Special Topics in Theatre Studies (240-0-21)
Topic
Devising with Creative Research
Instructors
Claudia Kinahan
Meeting Info
Wirtz 240 Seminar Room 2: Tues 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Wirtz Center Cellar: Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Overview of class
How can we take what we learn in the classroom and put it ‘on its feet'?
How can we use our research skills to deepen our creative practice, and vice versa?
This class will suit those curious about how to bridge the gap between the library and the stage!
In this class, we will explore and embody the role of the artist-scholar through research and creative practice. As many artist-scholars emphasise, creative work itself is a form of research and can lead to exciting and unexpected discoveries and insights. In this ensemble-based course, we will devise original pieces of theatre around research questions.
As a lab-seminar hybrid class, we will begin each week with a discussion section centered on a large theoretical or historical topic (eg. archives, ecology) to pose our own questions. The second class will be a theatre-making lab devoted to unpacking these materials and questions through creative practice. We will have the opportunity to, for example, devise short theater pieces around research questions, stage the archives, put theory ‘on its feet' and create multi-media pieces that experiment with theatrical form. In the latter half of the quarter, students will begin devising and rehearsing an original piece of theatre based on their research that will be presented at the end of the quarter and can be further developed upon conclusion of the course.
Evaluation Method
Grading by participation, weekly readings/viewings, reflective practice assignments, and presentation of creative work.
Class Materials (Required)
$50 max for optional supplies