SM5021 - Acting and Performance Skills 2 (2024/25)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2024/25 | ||||||||||||
| Module title | Acting and Performance Skills 2 | ||||||||||||
| Module level | Intermediate (05) | ||||||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 30 | ||||||||||||
| School | School of Art, Architecture and Design | ||||||||||||
| Total study hours | 300 | ||||||||||||
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| Running in 2024/25(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) | No instances running in the year |
Module summary
This core module builds upon the foundational acting skills and techniques developed in Acting and Performance Skills 1 and Devising.
Acting and Performance Skills 2 explores established methods for preparing and utilising texts, and advances students’ understanding of how to employ experience and imagination to achieve truthfulness in acting. You will also engage and experiment with systems of rehearsal that can be employed by actors to generate new texts, imagery, and other performance material. Greater awareness of individual and group identity on stage will be developed through ensemble work and experimentation with different performance styles. This learning will be supported and enhanced through training in voice and movement techniques. You will also be taught to practice industry-specific norms of professional conduct and behaviour.
Prior learning requirements
Pre-requisite: SM4020 and SM4010.
Available for Study Abroad? YES, with permission from module leader
Syllabus
In this class, you will:
•take a series of workshops exploring specific acting techniques adapted from a range of theorists. LO1, LO4
• take workshops examining approaches to making theatre through exercises and group rehearsal tasks. You will receive feedback and redirection on performance work from an instructor. LO2, LO3
•take workshops in movement and voice techniques helping you to communicate effectively and expressively on stage, learning to work in a healthy and sustainable manner LO2, LO3
•experiment with different texts to apply the acting methods studied. You will receive continuous feedback designed to increase your capacity and range as a performer, and enable you to better understand the actor’s role in different styles of theatre. LO1, LO2
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
Scheduled teaching provides the guidance and foundation to ensure that independent study is effective in addressing the module’s learning outcomes and assessment tasks.
In-class activity makes use of varied student-centred approaches such as active, flipped and blended learning, so that a range of learning strategies is deployed, and individual learning styles are accommodated. Information is provided through a range of means and sources to minimise and remove barriers to successful progress through the module. The course team seeks to embed the University’s Education for Social Justice Framework in fostering learning that is enjoyable, accessible, relevant and that takes account of the social and cultural context and capital of its students.
Activities foster peer-to-peer community building and support for learning. Reflective learning is promoted through interim formative feedback points that ask students to reflect on their progress, receive help where they identify the opportunity for improvement in learning strategies and outcomes and make recommendations to themselves for future development. Throughout the module, students build a body of work, including written reflections on progress and achievement.
The School’s programme of employability events and embedded work-based learning within the curriculum supports students’ personal and career development planning. Through these initiatives, students are increasingly able, as they progress from year to year, to understand the professional environment of their disciplines, the various opportunities available to them, and how to shape their learning according to their ambitions.
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, you will be able to:
Knowledge and understanding
LO1: demonstrate an embodied understanding of acting theories by constructing performances that are appropriate to the period, tone, aesthetic or genre of the piece
Cognitive intellectual abilities
LO2: generate new performance material that shows knowledge of specific theatrical techniques, and wider artistic and social trends
Transferable skills
LO3: demonstrate professionalism in conduct, through effective collaboration, responsiveness to directorial instruction, preparedness, punctuality and attendance
Subject specific skills
LO4: undertake a variety of roles and make imaginative choices in the delivery of texts or other performance material.
Assessment strategy
You will be assessed through a variety of modes on your ability to engage in ongoing acting exercises, effectively shape and deliver performance texts, make appropriate acting choices, communicate with your voice and body, and demonstrate an understanding of genre (LO1). You will also be assessed on your willingness to experiment and take creative risks, ability to integrate feedback, capacity to generate new material, and your collaborative skills as demonstrated through in-class project work with peers (LO2).
To facilitate this, assessment is continuous on this module, referencing key events during each assessment period. This includes work in acting exercises, practical presentations, and collaborative projects (LO4). Together with their creative and collaborative skills, process is also evaluated in terms of professionalism, engagement, progress, ability to integrate feedback, attendance and punctuality (LO3).