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SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
SINGAPORE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY
THAR003
POST-MODERN THEATRE STUDIES
Term II, 2009-2010
Instructor:
Tel:
Email:
Office:
Margaret Chan
Practice Assistant Professor of Theatre/Performance Studies
6828 0838
[email protected]
School of Social Sciences, SOE/SOSS Level 4, Room 094
Course Overview
The Post-Modern Theatre Studies course is not a module that teaches theatre craft.
Instead it is an exciting examination of society and culture based on the premise that all
in life is theatre. The Post-Modern Theatre Studies course represents a progressive
exploration into the theories and practices of theatre that take students beyond the
prescriptive syllabuses of theatre studies modules.
The Post-Modern Theatre Studies course is designed to encourage intellectual curiosity
and questioning. Drama is examined less for its artistic merit than for its social voice.
Through interactive seminars as well as performance, students interrogate the
playwright’s agenda. In the final staged presentation, students come together to make
theatre resonant with meaning that situates them as a young person in their world.
Course Objectives
To develop:
• Intellectual curiosity and questioning
• Introspection and self-reflexivity
• Communication skills; how to use the tools of theatre to persuade an audience
A fundamental concern of the course is to encourage the students to constantly question
and to evaluate any norm, for example: Is the theatre event a collaborative exercise in
real time and space, or is theatre made and exists only in the minds of the spectator?
The Post-Modern Theatre Studies Course is taught within the context of a leading
international school of Business. The course will provide students with an insight into the
business of theatre-making, but will also teach students important lessons in the
management of people and resources. There will be opportunities for leadership as well
as teamwork. Students will learn how to be responsible and will be made aware of
accountability when dealing with projects that present a public face.
Students develop stamina through the rehearsal process and learn the performer’s code,
“That the show must go on”. Above all, students will learn to value accomplishment.
Class Sessions
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Class sessions are of 3-hour duration per week. Each session will involve inter-active
seminars, discourse, debate and performances. However theatre demands rehearsals
and production and this will involve a considerable amount of work outside the usual
class hours.
Assessment & Evaluation
Attendance – 10 percent
Participation – 10 percent
Early Play Performance and Presentation on Meaning – 15 percent
Individually written dramaturgical comment on a play read and discussed in class – 20
percent
Individual Presentations - 15 percent
Final Production – 30 percent
Attendance – 10%: 2 points if you come to class on time, 1 point if you’re half an hour
or more late. 0 points for absence without a medical certificate of leave of absence. Full
attendance over 13 weeks = 26 points = 10%
Attendance at the Final Production is compulsory. Absence on that day means 0% will
be recorded for the Final Production.
Participation – 10%
Participation accounts for a significant portion of the overall score a theatre class
requires students to enter fully into the spirit of the class. You are expected to engage
enthusiastically in all activities. If you are not in class to participate, work on a project or
turn in an assignment, you will not receive credit. The nature of class assignments,
particularly the Final Production, will mean that you must work in groups outside class
time.
Early Play Performance and Presentation on Meaning – 15%: The class will be
divided into four teams. The team will draw lots to set an order of presentation. Each
team will be assigned a play and two weeks to put together a Performance and
Presentation. This will take the form of a dramatised performance of a short excerpt of
the play of about 15min in length. The team will also make a presentation on the play
and its social meaning, this should be between 5-10mins. The team is then asked to
engage the class in discourse. Up to half an hour is allocated for this part of the
presentation which shows the weight given to the quality of discussion that the team can
stimulate. Thoughtfulness is the goal, not pronouncements and closure – in other words
a debate is what we’re after, not conclusions. We should all agree to differ. This grade
includes an element of peer evaluation.
Individually written commentary (dramaturgical and socio-cultural and sociopolitical meanings) on a play read and discussed in class – 20 percent
Choose any one of the six plays presented and discussed in the first half of the term (not
the individual presentations). Discuss the social meanings in the play and how the
playwright used dramatic devices to present these meanings. The piece may refer to
actual class performance of excerpts, although this is not compulsory since the two
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earlier plays would not have been performed. The essay must move beyond a
description of the drama into a critical analysis of the play script in order to uncover the
social resonance in the drama and how these ideas are achieved in the play text and in
performance.
