EA118-4-FY-LO:
Contextual Studies I
2024/25
East 15 Acting School
East15 (Loughton) Campus
Full Year
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
Thursday 03 October 2024
Friday 27 June 2025
15
05 December 2024
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BA W411 Acting,
BA W411MV Acting,
BA W83A Acting (International),
BA W441 Acting and Contemporary Theatre
Actors spend their entire careers speaking other people's words and trying to imagine how other people think. Contextual Studies is intended to help students to observe, to make rational sense of their observations and to put their own ideas into their own words as part of seminar discussion and in writing.
The aims of this module are:
- To develop an understanding of theatre history and of how theatre reflects its times
- To understand texts of ensemble theatre and theatre in the community
- To express themselves objectively in oral and written form
- To see, read and discuss plays
- To formulate their own objective and personal theatre criticism
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Prepare a creative scene presentation to an original story or assignment brief
- Work as part of an ensemble/ team-work
- Present a structured argument and express ideas in class and in writing
- Demonstrate critical evaluation orally and in written form
- Use appropriate research effectively to prepare written and practical assignments
All students must comply with the East 15 Professional Code of Conduct
This module will be delivered via:
- Independent study for research, class preparation and for producing/preparing assignments
- Learning also takes place in seminars, workshops, presentations and performances
- Formative feedback and tutor comments on essay and presentation evaluation report
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Bettelheim, B. (1991) The uses of enchantment: the meaning and importance of fairy tales. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
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Lecoq, J.
et al. (2002)
The moving body: teaching creative theatre. London: Methuen. Available at:
http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781474244800?locatt=label:secondary_bloomsburyCollections.
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Mamet, D. (1998) True and false: heresy and common sense for the actor. London: Faber & Faber.
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McKee, R. (1997) Story: substance, structure, style and the principles of screenwriting. New York: ReganBooks.
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MacDonald, I. (2008)
Revolution in the head: the Beatles’ records and the sixties. 2nd rev. ed. London: Vintage. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=683850.
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Pinker, S. (1995) The language instinct: the new science of language and mind. London: Penguin.
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Fromm, E. (1951) The forgotten language: an introduction to the understanding of dreams, fairy tales, and myths. New York: Grove Press.
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Harari, Y.N., Purcell, J. and Watzman, H. (2015) Sapiens: a brief history of mankind. London: Vintage Books.
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Pullman, P. (2017)
Dæmon voices: essays on storytelling. Edited by S. Mason. Oxford, UK: David Fickling Books. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5116586.
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Furse, A. (2024) Performance Making. London: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
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Wright, J. (2006) Why is that so funny?: a practical exploration of physical comedy. London: Nick Hern Books.
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Chekhov, M. and Gordon, M. (1991) On the technique of acting. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.
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Goleman, D. (1996)
Emotional intelligence: why it can matter more than IQ. London: Bloomsbury. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5291911.
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Cohen, B.B., Nelson, L. and Smith, N.S. (1993) Sensing, feeling, and action: the experiential anatomy of body-mind centering. Northampton, Ma: Contact Editions.
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Calais-Germain, B. (1993) Anatomy of movement. Seattle: Eastland Press.
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Hackney, P. (1999)
Making connections: total body integration through Bartenieff fundamentals. New York: Routledge. Available at:
https://www-taylorfrancis-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/books/9780203214299.
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Newlove, J. (1993) Laban for actors and dancers: putting Laban’s movement theory into practice?: a step-by-step guide. New York: Routledge.
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Newlove, J. and Dalby, J. (2004) Laban for all. London: Nick Hern.
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Olsen, A. and McHose, C. (2004)
Bodystories: a guide to experiential anatomy. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=6359575.
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Clayman, C.B. (1995) The human body: an illustrated guide to its structure, function, and disorders. London: Dorling Kindersley Pub.
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Richards, T. (1995)
At work with Grotowski on physical actions. London: Routledge. Available at:
http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780203360231.
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Wolford, L. and Schechner, R. (2001)
The Grotowski sourcebook. London: Routledge. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1539237.
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Grotowski, J. and Barba, E. (1991)
Towards a poor theatre. London: Methuen Drama. Available at:
http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780203819814.
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Gutekunst, C. and Gillet, J. (2014) Voice into acting: integrating voice and the Stanislavski approach. London: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.
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Crystal, D. (2004) The stories of English. London: Allen Lane.
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Crystal, D. (2019)
Pronouncing Shakespeare: the Globe experiment. 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available at:
https://doi-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/10.1017/9781108566759.
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Dimon, T. (2018)
Anatomy Of The Voice: An Illustrated Guide for Singers, Vocal Coaches, and Speech Therapists. North Atlantic Books, U.S. Available at:
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1571344.
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Sharpe, E. and Haydn Rowles, J. (2011) How to do standard English accents. London: Oberon.
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Rodenburg, P. (2005) Speaking Shakespeare. London: Methuen.
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Carey, D., Carey, R.C., and Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Great Britain) (2022)
The vocal arts workbook: a practical course for developing the expressive actor’s voice. 2nd edition. London: Methuen Drama. Available at:
https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/1072581.
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Linklater, K. (1976) Freeing the natural voice. New York: Drama Publishers.
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Linklater, K. (2009)
Freeing Shakespeare’s voice: the actor’s guide to talking the text. London: Nick Hern Books. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=896778.
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Carey, D. and Carey, R.C. (2015)
The Shakespeare workbook and video: a practical course for actors. London: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. Available at:
https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/580357.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Coursework |
Written Assignment |
|
30% |
Coursework |
RED BOOK PART 1 |
|
40% |
Practical |
Scene Presentation |
|
30% |
Additional coursework information
Term 1
- 5-10 minute scene presentation to a specific theatre history/story brief. Assessment will be based on preparation, creativity of scene or text, relevance to the original story or assignment brief, overall Performance and ensemble or team-work
Term 2
- 1,000-word Written Assignment to be submitted in Week 1 of Term Three
Term 3
- Assessment of Personal Record of Analysis and Reflection, ‘The Red Book'
Scene Presentation 30%
Written Assignment 30%
Personal Record 40%
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Zois PIgadas and staff
East 15 Acting School
Hatfields Campus
Rectory Lane
Loughton, IG10 3RY
No
No
No
Ms Lucy Skilbeck
Mr Michael Andrew Hayden
Ms Isobel Beatrice Pemberton
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
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