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THEA4001: Making Theatre 1: Acting, Directing and Collaborating

• Terms Taught: Full Year
• US Credits: 10 US Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 20 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to equip students with foundational skills to support their journey to becoming a professional theatre practitioner. Through practical workshops and a sequence of small group projects, you will have opportunities to explore multiple professional roles such as actor, director, scenographer, playwright or dramaturg. These roles will then be put into practice through the development of short, original, student-led productions that follow models of practice established by influential 21st century theatre makers from a range of global contexts. These models of practice might include intermedial theatre, postdramatic theatre, applied theatre, environmental performance and more. Your knowledge of influential and emerging practices will be fostered through weekly readings, viewings, lectures and workshops.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Understand and re-apply existing approaches to performance practice to generate new theatrical content through the implementation of theatrical devising, improvising, choreographing, script writing, site-specific engagement, or other relevant theatre making skills.
2. Employ skills relating to specific production roles such as acting, performing, directing, scenography, intermedial design, play writing or community engagement.
3. Understand the skills needed for effective execution of a performance project including collaboration, planning, problem-solving, managing and delivering.
4. Summarize and reflect on personal engagement with module content, effectively communicating a trajectory of skill development.

Outline Syllabus

How do contemporary theatre makers arrive at an original idea for performance? What approaches can we take to ensure inclusive, collaborative creation processes? In this module students will explore these topics by following models of practice suggested by exemplary 21st century practitioners from around the world.

In the first six weeks of this module, students engage in specialist workshops based on staff research and practice. Through a combination of short lectures and practical activities, students will gain an understanding of established approaches to theatrical creation. They will be encouraged to think critically about the aesthetic and formal elements of chosen examples, and how this relates to the working methods of the practitioners. Students will also be introduced to technological tools that can aid their theatre making practice, including a basic overview of sound and video editing and the creative use of AI.

In weeks 7-11, students will be allocated to project groups and will select a production role or roles that they will focus on for the development of a short, assessed performance piece. This project will result in a group scratch performance and presentation that will pitch a concept for further development in the second part of the year.

In semester 2, students will be able to continue with the same production specialisms selected in Semester 1, or to explore new roles. In weeks 2-7 they will develop and refine their skills in practical workshop sessions, on topics including production management, directing and technical skills. In weeks 8-12 they will work in new groups to build on the ideas presented in Semester 1. This will culminate in a short performance in the Nuffield Theatre, developed through independent rehearsals and staff-supervised sessions. This work can be an original creation by students, or an adaptation of an existing script or performance piece.

Assessment Proportions

The practical assessment involves devising an original performance based on the material studied across the year. This will initially be developed as a 15-minute ‘scratch’ performance at the end of Semester 1. In Semester 2, individual students will have options to explore new production roles or continue with the same areas of practice explored in Semester 1. They will engage in additional workshops and seminar sessions and will continue to develop the practical projects initiated in Semester 1. Specialist feedback will be offered by staff in timetabled workshop-rehearsal sessions, and the module will culminate in a final 30-minute staged group performance in the Nuffield Theatre. Assessment of practical projects will include group and individual marks, evaluating students on group contribution as well as execution of chosen production roles.

The other part of the assessment is through the documentation of students' own personal engagement and skill development in the form of a logbook.

THEA4002: Raw Materials of Performance

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5 US Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 10 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to develop students’ critical, aesthetic and theatrical vocabulary by examining the formal building blocks of performance, such as Body, Space, Time, Text and Media. Through a combination of practical workshops and seminars, students will learn how these building blocks are used to construct a variety of performance forms including, for example, traditional stage plays, live art and performance art, physical theatre, site-specific or immersive theatre. Specific examples will be chosen based on the expertise of teaching staff, and will complement the projects undertaken in Making Theatre I.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Identify and describe the fundamental formal components of performance - Body, Space, Time, Text and Media - and their role in the generation and reception of a diverse range performance practices.
2. Demonstrate practical skills in manipulating and connecting these formal components of performance, relevant to specific production roles.
3. Analyse and compare the artistic and cultural impact of a range of performance forms (e.g. plays, live art, physical theatre, immersive theatre) using an appropriate critical and aesthetic vocabulary.
4. Summarise and reflect critically on the relationship between form and meaning in performance-making through both written and practical responses, drawing on a selected range of theory and theatrical practice.
5. Collaborate with peers to present short performance pieces that critically engage with and effectively communicate one or more of the core concepts of the module.

Outline Syllabus

This module introduces students to the core formal elements that constitute performance: Body, Space, Time, Text and Media. These ‘raw materials’ are examined as both practical tools and conceptual frameworks for understanding and creating performance across a range of forms and traditions. Students will engage with fundamental questions such as: How do performers use the body to generate meaning? What role does space play in shaping audience experience? How can time be manipulated to affect rhythm, tension and narrative? What constitutes a ‘text’ in performance, and how do new technologies expand or transform its possibilities?