Students are asked to be self-reflexive as this is a part of critical analysis that especially
responds to the post-modern condition. Students should introspect, that is, think about
the social meanings found in the drama and self-reference these insights. How is the
student moved by the drama? What are the implications of the social meanings set out
in the script for the student him/herself, for his/her society and the social world.
A 1000 word (please keep to this word limit); 12 point, double-spaced. No cover sheets,
no files, simply stapled at the top left hand corner. Number the pages. Please give a
word count.
This is an academic essay and should be written using an academic style. There must
be in-text citations and a bibliography. Please select either:
MLA Style http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/ or
APA Style http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Individual Presentations – 15%: At the start of the term, teams will be given a set of
scenes for young people. These will use two to three performers. The performances will
take place in class on Week 9 and Week 10. The performances should be edited down
to a maximum of 10 mins. You can do shorter performances, but not longer
presentations. All students will be evaluated on an individual basis. This means all
students must perform a role. Avoid plays that give you little chance to show off your
talents. To ensure that everyone gets a chance to perform, students should do only one
role. Only when a team is short of players, will a student be allowed to take a second
role, that student will be graded only for one performance and should inform the
examiner which role he/she wishes to be evaluated before the start of the performance.
This is a classroom exercise; please use the minimum of props and costumes –
Grotowski’s notion of a “Poor Theatre”. The idea is to focus on you as the individual, not
on production values.
Final Production The Final Production is a theatrical production by the entire class. It is
examined as a production and a collaborative effort. As the Post-Modern Theatre
Studies module does not teach theatre craft, a well-made production is not the objective
that the group should aim for. Instead the emphasis is on creative collaboration among
students, so that the process, and therefore work-in-progress rather than the endproduct is scrutinised.
This grade is assigned to the entire production team including cast, crew, business and
management unit. Credit will be given for a production that can engage the audience
fully in the enjoyment of the production and in critical thinking. This grade may be
awarded by an external examiner/s.
Attributes for success of the Final Production:
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creativity
performing competencies
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flair
innovation
independence
team work
the generosity with which resources, knowledge and skills are shared
the ability to seek out and consult with specialists/professional
the ability to negotiate and acquire space, technical and stage support
the ability to focus upon a subject of inquiry, to plan for and sustain a systematic
investigation into the subject.
Roles in a Production:
Executive Producer
{ Director
{
{
{
{
{
{
{
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Playwright/Scriptwriter
Musical Director
Stage Manager
Dramaturg
Sound Engineer
Lighting Engineer
Set Designer/Staging
Costume Designer
Make-up & Hair Designer
Props Designer
Crew
{ General Manager
{ Finance
&
Business
Manager
{ Marketing & Publicity
{ Programme Designer
{ Human Resources
{ Front of House Manager
{ Documenter
{ Logistics
{ Liasion Officer
Required Text
No set text, students will receive text excerpts in class and will also be required to
research and present knowledge to class.
Supplementary References
No set supplementary references but student are required to do independent research
and present knowledge to class.
Course Schedule
Week
Topics
1
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Course Overview
Play 1 – reading and discussion
2
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Play 2-- reading and discussion
Lecture – Gender as Categorisatio
3
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Play 3 –- reading and discussion
Performance & Presentation Group 1
Notes
4
4
5
6
7
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Lecture – Socio-Cultural Strictures
Play 4 –- reading and discussion
Performance & Presentation Group 2
Lecture – Social Stratification
Play 5 –- reading and discussion
Performance & Presentation Group 3
Lecture – Orientalism & Stereotyping
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Play 6 –- reading and discussion
Performance & Presentation Group 4
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Lecture – Self-Determination
Discussion on Final Production
Election of Executive Producer, Director,
General Manager
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RECESS WEEK
9
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Examination of Individual Performances
10
After class hours
• Rehearsals for Final Production
SUBMIT INDIVIDUAL COMMENTARY
• Examination of Individual Performances
After class hours
• Rehearsals for Final Production
11
STAGING OF FINAL PRODUCTION
12
No class in lieu of double class on week 9
13
No class in lieu of double class on week 10
5
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