Broadway and Music of the Theatre

This subject is not offered in 2012.

120 hours

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It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability will impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit.

A survey of the range of music theatre from the lighter entertainments to the more ambitious works regarded as Music Theatre, but often staged by opera companies today. The subject starts with the origins of the music theatre in light opera and traces the development through Vaudeville, Revue and Musical Comedy through to mainstream West End and Broadway. This subject examines how these works frequently reflect social and cultural realities of their times.

On completion of this subject students should have gained:

• an enhanced understanding and critical awareness of the social, cultural and political forces which shape the writing, production and performance of Music Theatre
• an enhanced knowledge of the history and development of these forms of art and entertainment from the late nineteenth century to the present day
• an enhanced capacity to undertake independent research and present it as a scholarly essay.

Contribution to seminar discussions (10%); a 1500 word mid-semester response paper exploring chosen readings from the course pack texts (20%); an independent research assignment resulting in a 2500 word case study due after the end of the semester (70%).

A reading pack will be available for purchase from the Bookroom before the commencement of the semester.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

On completion of this subject students should have an enhanced:

• capacity to apply new concepts to their critical interpretation of familiar and new information and experiences
• capacity to interrogate the ways in which personal biography influences interpretation of a performance
• ability to produce scholarly writing using contemporary sources and conventions