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Directing Methodologies (DRAM90020)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Southbank)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable (login required)(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Kat Henry: khenry1@unimelb.edu.au
Overview
Availability | Semester 1 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
Directing Methodologies addresses knowledge and techniques specific to the discipline of directing for performance. Through skills classes and seminars the subject explores the role of the director as part of a creative team, defining the skills, qualities and processes that are essential to the practising professional director. The subject involves a series of practical workshops and seminar sessions with guest industry speakers concerned with different aspects of the role of the director, particularly in relation to the performer and to dramatic text. Areas of skill development include poetic research, creative exploration from text, journaling, text selection and analysis and the early stages of preparation for rehearsal and production. Directing Methodologies in semester 1 leads directly onto Applied Directing in semester 2. It will include:
1. Introduction to Directing (9 hours)
A seminar-based introduction to Directing considering the role and position of the director in contemporary theatre practice and students’ current thinking and creative aims for the coming year.
2. Nexus of Creative Practice and Research (50 hours)
Taking a text as a provocation, a series of workshops will explore practical creative approaches to researching and generating a vision for a project. This intensive introduction looks at the nexus between the director and actor in creative methods and leadership roles. It involves traditional Asian and contemporary practices and kinaesthetic states and processes.
3. Seminars – Directing Methodologies and Reflective Practice (18 hours)
A series of practical seminars involving guest speakers and existing staff looking at major 20th Century directing methodologies. It will focus on the role of critical reflection, processes with performers, dramaturgical analysis and compositional ideas in contemporary practice.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- begin to articulate a directing philosophy that has at its base the qualities of creativity and experimentation;
- understand the role of the director within the construct of a theatrical text, particularly the preparatory research and creative development stages;
- explore ways of connecting imaginatively with dramatic texts;
- articulate a vision for a production for different audiences (such as funding bodies, potential collaborators);
- create and maintain a creative research journal;
- demonstrate a practical and theoretical understanding of ways of generating performance from text;
- develop a productive working method for the process of creative collaboration;
- identify creative potential in a playtext;
- actively participate in creative and pragmatic discussions;
- document, reflect upon and evaluate their own and others' creative process;
- exhibit willingness and ability to engage in constructive peer discourse;
- reflect on their own work through processes of discussion, journal-keeping and reflective writing.
Generic skills
On completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- create and organise aesthetic material;
- use a range of research tools and methodologies;
- solve problems;
- lead others in the skills of problem solving;
- interpret and analyse;
- develop the capacity for critical thinking;
- work as a leader showing initiative and openness.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Critical discussions and practical project tasks (skill engagement, class participation, in-class presentation of practice/research) - Ongoing, up until Week 6
| First half of the teaching period | 60% |
Directing Manifesto
| Second half of the teaching period | 40% |
Hurdle requirement: Minimum 80% attendance | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Coordinator Kat Henry Mode of delivery On Campus (Southbank) Contact hours 76 hours, comprising 8-hours of classes, 50-hours of practical intensive, and 18-hours of seminars Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 26 February 2024 to 26 May 2024 Last self-enrol date 8 March 2024 Census date 3 April 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 3 May 2024 Assessment period ends 21 June 2024 Semester 1 contact information
Kat Henry: khenry1@unimelb.edu.au
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 31 January 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Barba, E. (1985) ‘The Nature of Dramaturgy: Describing Actions at Work’, New Theatre Quarterly, 1 (1), pp 75-78.
Bogart, A. and Landau, T. (2005) The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition. New York: Theatre Communications Group.
Fuchs, E. (2004) ‘E.F.’s Visit to a Small Planet: Some questions to ask a play,’ Theater, 34 (2), pp. 4-9
Schneider, R and Gabrielle Cody (eds.) (2002) Re:direction – A Theoretical and Practical Guide. London and New York: Routledge.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Master of Theatre (Directing)
Last updated: 31 January 2024