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Unit of study_

PRFM3625: Documentary Theatre

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

In recent decades, there has been an explosion of interest in what is sometimes called 'non-fiction theatre' or 'reality theatre'. Forms such as documentary theatre, verbatim, solo autobiographical shows, lecture performances, and performance ethnography - while they are often very different stylistically - involve negotiating similar dramaturgical, ethical and political questions. In this unit, we will address these issues primarily through practice. You will select a topic of interest, conduct original research, edit transcripts and archival materials into a script, rehearse and perform a short documentary piece. Key theoretical readings and rich case studies will help inform your practice.

Unit details and rules

Unit code PRFM3625
Academic unit Theatre and Performance Studies
Credit points 6
Prohibitions
? 
None
Prerequisites
? 
12 credit points at 2000 level in the Theatre and Performance Studies
Corequisites
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Paul Dwyer, paul.dwyer@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Paul Dwyer, paul.dwyer@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Online task group assignment Documentary Theatre Presentation
Performance and Discussion Panel
50% Multiple weeks
Due date: 16 May 2022 at 11:00

Closing date: 23 May 2022
Equivalent to a 2500 word tutorial paper
Outcomes assessed: LO3 LO4
Assignment group assignment Documentary Theatre Proposal
A written research proposal
20% Week -05
Due date: 22 Mar 2022 at 23:59

Closing date: 05 Apr 2022
750 words per group member
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO4
Assignment Case Study Analysis
Short Essay
30% Week 09
Due date: 26 Apr 2022 at 23:59

Closing date: 17 Jun 2022
1250 words
Outcomes assessed: LO2 LO4
group assignment = group assignment ?
Group assignment with individually assessed component = group assignment with individually assessed component ?

Assessment summary

Task #1: The Documentary Theatre Proposal will be a group-authored document (for which a template is provided) in which you and your colleagues propose a topic/theme for an original piece of documentary theatre, explain the rationale for your idea, outline your research strategy, and include some sample source materials with a commentary on their dramaturgical potential.

Task #2: The Case Study Analysis is a short, solo essay in which you will analyse key features of the dramaturgy and staging of a professional piece of documentary theatre (scripts and video documentation for potential case studies will be provided).

Task #3: The Documentary Theatre Presentation will be a ‘work-in-progress’ performance by you and your group of student peers (those with whom you worked with on Task #1), followed by a panel discussion (led by your group) about how your practice illuminates (or perhaps challenges) some of the theoretical writing surveyed in this unit of study. Your group will be randomly assigned a time to present in-class in either Week 12 (Monday 16th May) or Week 13 (Monday 23rd May).

Detailed information for each assessment will be provided on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

Result Name Mark Range Description
High Distinction (HD) 85 – 100 When the learning outcomes have been achieved to an excellent standard
Distinction (D) 75 – 84 When the learning outcomes have been achieved to a very high standard
Credit (CR) 65 – 74 When the learning outcomes have been achieved to a superior standard
Pass (PS) 50 – 64 When the learning outcomes have been achieved to a satisfactory standard
Fail (F) Below 50 When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

 

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

For written assignments, 5 whole marks will be deducted for each day late (unless a Simple Extension or Special Consideration or an Academic Plan has been approved). Please note that Saturdays and Sundays are included in the calculation of late penalties. Except for the most extraordinary circumstances, no extensions of time will be possible for Task #3: The Group Documentary Theatre Presentation.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website  provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.  

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Introduction to Verbatim and Documentary Theatre Practices Seminar (1 hr) LO1 LO4
Examining Case Studies and Possible Themes for a Documentary Project Workshop (2 hr) LO1
Week 02 Tensions between Orality and Literacy in Documentary Practices Seminar (1 hr) LO2
Interviewing, Transcribing, Coding and other Research Strategies Workshop (2 hr) LO1
Week 03 Rhetorical and Authenticating Conventions of Performance Seminar (1 hr) LO2
Working with Rhetorical and Authenticating Conventions Workshop (2 hr) LO3
Week 04 Functions of Documentary Theatre Seminar (1 hr) LO2 LO4
Developing Thematic and/or Narrative Structures from Raw Documentary Materials Workshop (2 hr) LO3 LO4
Week 05 The "Promise of Documentary" (Janelle Reinelt) Seminar (1 hr) LO2 LO4
"Headphone Verbatim" Techniques Workshop (2 hr) LO3 LO4
Week 06 Documentary Theatre and the "Public Sphere" Seminar (1 hr) LO2 LO4
Task-Based Performance Strategies Workshop (2 hr) LO3 LO4
Week 07 The Ethics of Documentary Seminar (1 hr) LO2 LO4
Feedback on Students' Documentary Theatre Research Proposals Workshop (2 hr) LO1
Week 08 "Post-Verbatim" Modes of Oral/Aural Performance Seminar (1 hr) LO4
Refresher Session on Performance Analysis Strategies Workshop (2 hr) LO2 LO4
Week 10 Rehearsing Group Documentary Projects Workshop (3 hr) LO3
Week 11 Rehearsing Group Documentary Projects Workshop (3 hr) LO3
Week 12 Performances of Work-in-Progress Workshop (3 hr) LO3
Week 13 Performances of Work-in-Progress Workshop (3 hr) LO4

