Have you ever wanted to direct a play? If so, this module is your chance to explore the art of directing in a supportive pre-professional environment.
But what does a director do? Is the director’s job to ascertain what the playwright meant and to clearly convey that to the audience? Or is the director a co-author of a performance whose intentions also inform the meaning of the work? These are fundamental questions that this module will address, as you develop the skills in directing whilst figuring out what kind of director you want to be.
This module will look at a range of political and philosophical plays which will be contextualised by lectures, and through a series of workshops you’ll be introduced to techniques to translate the ideas from page to stage.
In doing so, you will develop confidence grappling with challenging concepts and using that understanding to inform the practical work. Even if you don’t want to become a director, these skills are transferable to several careers including teaching, PR, and marketing.
Lecture: 18 hours
Workshop: 27 hours
Portfolio (2,500 words).
Assessment Details: Portfolio is comprised of:
(a) Annotated excerpt from script
(b) Casting Call
(c) reflective essay discussing the final performance.
Worth 50%. This Assessment is Pass Compulsory.
Performance.
Assessment Details: Performance of 5-10 mins. A short excerpt from one of the plays we've discussed in the module. Worth 50%.
Reassessment Method:
Like-for-like, including, for the practical element, an 8-10 minute recorded presentation articulating a staging concept.
The University is committed to ensuring that core reading materials are in accessible electronic format in line with the Kent Inclusive Practices. The most up to date reading list for each module can be found on the university's reading list pages. https://kent.rl.talis.com/index.html
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1) Assess, interpret and synthesise creative and conceptual ideas in order to create a concept for staging an existing text in a cogent and coherent manner.
2) Articulate and apply a systematic understanding of the relationship between theoretical and philosophical ideas and performance practice, in relation to directing.
3) Analyse and apply the ways in which performance can support or enrich a critical understanding of theoretical ideas.
4) Defend and justify their own creative ideas by synthesising and articulating a variety of methods including some at the forefront of the discipline.
5) Construct and defend arguments regarding chosen aspects of aesthetic and political philosophy and their implications for theatre directing.
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