EA120-4-SU-LO:
Comedia Dell' Arte and Improvised Theatre
2024/25
East 15 Acting School
East15 (Loughton) Campus
Summer
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
Tuesday 22 April 2025
Friday 27 June 2025
15
21 April 2023
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BA W441 Acting and Contemporary Theatre
This first year BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre module takes place in Term Three and is a unique and defining element of the East 15 Acting and contemporary Theatre training.
It provides students with opportunities to work and experiment in an environment that demands spontaneity and immediate response to events. It also provides an in-depth familiarity with improvised theatre both in its historical context and its contemporary practices. Students will develop the performance mental, intellectual and physical skills necessary
to engage with their audiences.
You will learn how to create a highly entertaining piece of theatre that is also spontaneous and therefore highly unpredictable in theatrical terms. As well as producing self-authored performance material, you may create musical or sound composition and original choreography in your work. The module is placed at the very end of the first year of study in order to prepare you for Year Two.
The aims of this module are:
- To consolidate methods in improvisation and characterisation
- To familiarise students with Comedia Dell’Arte and masked work
- To familiarise students with contemporary improvised theatre
- To widen students’ understanding of the role of Comedia Dell’Arte in current forms of improvised and devised theatre
- To deepen students’ understanding of human behaviour and roles in life
- To reinforce students’ ability to work creatively as part of an ensemble
- To develop students’ ability to adapt promptly and spontaneously without pre-empting outcomes
- To develop students’ ability to adapt promptly and spontaneously without the guides of pre-existing script
By the end of this module you will be able to demonstrate:
- Practical engagement: range, focus and presence in improvised work
- Commitment; energy, positive attitude, personal creative contribution
- Creative response to task and opportunity
- Flexibility and sensitivity to change; responsiveness to others and to direction
- Ensemble acting; adaptability, generosity, awareness of relationships
- Objective self-assessment; awareness of own strengths and weaknesses as an actor, ability to accept criticism and act upon it
- Application of research to practice
- Textual comprehension; understanding of link between traditional theatre forms and contemporary practice
- Creative repetition; concentration, synthesis of technique, individuality, consistency.
No additional information available.
- Students work in small group practical classes
- Student will experience an in-depth form of improvised theatre such as Comedia Dell’Arte and Theatre Sports
- Student will experience an in-depth form of outdoor theatre
- Learning also takes place in lectures, workshops and presentations
- Independent research
- At the end of the project students will receive verbal tutor feedback in a group session
- Students will also be given individual report cards at the end of Term Three containing formative feedback and written comments.
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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 |
Continuous Assessment |
|
|
Additional coursework information
Continuous assessment through observation of contribution to rehearsal and performance. Rehearsal and final performance are assessed holistically.
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
Mr Uri Roodner, email: uroodn@essex.ac.uk.
Uri Roodner and staff
East 15 Acting School
No
No
No
Ms Isobel Beatrice Pemberton
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
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