Approaches to Comedy
| Module title | Approaches to Comedy |
|---|---|
| Module code | DRA2104 |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Ms Emily Kreider (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 20 |
|---|
Module description
In this module, you will consider the possibilities of comedy in performance-making. You will explore, largely through practice, a range of popular comedic territories; which may include clown, bouffon and the grotesque, original characters, stand up as storytelling, physical comedy, song making and the absurd. We will use aspects of Jacques Lecoq’s ‘theatre of the imagination’ as a foundational approach. We will extend outwards to engage with a range of contemporary performance and media makers who use humour as a key part of effective audience engagement. Through individual and shared working languages, we will discover how humour can enrich your larger ambitions as theatre artists and makers. We will study how different kinds of laughter can charge or enliven spaces for self-reflection, difficult truths, wonder, wellbeing, activism, joy, and shared relief. We will consider larger systemic hypocrisy and absurdity, alongside human fragility, fallibility and hope. What is the use of hilarity and silliness in our complex times, in what some term ‘the age of collapse’? Through practical experimentation and research, we will consider this question. The term culminates in a final performance to an invited audience, facilitated by the convenor.
*Prerequisites: Dra1018 Creative Actor. This module is ideal but not limited to those wanting to develop their range of expressivity as performers and to experiment in a supportive studio environment. It may also be useful to those interested in writer/creator dynamics, physical comedy, storytelling through stand up, improvisation, devising, total theatre and any kind of presenting that deals with live or interactive audience relationships.
Module aims - intentions of the module
Through the interrelated processes of actor training, practical experimentation, personal creativity and research, the module offers you the opportunity to:
- develop and harness your range of expressivity and creative instincts as a performer and theatre maker
- experiment with a variety of popular comedic forms, styles and pedagogic principals and consider how they inform your practice and audience relationships
- study the dramaturgical possibilities of using comedic elements and laughter to explore the human condition and socio-political systems
- understand the relationship between individual exploration and personal creativity and collaborative group performance making.
- engage with a range of contemporary theatre makers, practitioners, media makers and storytellers using humour as a catalyst
- explore simple elements of visual and sound design, costume and space as intentional partners in your in play and performance making
- establish techniques and strategies for prioritising respect and wellbeing in rigorous environments of creation; enabling effective processes that help you make your best work
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate reasonable skill in the execution and delivery of prepared elements of comedic performance, both individually and in relation to others
- 2. Engage with experimentation and considered risk taking by applying a range of trial and error methodologies in your creative practice.
- 3. Analyse the role of the audience in performance and identify the possibilities of laughter and humour in creating a meaningful exchange
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. 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. Explore theoretical concerns through practice, and vice versa, and to synthesise findings in practical and written tasks.
- 6. Contribute research to specified tasks and making processes, to develop confidence in the ability to analyse, propose and imagine around complex material
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Demonstrate group cooperation skills, including the ability to give and receive constructive critical feedback.
- 8. To initiate and sustain creative work; set personal objectives that are linked to a sense of challenge; To problem solve and adapt to change and/or the needs of the project or group objectives.
- 9. Demonstrate confidence and agility in performance skills and presentation, both of practice and researched material.
Syllabus plan
Whilst content specifics may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that the module will cover some or all of the following topics across weekly studio sessions leading up to a performance and final written assignment.
GENERATE AND EXPLORE
- Performer training, establish the foundations of working and experimenting together.
- Explore selected Comic Varieties and Forms, develop your exploratory practice and creativity.
- Research and Reflection: weekly prompts to watch/listen/read/click. Shared feedback, research and connecting to ongoing practice and performance.
- Practical Seminar Presentation, involving prepared practice and contextual research in a small group.
ORGANISE, REHEARSE, PERFORM
- Structuring the material for performance. What lies between laughter and form? Dramaturgical decision making, transitional possibilities. Supervisions and rehearsing.
- Work in Progress sharing and feedback leading up to final performance to an invited audience.
REFLECT, EVALUATE and LOOKING AHEAD
- Critical reflection and analysis of your process into performance, essay preparation and final tutorial option for incorporating your learning going into the next stage of your degree
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 66 | 234 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 66 | Staff led practical workshops, performer training and facilitated exercises, seminars, feedback and supervision sessions |
| Guided Independent Study | 44 | Staff-set student tasks including individual and group training, research prompts, rehearsing and making creative work |
| Guided Independent Study | 190 | Guided Independent Research: Preparation for seminars, workshops and performance |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation of Work in Progress | 10 minutes (of larger ensemble sharing) | 2-9 | Oral |
| Essay plan | 1 page plan, using bullet points | 3, 5-6 | Oral in 1 to 1 tutorial |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process (Weekly tasks, experiments and peer-to-peer working processes will include practical seminar presentation in small group; written analysis of performance; Journal sample) | 30 | practical seminar presentation in small group 35-40 minutes written analysis of performance (500 words) 1 page Journal sample | 1-9 | Written and oral. Ongoing in practical sessions, supervisions and tutorials |
| Performance | 40 | Contribution to ensemble performance of approximately 45 minutes | 1-9 | Oral and written |
| Essay | 30 | 1,500 words | 3, 5-6 | Written |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process | Recorded presentation/workshop (10 mins) + critical reflection and analysis (1,000 words) | 1-9 | Referral/Deferral period |
| Performance | Portfolio or audio visual equivalent (2,000 words) | 1-9 | Referral/Deferral period |
| Essay | Essay (1,500 words) | 3, 5-6 | Referral/Deferral period |
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 reassessment 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
- Britton, J. (2013) Encountering Ensemble. London: Methuen Drama
- Alsidir, N. (2022) Animal Joy: A Book of Laughter and Resuscitation. London: Fitzcarraldo Editions
- Aniket D. (2022) The Boundary of Laughter: Popular Performances across Borders in South Asia. New
Delhi: Oxford University Press
- Cameron, A. (2002) Daughters of Copper Woman: Indigenous Tradition of the Clown. Toronto: Harbour.
- Evans M.and Kemp M. (ed) (2016) The Routledge Companion to Jacques Lecoq. London: Routledge.
- Edwards, K. (2015) Jammy Voo: Funny Women, Exeunt Magazine
- Gaulier, P. (2006) The Tormentor. Paris: Editions Filmiko.
- hooks, b., (2018) All About Love: New Visions, New York, William and Morrow
- Laanela, P. and Sacks, S. (2015) The Clown Manifesto, London: Oberon.
- Noah, Trevor (2016) Born a Crime New York: One World
- McClenden, Cara: You Fucking Earned It (Naked Empire Bouffon interview 2017. San Francisco)
- Lecoq, J., (2000) The Moving Body. London: Methuen.
- Marshall, L. (2001) The Body Speaks. London: Methuen.
- Wright, J. (2004) Why is That So Funny? London: Nick Herne Books
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Home | The On Being Project (With Krista Tippett)
Unlocking Us Archives - Brené Brown (brenebrown.com)
The Why Not Institute | A Clowning Resource
http://www.theatreadinfinitum.co.uk/
http://www.avnertheeccentric.com
peta LiLY - BLOG: Dark Clown, Clown plus
Who is Slava – Slava's SnowShow (slavasnowshow.com)
Exeter digital archives, Digital Theatre Plus, InstaStories
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | DRA1018 |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | Yes |
| Origin date | 01/01/2023 |
| Last revision date | 31/1/2023 |
