| Unit name | Stirring the Ether - Writing Radio Drama |
|---|---|
| Unit code | DRAM20044 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Mr. Bailie |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Drama: Theatre, Film, Television |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
[In Britain we are blessed with a very strong tradition of Radio drama, whose audience continues to expand. The BBC alone produces hundreds of hours of original drama, and drama adaptations, each year. The medium allows writers to deal with subjects that might be impractical or uneconomic elsewhere. Particularly well suited to intimate drama and interior monologues, it presents both an exiting creative challenge and a real commercial marketplace for dramatists.] This unit begins with the analysis of extracts from a number of radio plays and the exploration of ways in which radio can make a distinctive contribution to dramatic expression. We will identify some of the processes by which radio drama is originated, commissioned, directed, produced, recorded and finally broadcast. We will consider the implications of working with sound alone (minus pictures or actors in vision) and explore the selection of themes for which radio is the most suitable medium. In addition to original plays of various lengths, we will look at the role of adaptation, whether classic fiction or the translation to radio of drama which originated in another form. Students will be expected to produce a substantial piece (or number of smaller pieces) of original creative writing.