The module explores these questions through a combination of theoretical discussion and practical experimentation. Students will encounter a wide array of performance practices including physical theatre, live art, immersive theatre, contemporary drama and intermedial performance. Weekly topics may include: embodiment and gesture; scenography and site-specificity; duration and repetition; and the role of emerging technologies in contemporary performance-making.

Sessions will be structured around workshops, short lectures, group discussions and practical tasks. Students will work collaboratively to devise and present short scratch performances that test out key ideas in real time, developing their creative instincts alongside their critical thinking. Regular reflection and feedback will support students in connecting practical exploration with analytical insight.

By the end of the module, students will be able to articulate and apply an informed understanding of the formal elements of performance, and begin to develop their own artistic voice within a collaborative, exploratory learning environment.

Assessment Proportions

In small group practical projects, students will develop short, experimental scratch performance pieces that test out the application of practical approaches to a chosen text or source material. These projects will be performed in a flat-floor studio space with no technical support. They will require 8 learning hours and marks will be awarded based on 60% individual contribution and 40% group mark.

The written assessment will require students to apply selected performance concepts to an analysis of a live performance seen during the term. The submission will be 1200 words in length and will require 12 learning hours.

THEA4003: Living Theory

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5 US Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 10 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

Building on Raw Materials of Performance, this module introduces influential theoretical perspectives that will help students to create impactful theatre productions. This module takes ‘theory’ out of the realm of the written word and moves it into the context of our own everyday lives. Through a series of practical workshops, students will engage in dynamic activities that illustrate the ideas of prominent social, cultural and political theorists. Students will explore theoretical concepts relating to the politics of representation; cultural traditions and norms; and the social construction of spaces, places and identities. We will encourage students to practically engage with these theories through in-class creative activities, allowing them to experience how they can make concrete use of theory in their own creative practice, and more generally as a way of understanding and intervening in the world around us.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Identify and explain key theories that describe the relationship between performance and social, cultural, ecological and political phenomenon.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of how theoretical concepts relate to everyday life.
3. Critically reflect on the relationship between theory and practice, showing awareness of how ideas can inform and shape theatrical work and vice versa.
4. Effectively plan and deliver a performance-based lecture on one or more topics studied on the module.
5. Discuss and apply theoretical concepts with detail and accuracy, communicating knowledge effectively through academic writing.

Outline Syllabus

Living Theory invites students to explore the dynamic relationship between theory and practice in performance. Rather than treating theory as abstract or distant, this module approaches it as something lived—embedded in cultural practices, social identities and artistic processes. Students will engage with a range of key social, cultural and political theories that have shaped how we understand performance and representation, including (for example) feminism, postcolonialism, Marxism, queer theory, critical race theory and post-structuralism.

Each week introduces a central theoretical concept - such as power, ideology, identity, embodiment or the gaze - paired with examples from performance and everyday life. Through lectures, seminars and practice-based workshops, students will examine how these ideas function both analytically and creatively. Questions include: How does theory help us unpack systems of representation and control? In what ways does performance reflect or resist dominant cultural narratives? How can performance itself serve as a form of theoretical inquiry?

Students will be encouraged to embody theoretical thinking through collaborative devising tasks, performance experiments and reflective practice. These activities are designed to foster critical dialogue between theory and the students’ own creative work, highlighting how performance can interrogate, disrupt and reimagine social realities.

The module supports students in developing a critical vocabulary for discussing performance and identity, while also cultivating the ability to apply complex ideas in practical, imaginative ways. By the end of the module, students will be equipped to see theory not as separate from practice, but as something that informs, challenges and is transformed by it.

Assessment Proportions

The module is assessed through two individual submissions: first, a creative 10-minute performance lecture that provides an opportunity for students to communicate their theoretical knowledge in a practice-based manner (8 learning hours required); and second, through a traditional academic essay which will aid the development of academic writing skills (1200 words, 12 learning hours).

THEA5003: Theatre and Society 2

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5 US Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 10 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module gives students an opportunity to explore multiple areas of contemporary theatre practice from both practical and theoretical perspectives.?Based on available staff specialisms, students will be introduced to innovative and influential case studies each week and will explore these through integrated lectures, seminars and practical workshops. The module will expand students’ familiarity with a range of global theatre and performance, with an emphasis on practices that respond to critical social and political issues.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Understand and interpret the relationship between specific bodies of practice and social, political, cultural and ecological issues.
2. Examine the artistic and cultural impact of specific performance examples based on knowledge of theoretical and historical contexts.
3. Complete Theatre research that engages with a specific thematic, formal or aesthetic approach, drawing on existing practice and theoretical sources.
4. Understand and employ effective communication of Theatre and Performance knowledge for academic contexts, making ethical use of AI and emerging technologies as appropriate.

Outline Syllabus

How do complex social and political circumstances condition the production and reception of 21st century theatre practice? What specific aesthetic, formal, and ethical considerations are required to increase the efficacy of theatrical performance in specific social and political contexts?

The module is taught through integrated lectures, seminars and workshops. Supported by weekly assigned readings and viewings, each week will introduce a new case study or set of case studies that illustrate a thematic area of practice. Students will be briefly introduced to historical forerunners before focusing on performance examples from the 21st century, analysing the theatrical tactics employed by a variety of makers to address social problems in specific contexts. For example, weekly themes will include Theatre and Postmodernism; Theatre and Race; Theatre and Community; Theatre and Populism; and Theatre and Fascism.

