COURSE OUTLINE. OUTCOMES On completing the course you should be able to:

Transcription

1 PROGRAMME HANDBOOK SUMMER STUDY ABROAD MODERN SHAKESPEARE: LONDON & STRATFORD-UPON AVON SUMMER 2016

2 Course Handbook Summer Study Abroad Modern Shakespeare: London & Stratford-upon-Avon Teaching Institution Duration of Semester 3 weeks Dates 25th July - 12th August 2016 Tutor Chris Hill COURSE OUTLINE Through lectures, visits, backstage tours, discussion groups and performances, this course offers you the opportunity to engage with modern and contemporary interpretations of Shakespeare in London and Stratford-upon-Avon through an intensive three week programme. From the historic Globe Theatre and the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse to the performances archives at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London offers incredible resources to complement your studies. You will be based at, a specialist art college with theatre as one of its key subject areas. Responding to a brief, you will develop a concept and visually communicate your ideas using key Shakespeare texts as a starting point. You will learn about the creative processes used in staging Shakespeare and how these have evolved over time and attend three theatre performances which will be contextualised in group seminars and form the basis of your research. Your learning will be enhanced by a three day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. You will work with experts at the Shakespeare s Birthplace Trust and see a performance at the Royal Shakespeare Company to delve further into key texts and gain an in depth understanding into the context which Shakespeare is studied today AIMS This course will provide you with: An insight into the range of approaches to Shakespeare s texts being explored within UK theatre production in both London and Stratford. The skills to explore your own creative process and to develop and individual response to Shakespeare s work. OUTCOMES On completing the course you should be able to: Examine Shakespeare s work to find the range of prompts and provocations he offers to theatre makers. Evaluate contemporary productions of a range of Shakespeare s plays. Develop your own production concept for a Shakespeare text and communicate this with others. LEARNING AND TEACHING METHODS Seminars Technical workshops and practical demonstrations Backstage theatre tours

3 Practitioner talks Performances ASSESSMENT Final project (100%) PROJECTS Production Proposal Each student will create a hypothetical production proposal in response to a Shakespeare text. The text can be a section or scene, an entire play, or a selection of extracts which can include sonnets. The particular approach to this production proposal will be determined in individual tutorials with the course tutor but could include set, costume, lighting and sound design ideas, directorial approach and performance related ideas including voice and movement work. The resulting production proposal should be presented in a manner appropriate to your approach to the material. This can include: Drawings and visual references. Scale models, samples and found objects. Written explanations and descriptions of your production ideas. Pre-recorded video and audio. Oral presentation. Or any combination of the above This should be presented to the tutor and the other course participants and each student should be prepared to answer questions about their work. MATERIALS REQUIRED An A4 sketchpad or notebook to record your responses to performances, gallery visits and tours. This will also be a place for you to plan your final project.

4 SCHEDULE WEEK ONE Seminar discussions including; Deconstructing live performance Performance history of A Midsummer Night s Dream How to approach a Shakespeare Text Guided visits including; The Globe Theatre Performance spaces and backstage areas The Performance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum WEEK TWO Seminar discussions including; Technical aspects of theatre production One to one tutorials discussing your ideas for a production project Guided visits including; Shakespeare in Ten Acts at the British Library A West End performance of Romeo and Juliet WEEK THREE Seminar discussions including; Detailed one to one discussions about your production project Guided visits including; The Royal Shakespeare Company Performance Spaces and design realisation workshops Shakespeare s Birthplace Including lectures and seminars conducted by the SBT (Shakespeare s Birthplace Trust) A performance of Hamlet in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre TUTOR Chris Hill BIBLIOGRAPHY We recommend having access to the following Shakespeare Plays (preferably the Arden edition but this is not essential): A Midsummer Night s Dream Romeo and Juliet Hamlet Recommended Reading Berry, C. (2002) From Word to Play: A Textual Handbook for Actors and Directors. Oberon Books. Crystal, B. & Crystal, D. (2004) Shakespeare s Words: A Glossary and Language Companion. Penguin.

