Module: DRA6008-20 Writing and Directing for Performance 2

Level: 6

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Sita Calvert-Ennals

Module Tutor Contact Details: s.calvert-ennals@bathspa.ac.uk

Please note that in order to take this module you must have studied DRA6007-20 Writing and Directing for Performance 1.

1. Brief description and aims of module:   

The module introduces you to the fundamentals of staging/ directing new writing for live performance. It is based on an industry model of the director / writer partnership.

• This module aims to provide you with:

• An appreciation of the theoretical and  dramaturgical principles intrinsic to the directing of new work and a practical understanding of the collaborative process the writer and director engage in when shaping a new play or performance,  

• The ability to utilise these principles when developing your own work.

• A knowledge of the directors and writers who are currently shaping contemporary drama.

• An increased understanding of industry led approaches to developing new writing for performance 

2. Outline syllabus:

You will be introduced to a range of directing/ dramaturgical principles that are utilised when staging a new script.  These principles will then be practically applied using  either an assigned script written in Writing and Directing for Performance 1 or a contemporary play agreed in collaboration with the module tutor. Text study, practical workshopping, seminars and discussion groups will lead to the staging of the script at the end of the module.

3. Teaching and learning activities:

Practical workshops build on the ideas introduced in the lectures, seminars and critical readings and give you an opportunity to explore your directing and writing and develop your staging of a text. A sequence of smaller directing and writing tasks related to the development of your short plays will be set over the course of the module. These will be evaluated through practical workshops, individual tutorials, and mediated group discussion and feedback.

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: Performance

• % Weighting: 60%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: Portfolio

• % Weighting: 40%