Following the introductory weeks, sessions will devote a portion of time to group presentations, giving students an opportunity to address issues and examples of personal interest to them. All sessions will include practical activities to encourage students to explore the ways that case study models might inform innovative new work. Students will also complete an essay on a case study of their choice.

Assessment Proportions

This module develops students’ knowledge of Theatre and Performance theory and history, building on THEA4003. The module will complement THEA5001 by increasing students’ appreciation for the capacity of theatre to create meaningful responses to complex social and political problems. It will also provide an important basis for the development of topics and research frameworks for THEA6001. This module also makes strong contribution toward the decolonising and diversification of the Theatre programme at Lancaster; weekly topics will centre global majority scholarship and practice. Guided independent study will be facilitated by assigned readings and viewings each week, and by extended resource lists that will support further investigation of chosen topics.

This module provides a multi-modal approach to assessing the subject knowledge of students; through a combination of group presentations and individual essays, it provides an opportunity for students to enhance their capacity to communicate academic knowledge through multiple modes of communication.

Group presentations will be based on 5-minute contributions from each individual student and will require 8 learning hours. Marks will be awarded based on 60% individual contribution and 40% group mark. Essays will be 1,500 words with full referencing and bibliography, and will require 12 learning hours.

Students will receive formative feedback throughout the module in class discussions led by staff. Formative feedback in preparation for essays will be available through an essay preparation workshop.

THEA6001: Theatre Independent Project

• Terms Taught: Full Year
• US Credits: 10 US Semester Credits
• ECTS Credits: 20 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

The Independent Project is an opportunity for students to tailor their studies according to their own passions and curiosities.? Students will undertake a major piece of research, supervised by a member of staff with relevant expertise.? They may choose to undertake a traditional, 8,000-word written dissertation, or they can opt for practice-based research that combines solo practical work with a 4,000-word analytical essay.? We welcome topics relating to any area of theatre or performance.? Students might focus on professional or applied theatre practice, popular performance, or on a topic relating to popular culture, film or television.? Students will develop an advanced ability to research and communicate knowledge in an area relevant to Theatre and Performing, and they will become an expert in an area of interest developed throughout their degree.?

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Identify and examine the relationship between a specific body of theatre or performance practice and wider social, political, cultural and/or ecological contexts.
2. Investigate and analyse the artistic impact of one or more specific performance examples based on knowledge of theoretical and historical contexts.
3. Design, undertake and present research appropriate to the discipline of theatre and performance, including practice-based and/or theoretical approaches.
4. Understand and distinguish the merits of different modes of theatrical research, and select effective options for a specified research question.
5. Construct effective communications of Theatre and Performance knowledge for an academic context, making ethical use of AI and emerging technologies as appropriate.

Outline Syllabus

This module is the culmination of students’ academic research and writing within the Theatre and Performing degree programme.

Students are assigned to a staff supervisor based on short formative research proposals. The module will include a series of lecture/workshops to introduce students to the parameters of the Independent Project, and to deliver foundational training around practice-based and traditional modes of academic research. Topics will be spread across the year to align with the overall research process and will include the development of research questions, research methodologies, sustainable research practices, the ethics of AI as a research tool, epistemological violence, written and practical presentation and referencing. Throughout the module, students will develop their research through one-to-one supervisions. Students should engage in a minimum of five hours and maximum of eight hours of tutorials.

Students who opt to pursue a practice-based research mode will be required to complete a solo practical output. The nature and scope of this output will be agreed and documented in advance by supervisors and the module convenor. All students will submit the final written portion of their projects and all submissions must include a short supervision log, ensuring that the entire research process is accounted for in the assessment.

Assessment Proportions

This module builds on the research and communication skills developed in THEA4002, THEA4003 and THEA5003. Effective support for diverse learners will be facilitated by a structured, cumulative approach to the research project.

Students will receive formative feedback on a short research proposal. Throughout their supervisions they will document their progress in short, reflective statements (e.g. 200 words for each hour of supervision); these will be submitted as a single appendix alongside the final written output.

For practice-based projects, the practical output should be equivalent to 4,000 written words (e.g. a 20-minute performance; 2000-word play script; portfolio of scenographic designs). The practical output must function as a means of generating and communicating knowledge, in line with established standards of practice-based Theatre and Performance research. It must be a solo project with no additional performers or collaborators. Supervisors will support students in determining and securing appropriate performance venues and other necessary resources, but the emphasis will be placed on the quality of the student’s practice with minimal scenographic and technical support. Practical outputs will be marked jointly with written outputs (4,000 words), with both parts expected to comprise a cohesive whole.

For written projects, the output should be 8,000 words in length. All outputs must be accompanied by complete bibliographies, and by a sustainability statement. They will be marked by a single member of staff who has not supervised the project, and marks for the module will be moderated to ensure parity. All submissions, regardless of research mode, are expected to require 40 learning hours.