5 Carson, C. & Karim-Cooper, F (Eds) (2008) Shakespeare s Globe: A Theatrical Experiment. Cambridge University Press. Online Resources: A Perfect Marriage by Charles Mee. Full text available online: Discovering Literature: Shakespeare s_on&ns_linkname=shakespeare_exhibition&ns_fee=0

6 Indicative Timetable WEEK ONE - Outline of activities Monday 25 th July Welcome morning with central study abroad team Lecture: Course Outline Introduction to the course and a description of the assessment project. Tuesday 26 th July Workshop: Responding to Shakespeare s Text A workshop looking in detail at the prompts and provocations in Shakespeare s texts, some of the key production challenges he gives us and some approaches to bringing the students responses together into a choesive production proposal. Exercises designed to both help students to record and reflect on their intuitive responses to both language and narrative, and rigerously test these initial ideas using key research skills. Wednesday 27 th July Globe Theatre Performance: A Midsummer Night s Dream Including a backstage tour of the Globe Thursday 28 th July Seminar: Discussing A Midsummer Night s The Globe A tutor led group discussion looking at all aspects of the Globe s production. The main aspects of theatre production (design, performance, direction) will be examined as well as the piece s relationship with the Globe space and the production as an emblem of the Globe Theatre s artistic policy. Lecture: A Midsummer Night s Dream Context and Production History A lecture looking in more detail at the text for A Midsummer Night s Dream and also examining key productions and interpretations of this play. This session will look at a broad spectrum of theatrical responses to this text. Peter Brook s 1970 production for the RSC Natalie Abrahami s production for Headlong Michael Grandage s West End production (with Judi Dench) Calixto Bieito s Forests Charles Mee s A Perfect Marriage Friday 29 th July Performance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum Independent Study Task: Select (and photograph) three separate items in the Theatre and Performance Galleries that link in some way. The link could be thematic or aesthetic but you will need to talk a little bit about each item you select and the links between them.

7 WEEK TWO - Outline of activities Monday 1 st August Seminar: Gallery Visit Sharing Sharing the results of Friday s visit to the V&A s performance galleries with the rest of the group. Tutorial 1: Production Proposal The first of a series of one-to-one discussions with the tutor as you develop a production proposal in response to one (or a selection) of Shakespeare s texts. Tuesday 2 nd August The British Library Exhibition: Shakespeare in 10 Acts An exhibition of texts and artifacts from a range of productions of Shakespeare s work. Wednesday 3 rd August Seminar: Gallery Feedback and Romeo and Juliet Prep A seminar examining the British Library s exhibition followed by a session sharing our existing understanding of Romeo and Juliet and discussing the difficulty of interpreting such a well known work for a contemporary audience. The Garrick Theatre Performance: Romeo and Juliet Thursday 4 th August Seminar: Discussing A Romeo and The Garrick Theatre A tutor led group discussion looking at all aspects of the Kenneth Brannagh Company s production. The main aspects of theatre production (design, performance, direction) will be examined as well as a discussion about the difference in approach between this and the Globe. Friday 5 th August Tutorial 2: Prodction Proposal A second tutorial looking in more detail at the specific text(s) you will be responding to, the approach you will take and the potential content of your final presentation. WEEK THREE - Outline of activities Monday 8 th August Stratford-upon-Avon Travel by train to Stratford Visit to Shakespeare s Birthplace and Hall s Croft

8 Tuesday 9 th August Stratford-upon-Avon Lecture on performance history with Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Introductory lecture on RSC production with Shakespeare Birthplace Trust RSC s Macbeth 7:15pm Wednesday 10 th August Stratford-upon-Avon Tour of The Other Place and the RSC Workshops? Free time in Stratford-upon Avon Travel by train to London Thursday 11 th August Tutorials 3: Production proposals A final opportunity to consolidate the events that the group has experienced throughout the course and to fine tune the final presentation. Friday 12 th August Final project presentations Farewell reception and certificate presentations Last updated 18 th April 2016