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  2. Theatre as Change [DST2255]

Faculty of Education and Arts

School: Education

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Theatre as Change

  • Unit Code

    DST2255

  • Year

    2015

  • Enrolment Period

    1

  • Version

    1

  • Credit Points

    15

  • Full Year Unit

     N

  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus

Description

A study of theatre practitioners and playwrights who have questioned the values and politics of their cultures/society. Experimentation with form and content will be examined, and the course will cover areas of political and minority theatre.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Analyse the contribution made to theatre by playwrights from minority groups.
  2. Demonstrate the various experiments playwrights and directors carried out with content, form and methods of writing and performance.
  3. Explore and analyse the use of theatre as a political avenue.
  4. Identify the practitioners/playwrights who used theatre and its conventions to affect change in society.

Unit Content

  1. Collaborative writing and devising: e.g. Forum Theatre, Welfare State International Theatre, Joint Stock (Caryl Churchill), the Open Theatre and Schechner, Documentary Theatre, Community Plays.
  2. Experimental forms: e.g. Epic theatre (Brecht, Theatre Workshop, John McGrath), theatre of the Absurd (Jarry, Beckett, Pinter) anti-realism (Pirandello, Artaud).
  3. Realism revolutionary ideas expressed in conventional form, e.g. Ibsen, Strindberg, Sartre, Osborne.
  4. Satire use of comedy to criticise society, e.g. Arstophances, Moliere, Shaw, Ionesco.
  5. The Theatre of the Oppressed (Augusto Boal).
  6. Theatre as a political statement, e.g. Bond, Fo, Brenton, Churchill.

Additional Learning Experience Information

Practical workshops Seminars

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
PerformancePerformance60%
EssayEssay40%

Text References

  • ^ Nil
  • Esslin, M. (2001). Theatre of the absurd. Methuen.
  • Artaud, A. (2010). The theatre and its double. One World Classics.
  • Boal, A. (1992). Games for actors and non-actors. London: Routledge.
  • Bull, J. (1984). New British political dramatists. London: MacMillan.
  • Willett, J. (1990). Brecht on theatre. Methuen.
  • Fischer-Liste, E. (2004). Theatre sacrifice, ritual: Exploring forms of political theatre. Routledge.
  • Fischer-Liste, E. (2008). The transformative power of performance. Routledge.
  • Grotowski, J. (2001). Towards a poor theatre. Methuen.
  • Roose-Evans, J. (2000). Experimental theatre from Stanislavski to Peter Brook. Routledge.
  • Shumacher, C. (2004). Artaud on theatre. Ivan R. Dee, Inc.

Website References

  • Nil

^ Mandatory reference

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

DST2255|1|1

Faculty of Education and Arts

School: Education

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Theatre as Change

  • Unit Code

    DST2255

  • Year

    2015

  • Enrolment Period

    2

  • Version

    1

  • Credit Points

    15

  • Full Year Unit

     N

  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus

Description

A study of theatre practitioners and playwrights who have questioned the values and politics of their cultures/society. Experimentation with form and content will be examined, and the course will cover areas of political and minority theatre.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Analyse the contribution made to theatre by playwrights from minority groups.
  2. Demonstrate the various experiments playwrights and directors carried out with content, form and methods of writing and performance.
  3. Explore and analyse the use of theatre as a political avenue.
  4. Identify the practitioners/playwrights who used theatre and its conventions to affect change in society.

Unit Content

  1. Collaborative writing and devising: e.g. Forum Theatre, Welfare State International Theatre, Joint Stock (Caryl Churchill), the Open Theatre and Schechner, Documentary Theatre, Community Plays.
  2. Experimental forms: e.g. Epic theatre (Brecht, Theatre Workshop, John McGrath), theatre of the Absurd (Jarry, Beckett, Pinter) anti-realism (Pirandello, Artaud).
  3. Realism revolutionary ideas expressed in conventional form, e.g. Ibsen, Strindberg, Sartre, Osborne.
  4. Satire use of comedy to criticise society, e.g. Arstophances, Moliere, Shaw, Ionesco.
  5. The Theatre of the Oppressed (Augusto Boal).
  6. Theatre as a political statement, e.g. Bond, Fo, Brenton, Churchill.

Additional Learning Experience Information

Practical workshops Seminars

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
PerformancePerformance60%
EssayEssay40%

Text References

  • ^ Nil
  • Esslin, M. (2001). Theatre of the absurd. Methuen.
  • Artaud, A. (2010). The theatre and its double. One World Classics.
  • Boal, A. (1992). Games for actors and non-actors. London: Routledge.
  • Bull, J. (1984). New British political dramatists. London: MacMillan.
  • Willett, J. (1990). Brecht on theatre. Methuen.
  • Fischer-Liste, E. (2004). Theatre sacrifice, ritual: Exploring forms of political theatre. Routledge.
  • Fischer-Liste, E. (2008). The transformative power of performance. Routledge.
  • Grotowski, J. (2001). Towards a poor theatre. Methuen.
  • Roose-Evans, J. (2000). Experimental theatre from Stanislavski to Peter Brook. Routledge.
  • Shumacher, C. (2004). Artaud on theatre. Ivan R. Dee, Inc.

Website References

  • Nil

^ Mandatory reference

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

DST2255|1|2