Module: PM7039-30 Production 2: The Shakespearian Company

Level: 7

Credit Value: 30

Module Tutor: Roger Apfelbaum

Module Tutor Contact Details: r.apfelbaum@bathspa.ac.uk

1.Brief description and aims of module

This module is one of 4 interconnected modules (PM7036, PM7037, PM7038 and PM7039) that draw together companies of creative practitioners to collaborate in the production of short pieces of live production. The focus is on this being a research and development project that could be a precursor to ideas that you could develop in your Major Project. It requires you to consider how you place your scholarly work within the context of a broader company. Either as an actor, directors or dramaturg.

This module aims to:

● Provide a research and development environment for the performance of a short Shakespearian performance piece or practical research project.

● Foster a company ethos by bringing together actors, directors and producers

● Promote collaborative approaches to the live performance of Shakespeare

2.Outline syllabus

The module continues to draw together actors, directors and producers requiring you to extend your work in module PM7009. You work on a short, but complete, Shakespearean performance/research piece (this might be a one-act piece, an edited text or a Research and Development phase of a production).

As Shakespeare scholars, you work on an appropriate text, placing your rehearsal techniques and processes or research ideas within the broader context of the director’s vision and the Creative Producer’s management of the entire production. You will have to see your work as part of a larger machine that operates well, when you engage creatively and positively with other colleagues and within set deadlines and production parameters.

This is first attempt at uniting the key elements of creating a live performance event and acts as a precursor to the Trimester 3 Major Project. The aim is to establish companies of creatives who can collaborate in future projects.

The produced work can serve as a piece of research and development for a further, but significantly developed, iteration of the same project in the Major Project module. Equally, it can be a standalone work that explores the collaborative potential of a group of creative practitioners. You can draw your work from either you colleague on the masters programmes, or from undergraduate work, or other sources.

The expectation is that this is a small-scale project for performance in a low-cost fringe environment. This reduces the risk for the director ensuring a safe learning environment.

3.Teaching and learning activities

This project is a development from the Production 1: Shakespeare Scenes module. It is also a preparation for the trimester 3 Major Project module, where you are likely to form your own production company and independently produce an original work. The focus of this module is for the learning to emphasise increasing autonomy. In that respect, teaching focusses on providing support, rather than leading the process.

Formative assessment therefore considers how you fit your work as an scholar and performer within the director’s production concept and within the resources defined by the creative producer. It will also consider how you are a part of a wider creative process and enable that process and the work of others.

Summative assessment is a performance project. This combines the performance event and a viva voce after the project. This enables tutors to determine if any tensions restricted the creative process, where preparations succeeded or failed, where systems enabled or disrupted the production. The two assessment events work in tandem and serve to inform the tutors’ unified overview of the company's collaborative engagement with the creative process.

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: Course Work
• Description: Performance Project (7,500 words equivalent)
• % Weighting: 100%