Industry Internships and Placements

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

510 hours

Contemporary theatre and performance work nationally and internationally.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

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 may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject provides a direct opportunity for students to work in an industry setting that underpins and is relevant to their directing practice and/or research trajectory towards their final independent project. The subject will offer opportunities for the three main streams of the Masters in Directing for Performance: theatre practice, community engagement and research/ practice-led research. The subject allows students to choose from local, national and international internships and/or placements. The details of the experience, its content and interface will align with the individual student’s aims in both their developing practice and the research direction towards their final independent project and exegesis.

It will involve the following possibilities:

1. Internship or AD on existing VCA & MCM productions or projects (Theatre, Music Theatre, Opera practice, Centre for Cultural Partnerships etc.)
2. Local theatre or community arts organisations.
3. International institutions and companies.

The educational and practice/research aims of the subject are the same for all students, but the type of experience, content and ultimate structure of the subject will be determined by the nature of the interface the student has planned through preparatory tutorials. Each student will have a supervisor who will support them through planning, preparation, the internship and the writing-up phase following the placement.

The structure of the subject will involve:

1. Meetings, in person or virtually, with the industry partner;
2. Occasional academic supervision before, during and after the placement to be determined in consultation with the subject coordinator, and participation in seminars as required.
3. An intensive, or longer/less intensive placement within the performing arts industry;
4. Documentation of this placement through journal writing and archiving of relevant materials;
5. A presentation of the placement to the cohort in a group forum after the completion of the project;
6. Final reflective/critical essay.

At the end of the course the student should be able to:

• Demonstrate experience, and developing research and practice skills, in an industry setting;
• Identify areas of specialisation in practice and research;
• Show advanced skills of reflection & analysis of artistic practice;
• Understand intercultural concepts and cultural interface;
• Identify and set up local/ national/ international linkages;
• Demonstrate an advanced understanding of the critical issues in the field of research methodologies in researching performance;
• demonstrate imaginative and creative communication and presentation skills in the delivery of a research proposal and research presentations;
• identify and undertake a research methodology appropriate to their discipline and project;
• show an advanced understanding of the critical issues in the field of research methodologies in researching performance;

• Individual oral presentation 30 minutes (3000 word equivalent). Due weeks 8-12 (20%)
• Documentation of project through journal and archiving relevant material (3000 word equivalent. Due 3 weeks after internship (20%)
• Critical essay with reference to journal/documentation (7,500 words). Due in the assessment period (50%)
• Proposal of internship and research question (1500 words). Due weeks2-3 (10%)

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Upon completion of this subject students should be able to:

• Use a range of research tools and methodologies
• Work independently
• Communicate effectively
• Solve problems
• Interpret and analyse
• Develop the capacity for critical thinking
• Organise and manage time
• Understand the relationship with, and responsibility to, the cultural environment;
• Work with respect for intellectual integrity, intellectual property and for the ethics of research and scholarship.