Year 1, Component 05

The world does not have disciplines; it has problems. What's more, the most important problems we face - problems like climate change, migration, sustainable economic production, democratic governance, and so on - cannot be solved with the tools of any single discipline. Such problems require collaborative, creative, and interdisciplinary approaches, and this module introduces students to this type of interdisciplinary thinking. Students will learn how to approach complex problems by drawing on theories and methods from multiple disciplines, learning how to think flexibly and work with others to find creative solutions to real-world problems.

This interdisciplinary module explores the rich diversity of ways of knowing the world. We examine different frameworks of knowing that have characterised and shaped human societies historically and today.

How do we analyse moving images? What innovations have transformed the cinema experience? What moments and movements have been key to film history? Study the development of international cinema, looking at all aspects of the form, including analysis of theoretical issues, film language, and a variety of important directors and genres.

Want hands-on experience of the film process, from pre to post-production? Keen to tackle technical aspects, such as framing, lighting, sound and editing? Work individually and in small groups on your own projects, covering topics like how shots are framed through to the different editing techniques that manipulate film narrative.

This module aims to introduce you to a range of critical approaches for analysing contemporary television. Looking at television from the US and the UK from the last 30 years, you will gain an understanding into the ways in which scholars have investigated and interrogated these texts through key theoretical and conceptual frameworks. The module will consider our understanding of television through key issues in production, distribution, consumption, reception and representation. The module is broken into four parts. Part one examines television as text, particularly considering the role of broadcasters, networks and platforms in creating this text. Part two examines key genres in television, such as the police procedural and the sitcom. Part three examines the ways in which ideologies, for example, gender, race, sexuality and class, are taken up in contemporary television. Finally, part four examines the future of television, considering key issues which are challenging television as a form, such as convergence culture and transmedia storytelling.

What possibilities does radio offer a writer? What techniques are required? How can the main tools of dramatic construction be exploited for radio? Focusing on drama, study work currently being broadcast plus classic pieces. Make use of the University’s studio to record extracts of your own radio scripts.

Screen adaptations of Shakespeare form a significant part of our cultural experience of his plays. Global Shakespeare on Film takes a comparative approach and unites our departmental disciplines of literature, film, drama and creative writing to examine how interpretations of Shakespeare have developed across time and cultural boundaries. We will study several adaptations of Shakespeare's plays from around the world, focusing on films in languages other than English. Through a close study of the relationship between the plays and the films, we will investigate not only what Shakespeare offers to filmmakers, but how these directors, actors, writers, and designers enhance and evolve our understanding of Shakespeare.

This is the foundational module for your BA Drama Degree. We enrich your existing knowledge of major theatre practitioners – Aristotle, Brecht, Artaud and Stanislavski – and complement these studies by introducing new theatre theorists, movements and styles. Examine plays from Ancient Greece to today, discussing issues like genre, representation, reception, modernism and postmodernism. This module blends together practical and theoretical classes to create the building blocks for an informed study of theatre practice.

This module looks at how theatrical ideas developed and made into reality. The module guides you carefully through the technical expertise required, and allows you to explore lighting, sound and stage management in professionally-led workshops. Through a series of workshops, seminars and field trips, including theatre and gallery visits, students will be introduced to the variety of stimuli and strategies that theatre makers use to create a production. The content of this half-module is closely linked to the programme of the Lakeside Theatre, students will see professional performances, be introduced to visiting professional theatre makers and will experiment with a range of practical processes that they use. Students will be introduced to a variety of rehearsal processes and techniques commonly used by contemporary theatre and performance makers.

Theatre is a collaborative art form. A company of theatre practitioners gathers to make a production, comprising of a producer, director, designers, composers, production manager, performers, technicians, musicians, stage management, promoters, choreographers, scenic artists, set builders etc. according to the needs of the production and the confines of the budget. Each person plays a key role and makes an individual creative contribution to the whole. In this module, you will develop work related to Technical Theatre Arts. Through hands-on practical workshops, exercises, reflection and seminars this module introduces you to the basic principles of technical theatre, which will be crucial knowledge for use throughout your degree. You work through the basic concepts of lighting, sound, video, stage & production management, along with understanding health & safety in the theatre space. The conclusion of the module is an assessment that will see you working collaboratively with the goal of staging the technical aspects of a given performance piece on the main stage of Lakeside Theatre.

This course offers students the opportunity to work collaboratively as part of an ensemble to create, rehearse, and realise a practical theatre project. Through guided workshops and rehearsals, students will explore ensemble-based approaches to performance, focusing on shared authorship, collaboration, and collective creativity.