to address the transformation from page to stage, both conceptually and practically, and in a range of roles as directors, actors, designers, and dramaturges. It will develop your confidence in ensemble processes while offering you the opportunity to expand your own creative capacity in new areas of performance making. In doing so, it will provide you with the creative tools to conceptualise your own vision for a specific aspect of the production while learning how to adapt that vision in relation to the demands of the production.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. Understand, reflect on and practically explore different approaches to staging text of a playwright or group of playwrights
• 2. Engage in close dramaturgical analysis of a play
• 3. Develop a coherent dramaturgical concept for your assigned text and develop it into a clear production

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 4. Develop competence in your own creative conceptualisation of a specific aspect of production
• 5. Work competently within an ensemble to initiate and sustain creative, analytic and interpretative work within strict time limits
• 6. Engage competently with physical discipline to develop thoughtful creative processes and understanding of physicality in performance

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 7. Develop personal research skills through the competent translation of ideas
• 8. Develop personal communication skills through the competent expression of creative ideas and images in discussion, rehearsals and performance
• 9. Reflect on a project’s journey, its aims and achievements, and discuss competently your role in that process

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that the module will integrate:

• Lectures and discussions on key skills for understanding and conceptualising dramatic texts, including script analysis, historical context, directorial and creative conceptualisation, approaches to ensemble work, and staging techniques
• Studio-based practical workshops on creative conceptualisation and performance making
• Technical introduction and basic training
• Work-in-progress showings
• Independent Rehearsals
• Final Performance
• Opportunities to reflect on your work in oral presentations, discussions and aviva

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

• Barba, Eugenio (2009). On Directing: Burning the House. New York, Routledge.
• Bogart, Anne (2001). A Director Prepares: Seven Essays on Art and Theatre. London: Routledge.
• Bradby, David (1988) Directors' theatre. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
• Edgar, David (2008) How plays work: the theory and practice of playwriting. London: Hern, 2008
• Fuchs, Eleanor (2004). "EF's Visit to a Small Planet: Some Questions to Ask a Play." Theater 34(2): 5-9.
• Kelly, Philippa (2020) Diversity, Inclusion and representation in contemporary dramaturgy: case studies from the field, Abingdon: Routledge.
• Lang, Theresa (2017) Essential Dramaturgy: The Mindset and the Skillset. New York: Routledge.
• Lennard, John (2002) The drama handbook: a guide to reading plays. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Luckhurst, Mary (2006) Dramaturgy: a revolution in theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Meisel, Martin (2007) How plays work: reading and performance. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
• Merlin, Bella (2010) Acting: the basics. London: Routledge.
• Pfister, Manfred (1991) The Theory and Analysis of Drama. Cambridge: CUP.
• Turner, Cathy and Synne Behrndt (2008) Dramaturgy and performance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Thomas, James (2020) Script Analysis for Actors, Directors and Designers. Sixth Edition. New York: Routledge.
• Waters, Steve (2010). The Secret Life of Plays. London, Nick Hern Books.

Specific reading for each year’s playwright(s) will be indicated via ELE before the start of the module.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=2659
• Digital Theatre Plus
• Exeter Digital Archives

Key words search

dramaturgy, staging, theatre, directing, ensemble