ECU Web Unit Outline
 
FACULTY OF EDUCATION & ARTS
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ARTS
Full Unit Outline - Enrolment Approved Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Disclaimer
This unit outline may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.
 
UNIT TITLE Writing Drama
UNIT CODE WRT3105
CREDIT POINTS 15
FULL YEAR UNIT No
MODE OF DELIVERY On-campus
DESCRIPTION

This unit will offer the student an opportunity to develop an existing strength in writing drama.  The work of established writers in the genre will be the starting point for the workshops in which students will be encouraged to explore a range of subjects and styles in the development of their own writing.  There will be an emphasis on twentieth century and contemporary, English-language drama, and, within that, on current Australian playwriting.
 
LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  • express an understanding of the history of English-language drama in relation to contemporary playwriting;
  • discern and discuss the characteristics and conventions of various styles of drama, including structure, plot, characterisation, dialogue, stage-direction and relevant stage-craft and acting styles;
  • identify and employ the conventions of stage-script layout;
  • workshop with peers to develop scripts through reading, movement and role-play;
  • write a stage play of at least one act (no less than 30 minutes);
  • identify and discuss intercultural issues and themes in Australian and international plays; and
  • write an analytical essay deploying academic conventions.
 
UNIT CONTENT
  1. Research published plays and historical and critical commentary, with an emphasis on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
  2. Playwriting skills.
  3. Academic essay writing skills and conventions.
  4. Role-playing and workshopping of students' plays.
  5. Teamwork and peer evaluation skills.
  6. Creative arts research. 
 
TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESSES
  • Workshops
  • Practice-led research
  • Textual analysis
  • Class discussion
 
GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES

The following graduate attributes will be developed in this unit:

      • Ability to communicate
      • Ability to work in teams
      • Critical appraisal skills
      • Ability to generate ideas
     
 
ASSESSMENT
Grading Schema 1
 
Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.
 

Item

On-Campus Assessment

Value

  

Assignment

Completed play

50%

Essay

Analytical essay

30%

Workshop

Workshop participation

20%

 
TEXTS
Smiley, S. (2005). Playwriting: the structure of action. London and New Haven: Yale University Press.
 
SIGNIFICANT REFERENCES
Allan, R., & Pearlman, K. (Eds.). (1999). Performing the unnameable: An anthology of Australian performance texts. Sydney, NSW: Currency Press.
Artaud, A. (1999). The theatre and its double. London: Calder.
Bradley Smith, S. (2001). Griefbox and other plays. Cambridge, UK: Salt Publishing.
Brisbane, K. (Ed.). (1991). Entertaining Australia. Sydney, NSW: Currency Press.
Brooks, P. (1990). The empty space. London: Penguin.
Eyre, R., & Wright, N. (2000). Changing stages: A view of British theatre in the twentieth century. London, UK.: Bloomsbury.
Filewod, A., & Watt, D. (2001). Workers' playtime: Theatre and the labour movement since 1970. Sydney, NSW: Currency Press.
Meyrick, J. (2002). See how it runs: Nimrod and the new wave. Sydney, NSW: Currency Press.
Parsons, P. (AM) (Ed.). (c1995). Companion to theatre in Australia. Sydney, NSW: Currency Press.
Pfistere, S. (1999). Playing with ideas: Australian women playwrights from the suffragettes to the sixties. Sydney, NSW: Currency Press.
Vandenbourke, R. (Ed.). (2001). Contemporary Australian plays. London, UK: Methuen.
Wilmeth, D. B., & Bigsby, C. (2000). The Cambridge history of American theatre, Vols 1-3. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
 
 
 
Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)
For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes, Graduate Attributes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Student Equity, Diversity and Disability Service website:
http://intranet.ecu.edu.au/student/support/student-equity
 
 


Academic Misconduct


Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students’ work.

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.


The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.
ECU Web Unit Outline