Industry Internships and Placements (DRAM90016)

This subject provides a direct opportunity for students to work in an industry setting that underpins and is relevant to their directing practice and/or research trajectory towards their final independent project.

Placement

The subject allows students to choose from local, national and international placements, completing 72-hours of placement overall across the teaching period. The details of the experience, its content and interface will align with the individual student’s aims in both their developing practice and the research direction towards their final independent project and exegesis.

It will involve the following possibilities:

1. Placement or Assistant Director on existing Victorian College of the Arts & Melbourne Conservatorium of Music productions or projects (Theatre, Music Theatre, Opera, Centre for Cultural Partnerships); or
2. Local theatre or community arts organisations; or
3. International institutions and companies.

The educational and practice/research aims of the subject are the same for all students, but the type of experience, content and ultimate structure of the subject will be determined by the nature of the interface the student has planned through preparatory tutorials. Each student will have a supervisor who will support them through planning, preparation, and the writing-up phase following the placement.

The structure of the subject will involve:

1. Meetings, in person or virtually, with the industry partner;
2. Occasional academic supervision before, during and after the placement to be determined in consultation with the subject coordinator, and participation in seminars as required.
3. An intensive placement within the performing arts industry;
4. Documentation of this placement through journal writing and archiving of relevant materials;
5. A presentation of the placement to the cohort in a group forum after the completion of the project;
6. Final reflective/critical essay.