THE ACTOR & THE TEXT - 2022/3

Module Overview

The Actor & The Text encourages students to explore different ways of storytelling and is the start of study for acting on the Actor-Musician course at GSA.

In the first teaching block you will be working as an ensemble students looking at Storytelling. Exploring how myth and fable have shaped our collective global cultures. Students are encouraged to form the link between the oral tradition of storytelling to a more formalised theatrical form in the study of Classical Ensemble text, interogating how storytelling becomes and became formailised. These two study units encourage reflection and recording of process alongside practice skill. 

The second teaching block moves on to Commedia and the concepts of character and comedy inherent in those texts and then utilising music and song in a Music Hall & Vaudeville where key skills of musicianship are core to the project and performance delivery.

The third teaching block looks in depth at the work of Modern Ensemble where music, storytelling, character and performance are integrated to create a performance of work that is shown to others either live or via zoom.

Alongside this students will deliver a reflective journal detailing personal reflection and research on each of the projects studied across the year.

At all times text should reflect the global perspectives of our creative community. 

Module provider

Guildford School of Acting

Module Leader

SCRIVENS Nicholas (GSA)

Number of Credits: 30

ECTS Credits: 15

Framework: FHEQ Level 4

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Storytelling Practical Workshop Study

• Greek Ensemble Workshop Class

• Commedia Workshop Class

• Music Hall & Vaudeville Workshop Class

• Brecht Rehearsal and Performance Class

• Acting & Journal Tutorials

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate a practical evidence of a developing methodology as an actor-musician.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

Unit 1: Commedia Project 25%

Student Activity

• Ensemble Work

• Voice Work

• Movement Work

• Character & Text Creativity

• Engagement with process

Unit 2: Music Hall & Vaudeville 25%

Student Activity

• Ensemble Work

• Voice/Singing Work

• Movement Dance Work

• Character & Text Creativity

• Engagement with process

Unit 3: Modern Ensemble 30%

Student Activity

• Ensemble Work

• Voice/Singing Work

• Movement Dance Work

• Character & Text Creativity

• Engagement with process

• Research & Analysis in Practice

• Practical Performance Delivery

Unit 4: Journal of Practice

Student Activity

• Ensemble Work

• Voice/Singing Work

• Movement Dance Work

• Character & Text Creativity

• Engagement with process

Formative assessment

N/A

Feedback

These are practical assessments that provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate and receive feedback sequentially. Students receive verbal and written feedback and also benefit from personal tutorials where this feedback can be discussed after reflection and grading has taken place.

Module aims

• Introduce students to a range of key acting techniques and concepts including ¿ ensemble work, improvisation, character building and sung/performance based text.
• Storytelling ¿ Teaching Block 1
  Aims to develop individual skills alongside an early introdution to ensemble working.
  
• Greek Text ¿ Teaching Block 1
  Aims to build on skills learnt in the storytelling module and work with text to understand the role of the ensemble in praxis.
  
• Commedia ¿ Teaching Block 2
  Aims to develop the ability to improvise and build character within a practical context.
  
• Music Hall & Vaudeville ¿ Teaching Block 2
  Aims to develop skillbase in actor-musicianship and sung text both individually and as an ensemble.
  
• Modern Ensemble ¿ Teaching Block 3
  Aims to apply the concepts studied across the module and in practice apply them to a modern (20th or 21st Century Text)
  
• Journal of Practice ¿ Teaching Block 1,2,3
  Aims to embed skills in research, analysis and reflection on theatrical performance and skill
  

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Place an emphasis on the practical development of skills that are required as an actor-musician

The module aims to introduce Level 4 students to the application of text and interpretation of text in a workshop and the practical performance context. Key Practitioners are studied and the aim is to integrate skills in voice, singing, music, movement and acting across the length of the module, enabling students (through tutorials) to critically reflect on their own practice.

The learning and teaching methods include:

Across the year this module is delivered over 300 hours of study with a blend of personal practice and practical class delivery.

Storytelling – Teaching Block 1 Greek Ensemble – Teaching Block 1

Commedia – Teaching Block 2 Music Hall- Teaching Block 2

Modern Ensemble - Teaching Block 3

Journal of Practice – Teaching Block 1,2,3

Throughout the module different learning and teaching strategies are applied to enable students to achieve the learning outcomes, including research, reflective practice, peer to peer learning and formative assessment with detailed written feedback.

• The approach of the module is vocational in content and delivery and encourages students to participate in reflection on their own practice, independent study and research and embeds the concepts of peer to peer feedback within the rehearsal room. Students are encouraged to utilise materials on SURREY LEARN and also receive individual tutorials from staff to help in forming their learning experience.

• Students receive regular verbal feedback both individually and as a group during each class which they are encouraged to journal and use for reflection.

• Students are encouraged to self-assess and peer-assess within the class structure and as part of the ethos of continuous actor training.

• Lesson plans are structured to take account of and deliver for students with a specifc bias toward visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning enabling differentation of techniques within the class and a sensitivity towards inclusivity.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: AMT1011

Other information

GSA delivers its provision across three teaching blocks, within the University of Surrey’s existing semester structure.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2022/3 academic year.