TP4004 - Urgent ideas in Theatre and Performance

This module is taught through the format of lecture/seminar. In each session, the lecturer will share with your key ideas and concepts relating to different kinds of theatre practice. The sessions will be delivered in varied ways; you won't only be listening to lecturers but also asked to try out ideas, to watch pieces of film and respond to a range of questions and provocations. It is an environment that encourages dialogue and debate, informed by your engagement with materials covered on the course. There will also be smaller group discussions with a tutor, where there is even more emphasis on developing our voice as part of a continued induction into the Northumbria performance research community.

The use of the e-learning portal (Blackboard) will be a key feature of the module; here you will find regularly updated course materials and readings which will be updated regularly throughout the year. Where appropriate and/or necessary lectures or seminars may be delivered online (for example via Blackboard Collaborate)

Your learning is supported in a number of ways throughout the module. The sessions themselves are structured in a way which is responsive to your needs; lecturers will explore ideas with you and ask you to affirm your understanding of them, and you will be given response tasks in classes to which lecturers will feed back to you, which will help you to measure for yourself your own progress on the module. A series of texts will be selected for you to read which will help you to navigate your way through the module, and these texts will be directly spoken to in classes so that your reading is supported. The module's assessments (oral presentation and essay) will be talked through with you in detail in classes, and there will be ample opportunity to speak with lectures outside of these classes.

Information and resources will be available to you on Blackboard and the 'Reading List' contains links to websites and online video material which can help you develop appropriate knowledge and understanding.

Written assessment feedback will be provided within 20 working days of summative assignment submission. Access to library facilities is available 24-7 all year round.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:
? Show an understanding of the ‘urgent ideas’ that inform theatre and performance cultures today.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
? Demonstrate a developing ability to construct arguments about theatre and performance in written form.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
? Evidence an awareness of different cultural, ecological, and political approaches to theatre and performance.

Formative
500-word tutorial
You will have a 1-to-1 tutorial with your tutor to share a draft 500 words for your essay. This will act as feedforward and is designed to offer you the chance to get informal feedback on your technical writing skills.

Summative (100%)
Essay (2000 words). This essay asks you to articulate and sustain an argument in response to a set question which arises directly from the lecture and seminar classes.

N/A

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What is urgent in theatre and performance practice? What social, political and global challenges are theatre and performance makers investigating through their practice? Building on Big ideas in Theatre and Performance, this module introduces you to the ‘urgent ideas’ that will inform the possible futures of theatre and performance through examples of practice that explore these needs. This module will challenge you to consider how factors such as climate crisis and decolonial thinking will shape performance making processes and perspectives, both today and in the future. These are inclusive of approaches to social justice, anti-racism, digital thinking, climate justice, along with trans* and non-binary perspectives. This module prepares you to explore your own responses to these urgent ideas. The overall aim is to ensure that you are ready to ask challenging questions of yourself and your peers and offer an initial step towards becoming future leaders in the cultural sector.