Spontaneous Drama:Improv and Communities

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2013:

120 hours

Attendance at all classes (tutorial/seminars/practical classes/lectures/labs/online classes) is obligatory. Failure to attend 80% of classes will normally result in failure in the subject.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject will explore through studio practice and theory, the development of improvisation as a theatre form and its links to education. Students will explore prominent forms and purposes of improvised drama and theatre from the perspective of performer, educator and audience, for example: Impro, theatre games, playback theatre, forum theatre, invisible theatre, happenings, performance art, flash mobs, process drama, street theatre, commedia dell’ arte. Students will take part in a class presentation, keep a reflective journal and conduct a research task linking a form of improvised theatre to an educational/community setting.

In this subject, students will:

• Develop skills and craft of the improvised performer;
• Learn and practise a range of improvisational skills;
• Explore and develop personal understanding of improvisational forms utilised in a range of community and learning contexts;
• Develop skills as a theatre researcher.

• Research project , 1600 words, due week 8, 40%
• Group presentation/performance, 30 minutes, due week 12, 40%
• Reflective journal, 800 words, due week 13, 20%

Course readings will be supplied

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 Music
• Bachelor of Science

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.

This subject will assist students to acquire the following graduate attributes:

• expand their analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences in diverse subjects, artforms, and settings;
• the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar problems;
• initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces;
• in-depth knowledge of their specialist modes of expression;
• critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning;
• excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths. and limitations.