Attendance and class requirements

Obviously, at the time of writing, we are all waiting to see what sort of teaching arrangements the University of Sydney will be able to support, in line with the Covid-safety recommendations of NSW Health.

Hopefully, we will be working in face-to-face mode on Camperdown Campus. However, if we need to ‘pivot’, there is scope for moving some or all classes online.

Please contact me (paul.dwyer@sydney.edu.au) if you are a student who is currently based outside of Sydney (either in regional NSW or interstate or overseas) and/or if you have medical justifications for avoiding on-campus classes — an online option may be possible even if you are enrolled in the “CC” version of this unit of study.

As far as your overall class attendance is concerned, we will be following the resolutions of the Board of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences: you are expected to attend at least 90% of all classes; if your attendance drops below 50%, the Board of Examiners meeting will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study.

Advice on other requirements (eg. referencing guidelines for your assessments) will be made available through Canvas.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

The list below includes the main readings for each week up until the “mid-semester” break. Please refer to the Canvas site for more information, including a range of supplementary readings.

WEEK ONE

Brown, Paul (ed). 2010. Verbatim: Staging Memory and Community. Sydney: Currency Press. 2-21.

WEEK TWO

Ong, Walter. 1982. Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. London: Methuen. 31-57.

WEEK THREE

Burns, Elizabeth. 1972. “Conventions of Performance”. Chapter 4 in Theatricality: A Study of Convention in the Theatre and in Social Life. London: Longman. 28-39.

WEEK FOUR

Martin, Carol. 2006. “Bodies of Evidence”. TDR: The Drama Review 50 (3): 8-15.

WEEK FIVE

Reinelt, Janelle. 2009. “The Promise of Documentary”. In Alison Forsyth and Chris Megson (eds), Get Real: Documentary Theatre Past and Present. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 6-23.
 

WEEK SIX

Botham, Paola. 2008. “From Deconstruction to Reconstruction: A Habermasian Framework for Contemporary Political Theatre”. Contemporary Theatre Review 18 (3): 307-317.

WEEK SEVEN

Burvill, Tom. 2008. “‘Politics Begins as Ethics’: Levinasian Ethics and Australian Performance Concerning Refugees”. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance 13 (2): 233-243.

WEEK EIGHT
McAuley, Gay. 1998. “Performance Analysis: Theory and Practice”. About Performance 4: 1-12.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. design and execute a research strategy to gather source materials appropriate to a well-justified focus of documentary inquiry
  • LO2. apply relevant critical theories and methods in the analysis of documentary theatre practices
  • LO3. apply relevant dramaturgical and performance-making skills to the task of creating a short piece of documentary theatre
  • LO4. understand how to contextualise your own practice in relation to major traditions of documentary theatre, key artists/companies and relevant social or political developments

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

PRFM3625 is a new unit of study, offered for the first time in Semester Two 2022. It began life, however, as a short module that was included in another unit of study (PRFM3603 Playing Politics) as a bit of an experiment (partly in response to the need for learning activities that could be delivered, if need be, in Covid-safe/online situations). The students in PRFM3603 last year responded very enthusiastically to this limited exploration of Documentary Theatre and encouraged it to be expanded into a full unit of study in its own right.

Commitment to Personal Study Outside Class
Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Work, health and safety

Please refer to current advice on the University of Sydney website concerning Covid Safety Protocols: https://www.sydney.edu.au/study/coronavirus-infection-university-of-sydneyadvice.html

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.