DRAM30280 Solo Performance

Academic Year 2021/2022

Solo performance is one of the most vital and innovative areas of contemporary theatre practice. Its immediacy and flexibility make it attractive to many theatre artists, writers and actors who wish to test new ideas, experiment with form, and take their first steps in the theatre industry. As the work of artists such as Oisín McKenna, Selina Thompson, and Travis Alabanza demonstrates, solo performance also has an important history as a means of political intervention, through self-representation, personal narrative, and as a form of activism.

This module offers a supportive and structured opportunity to develop your own original work of solo performance. In a workshop setting, you will work alone, in small groups and collaborative partnerships to develop your own distinctive approaches to developing ideas, generating material, writing, devising, performing, and shaping your work towards performance. Throughout, you will be supported and mentored by the Module Convenor, and will also have the opportunity to engage with visiting artists. You encounter a range of artistic techniques for generating original material for performance, which may include improvisation and live writing, found text and verbatim, movement scores, immersive theatre, monologue, and intermedial practice. Throughout, the emphasis is on developing your own performance as the culmination of a sustained creative enquiry.

Please note that, although you are welcome to work with autobiographical material, this is not compulsory or expected. There are many other ways of approaching solo performance, and you will have a range of opportunities to experiment and find what feels right for you.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the module, students will have encountered and critically analysed selected works by leading contemporary performance makers, and engaged in practice-based research into the effects and impacts of solo performance. 
Students will be able to:
• Develop and sustain a creative enquiry culminating in an original work of performance.
• Identity, test and reflect on various approaches to devising performance.
• Interpret and analyse selected examples of performance, including their own and the work of their peers.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Tutorial

1
Practical

22
Specified Learning Activities

22
Autonomous Student Learning

80
Total

125
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module will be taught via weekly classes combining lecture/seminar and practical workshop activities. In addition to weekly scheduled activities, students will be assigned practical tasks to be completed independently. In addition, students will be asked to engage with selected readings and video excepts prior to each class. All module materials will be accessible via Brightspace, or via free online video platforms. To support the development of their final project, students will be offered a one-on-one tutorial to discuss their plans and receive formative feedback.
 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Assignment: Mid-Term Assignment
Written critical analysis of an example of direct address in performance.		 Week 6 n/a Graded No

20
Project: Performance
Presentation of a short solo performance, and submission of a textual document of the performance (e.g. a script, transcript, score, brief description, or blueprint).		 Week 11 n/a Graded No

40
Continuous Assessment: Contribution to weekly seminar and workshop activities alongside the submission of a minimum of four brief (c. 200 word) reflective responses on the module Discussion Forum. Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

10
Essay: Critical reflective essay. Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

30

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Individual written feedback will be provided to students within two weeks of the submission of the Mid-Term assignment. Students will receive formative oral feedback on the practical work they are developing - informally, during weekly workshops, and in a one-on-one tutorial with the module tutor. Students will receive formative oral feedback on an essay plan. Individual written feedback on the Final Performance and end-of-term Essay will be provided post-assessment.