| Unit name | Pitching Productions |
|---|---|
| Unit code | THTR10014 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Sedgman |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Theatre |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
This unit builds understanding about the business of theatre, focusing on artistic direction. How does an Artistic Director choose what plays to programme and when to revive past productions? How do they pitch these productions to potential audiences? In this course, students will develop an understanding of Bristol and its theatre culture, focusing on the Bristol Old Vic. Students develop research and presentation skills as they make a case to revive a play from the BOV archive for its current season and then explain the significance, relevance and appeal of that revival for a public audience.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study:
This unit brings together research and industry skills and engages students with the artistic management of a theatre. Students work closely with both the Bristol Old Vic’s staff and its performance archive to understand how, when and why seasons and individual productions are programmed. It complements the work of other first year students by extending the study of theatre to the decision-making around programming a theatre, focusing on the the work of preparing and pitching a production.
Overview of content
This unit introduces students to the business of theatre, focusing on placing artistic decisions in an industry context. We begin in the Theatre Collection, exploring the Bristol Old Vic’s archive of past performances to investigate the mounting and reviving of plays. Students then move to the Bristol Old Vic and are introduced to the theatre and its current ways of working. Students make a pitch for reviving a Bristol Old Vic production for the current season: first demonstrating its fit with the Bristol Old Vic’s current mission, and then pitching the play to potential audiences by designing a programme.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students completing this course will have gained first-hand knowledge of the theatre industry work of programming, development, and marketing processes, and have developed confidence in communicating with different audiences (managerial and public). They will have confidence in handling archival materials and researching performance files.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
2 hours week consisting of seminars, practical workshops, industry visits and interviews.
Tasks which do not count towards your unit mark but are required for credit (zero-weighted):
Individual programme pitch in draft format [ILOs 1-3]
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Individual written pitch arguing for a revival of a historic productions 750 words (40%) [ILOs 1-3]
Programme with performance history and revival notes (individual mark for specific contribution to group document: 1,250 words/person (60%) [ILOs 1-3]
Reassessment
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.
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. THTR10014).
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.
