Outline

Overview

The 'hidden world' of rehearsal is typically off-limits to outsiders but the exceptional creativity of performance-makers makes it a compelling focus for research. Approaching the study of rehearsal through ethnographic theory, you will read and apply key texts on participant-observation fieldwork to rehearsal observation and workshop exercises.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	PRFM3961
Academic unit	Theatre and Performance Studies
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 2000 level in Theatre and Performance Studies
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Lawrence Ashford, lawrence.ashford@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Lawrence Ashford, lawrence.ashford@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Draft Journal Entry 1 Short Answer	2.5%	Week 02 Due date: 02 Mar 2022 at 23:59	400 Words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Draft Journal Entry 2 Short Answer	2.5%	Week 03 Due date: 09 Mar 2022 at 23:59	400 Words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Draft Journal Entry 3 Short Answer	2.5%	Week 04 Due date: 16 Mar 2022 at 23:59	400 Words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Draft Journal Entry 4 Short Answer	2.5%	Week 05 Due date: 23 Mar 2022 at 23:59	400 Words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Final Journal Long Answer / Essay	30%	Week 07 Due date: 06 Apr 2022 at 23:59	1500 Words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Casebook Long Answer / Essay	60%	Week 12 Due date: 20 May 2022 at 23:59	3000 Words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Distinction	75 - 84	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Credit	65 - 74	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Pass	50 - 64	Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades

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.

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.

Learning support

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.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	1. Introduction to Rehearsal Studies. 2. Rehearsal Observation Exercise. 3. Write a Fieldnote.	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 02	1. Ethnography and Rehearsal Studies. 2. Revisiting Fieldnotes. 3. Rehearsal Simulation Exercise.	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 03	1. Insider/Outsider: The Ethnographer at Work. 2. Experience-Near vs Experience-Distant. 3. Telling Your Story.	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 04	1. The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. 2. A Minor Scandal in Anthropology. 3. How to Write Ethnography.	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 05	1. Doing Ethnography I. 2. Rehearsal Research and Etiquette. 3. Analyse a Rehearsal Casebook.	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 06	1. Doing Ethnography II. 2. Artist Briefing: Griffin Theatre Company. 3. Working Up Jottings.	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 07	1. Doing Ethnography III. 2. Rehearsal Observation: Griffin Theatre Company.	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 08	1. Developing a Richer Corpus of Fieldnotes. 2. Rehearsal Observation: Griffin Theatre Company.	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 09	1. Debriefing on Rehearsal Observation. 2. Rehearsal Observation: Griffin Theatre Company.	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 10	1. Rehearsal Studies Revisited. 2. Structuring a Casebook. 3. Engaging Ethnographic Writing.	Seminar (4 hr)
Week 11	1. Pitch Your Plan (Optional): Students may submit a draft Casebook plan, ahead of a one-to-one feedback meeting.	One-to-one tuition (0.25 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

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

Week	Class Date	Time	Required Readings
1	Thursday, 24 February 2022	10am*-1pm	None.
2	Wednesday, 2 March 2022	11:59pm	DUE: Draft Journal Entry 1 – Geertz, “Thick Description”.
2	Thursday, 3 March 2022	9am-1pm	1. Geertz, C. (1973). Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture. In The interpretation of cultures: selected essays (Vol. 28, Issue 1, pp. 3–30). Basic Books. 2. McAuley, G. (1998). Towards an Ethnography of Rehearsal. New Theatre Quarterly, 14(53), 75–85.
3	Wednesday, 9 March 2022	11:59pm	DUE: Draft Journal Entry 2 – Geertz, “From the Native's Point of View”.
3	Thursday, 10 March 2022	9am-1pm	1. Geertz, C. (1974). “From the Native’s Point of View”: On the Nature of Anthropological Understanding. Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 28(1), 26–45. 2. McAuley, G. (2008). Not Magic but Work: Rehearsal and the Production of Meaning. Theatre Research International, 33(3), 276–288. 3. Rossmanith, K. (2003). Epilogue: Making the Familiar Strange. In Making theatre-making: rehearsal practice and cultural production (pp. 211–228).
4	Wednesday, 16 March 2022	11:59pm	DUE: Draft Journal Entry 3 – James Clifford and Kirsten Hastrup.
4	Thursday, 17 March 2022	9am-1pm	1. Clifford, J. (1986). Introduction: Partial Truths. In Writing Culture: the Poetics and Politics of Ethnography (pp. 1–26). University of California Press. 2. Hastrup, K. (2020). Writing ethnography: State of the art. In J. Okely & H. Callaway (Eds.), Anthropology and Autobiography (pp. 115–131). Routledge.
5	Wednesday, 23 March 2022	11:59pm	DUE: Draft Journal Entry 4 – Writing Up Fieldnotes.
5	Thursday, 24 March 2022	9am-1pm	1. Rossmanith, K. (2009). Making Theatre-Making: Fieldwork, rehearsal and performance-preparation. Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture, 9(1), 1–17.
6	Thursday, 31 March 2022	9am-1pm	1. Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (Eds.). (1995). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. University of Chicago Press.
7	Wednesday, 6 April 2022	11:59pm	DUE: Assessment 2 – Final Journal.
7	Thursday, 7 April 2022	9am-1pm	1. Conquergood, D. (1991). Rethinking ethnography: Towards a critical cultural politics. Communication Monographs, 58(2), 179–194.
8	Thursday, 14 April 2022	9am-1pm	1. Narayan, K. (2007). Tools to Shape Texts: What Creative Nonfiction Can Offer Ethnography. Anthropology & Humanism, 32(2), 130–144.
X	Thursday, 21 April 2022	No Class	Mid-semester Break.
9	Thursday, 28 April 2022	9am-1pm	1. Maxwell, I. (2001). Learning in/through crisis. Australasian Drama Studies, 39, 43–57. 2. Ginters, L. (2006). “And There May We Rehearse Most Obscenely and Courageously”: Pushing Limits in Rehearsal. About Performance, 6, 55–73.
10	Thursday, 5 May 2022	9am-1pm	1. McAuley, G. (2012). Rehearsal and interaction ritual. In Not magic but work : an ethnographic account of a rehearsal process (pp. 213–231). Manchester University Press.
11	Thursday, 12 May 2022	No Class	None.
12	Thursday, 19 May 2022	No Class	None.
12	Friday, 20 May 2022	11:59pm	DUE: Assessment 3 – Casebook.
13	Thursday, 26 May 2022	No Class	None.

Learning outcomes

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.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

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

LO1. Think reflexively about the way your position as researcher influences the kind of understandings that you develop of processes you’ve observed
LO2. Summarise succinctly and accurately the key theoretical concepts that are presented in readings and seminars
LO3. Apply these concepts in a critique of rehearsal case studies that will be explored in class
LO4. Apply ethnographically-inflected methods in your own writing about rehearsal or training practices.

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
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

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

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

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.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

PRFM3961: Rehearsal Studies

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect