2016-17 Spring

Devised Theatre: Contemporary Creative Process for Performance

(HART 1028)



1 Credit | Can be used to fulfill Common Core Requirement (Core Elective: Arts Area)
Teaching Medium: English

Course Description

Contemporary Theatre has developed to take on many forms beyond naturalistic drama, including Dance Theatre, Multimedia Theatre, Physical Theatre, Site-Specific Theatre and more new forms are constantly emerging. These exciting forms of theatre are often created with the method called Devised Theatre which is a highly collaborative and experimental way of making theatre pieces. It is widely adopted by many contemporary theatre groups of different scales and styles all over the world. In Devised Theatre, all participants work together to create a performance, on a theme of their choice, by making use of various starting materials including photos, objects, songs, news articles, maps, letters, poems, creative writings, movements and even architectural space. In this course, students will become creative performers who will create, edit, design and perform a short piece of original theatre work.
Remarks
Class schedule : Lessons in this course may last for 2 hours or 3 hours depending on the course content. Please refer to the Course Topics below for details. 


  1. Acquire and apply skills and knowledge of Devised Theatre in the process of making a theatre piece
  2. Collaborate sensitively, creatively and responsibly with others in the devising, rehearsing and performing process
  3. Create a meaningful and original theatre piece with a clear theme and focus
  4. Perform with appropriate style, skills and discipline in the final performance
  5. Make critical, specific and constructive comments on oneself and peers

PHASE 1: Devising Techniques

Week 1: Introduction of devised theatre (2 hrs)

Week 2: Physical expressiveness and sense of space (2 hrs)

Week 3: The transformation of objects (2 hrs)

Week 4: No class

Week 5: The dimensions of text (3 hrs)

Week 6: Expressive forms and strategies (3 hrs)

Week 7: No class

PHASE 2: Creative Process and Performance

Week 8: Presentation of topics and materials (2 hrs)

Week 9: Generating the content and choosing the forms (3 hrs)

Week 10: Finding metaphors, structuring and Editing (3 hrs)

Week 11: Polishing, Rehearsal and Feedbacks (3 hrs)

Week 12: Final Presentation and Reflection (3 hrs)

Week 13: Assignment week: no class

Bicat, T. & Baldwin, C. (2002). Devised and Collaborative Theatre: A Practical Guide. Wiltshire: Crowood Press.

  1. Oddey, A. (1996). Devising Theatre: a practical and theoretical handbook. London & New York: Routledge.
  2. Graham, S. & Hoggett, S. (2009). The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre. New York: Routledge.
  3. Lecoq, J., Carasso J-G., Lallias J-C, and McBurney, S. (2002). The Moving Body: Teaching Creative Theatre. New York: Routledge.
  4. Adrian, B. (2008). Actor Training the Laban Way: An Integrated Approach to Voice, Speech, and Movement. New York: Allworth Press.

Enrolment Details

Course Registration : 23-26 Jan 2017
Add/Drop : 01-14 Feb 2017

Instructor

Krissy Yin LAM

Assessment

Course Participation & Attendance 35%
Critical Commentary 30%
Final Performance 35%

Class Schedule

Friday | 14:00 - 16:50
CYT-G009

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