| Unit name | Clowning Through History |
|---|---|
| Unit code | THTR20014 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Wozniak |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
Making Theatre |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
Contemporary Clown Performance |
| School/department | Department of Theatre |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Through a series of seminars and workshops, students on this unit will develop an auto-ethnographic research into the development of their own clown persona and explore this in relation to the historical and contemporary clowning community. They will encounter a range of contemporary and historical clown performance conventions, in order to explore the changing emphases of clowning in relation to performance practice and specific socio-historic contexts. The unit will draw on a range of acting and clowning theories and practice, both historical and contemporary, which will be explored through critical discussion and critically reflective performance exercises. Students will develop an understanding of how changing conditions and performance practices have affected the role of the clown in performance through studying specific clowning roles and sequences from commedia dell’arte, through early modern clown roles, to the development of separate performance spaces for clowns in the nineteenth century and subsequently to theatre clown roles in contemporary performance.
Students will develop an understanding of the changing historical relationship between different performance spaces, between author, director and performer and between clown and form. Students will study the role of the clown through exploring a range of historical and contemporary theatrical clowning techniques and by exploring and developing their own clown persona in a short clowning sequence. They will develop a thorough understanding of how historical and contemporary clowning techniques and approaches might be used in performance to entertain and challenge an audience. In doing so they will explore the performance of the following issues and how they might interact both in historical and contemporary performances: performing the self and celebrity; authority in performance; performing the popular; performing the topical; and performing adaptation.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study:
This unit allows students to develop specific auto-ethnographic research skills as part of the Practice as Research strand of study.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students will be given guidance in evaluating challenging ways of thinking about themselves, performance and the world. They will have explored the importance of play in relation to self and the world.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of seminars, workshops, forums and exercises and students will encounter written scholarship as well as other sources, such as TedX talks, video essays and interviews.
Some workshops will allow students to explore the development of their own clown practice and persona, whilst others will allow students to practice analytical skills, including through peer review exercises. The seminars will allow students to explore a variety of historical examples of clowning and understand them in relation to the historical context and their own practice. Formative assessments will be used during seminar and workshop activities to develop student work and will include: review/analysis of live (or recorded) clown performances; historical analysis of primary material; documentation and reflexive analysis of development of own clown role.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Performance of a short clown routine (5-7 minutes)
Students will also receive feedback on formative tasks related to the portfolio throughout the unit
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Auto-ethnographic presentation of reflection on own practice (50%) [maximum of 15 minute presentation, followed by 5 minutes of questions] [ILOs 1,3,4]
Contribution Mark (10%) [ILO 1, 2]
Portfolio of research notes (40%) [ILO 1,2,3] which will include:
When assessment does not go to plan:
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
Students can complete the formative assessment on video, or submit a script or score of an intended performance. They can record a presentation, if they are unable to participate in the presentations in person
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. THTR20014).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
