Postgraduate Coursework units in Performance Studies

Click here for Units of Study in 2008

Short outlines of coursework units available to MA (Research) and DArts students in Performance Studies are listed below. Please seek advice from Dr Paul Dwyer, the Postgraduate Coordinator and Head of Department, as to which units are most relevant to your particular research needs. (Postgraduate students from other departments and faculties who are interested in taking any of the Department’s cross-listed units, should seek advice from the relevant Unit of Study Coordinator.)

More detailed outlines, including information on unit of study objectives and outcomes can be found on the Faculty unit of study online page, here.

PRFM 5900 Contemporary Performance
Dr Paul Dwyer
This unit examines the history, development and theoretical influences on contemporary performance genres, with a specific focus on what is happening in Sydney at venues such as Performance Space and Artspace. We will take advantage of the Department’s artists-in-residence program to develop analyses, and a practical understanding, of how new work is developed.

PRFM 5902 Rehearsal Studies
Miranda Heckenberg
This unit prepares students for the task of observing and analysing rehearsal practices (or training, creative development etc) in theatre and other genres of aesthetic performance. We will canvass some of the key theoretical and methodological issues of ethnographic research, not only through readings but also through practical tasks involving video recordings of rehearsal, prompt books and other materials held in the department's unique archive.
This unit is a pre-requisite for those students undertaking PRFM 5903 Rehearsal to Performance.

PRFM 5903 Rehearsal to Performance

This unit is structured around a rehearsal process occurring in the mid-year break (July) and involving performing artists in residence at the Department's Rex Cramphorn Studio. Students attend rehearsals full time for one to two weeks, documenting the process and writing up their observations as ethnographic fieldnotes. Seminars during semester provide an opportunity for students to 'unpack' this experience and to develop strategies for turning fieldnotes into a more detailed, coherent and analytical casebook.
Note: Students are required to attend five to ten days of rehearsals during one to two weeks in July, then seminars during weeks 1 - 6 of semester.

PRFM 6900 Theatre and Community Development
Dr Paul Dwyer
This unit offers 'hands-on' training in a range of theatre techniques (e.g. Boal's "Theatre of the Oppressed") tailored to the needs of teachers and community workers involved in peace-building, human rights campaigns, health promotion, youth work and other 'community cultural development' activities. Along with practical theatre facilitation skills, the unit provides a rigorous critique of the political/educational philosophies underpinning the practice and an overview of key debates regarding the funding and evaluation of arts-based community development projects.
Note: Following two introductory/orientation seminars early in the semester, there will be four days of intensive workshops and seminars in mid-semester break (September).