Cirrus@Austlit

NB: Information in this Unit Outline is subject to change prior to commencement of semester

As students of Drama, and of the Creative Industries more broadly, you will benefit from an examination of ideas and information relating to the theory and practice of Australian theatre and performance. In drawing connections between theatre and society, and in exploring a variety of Australian performance idioms, this unit augments understandings developed in a range of other Creative Industries study areas. The unit provides vital contextual material for students who will be working in the Creative Industries sector.

Aims

This unit aims to provide you with core understandings relating to Australian theatre history, as well as contemporary issues in Australian theatre and performance.

Objectives

On completion of this unit you should be able to:

1. Display knowledge of key periods, plays and playwrights in Australian theatre

2. Display knowledge of a range of Australian plays through reading and performance of rehearsed scenes

3. Identify key institutional influences, and theoretical paradigms, currently shaping Australian theatre criticism and practice

4. Use a variety of information sources to research subject material

5. Critically analyse material and apply research skills to present research findings in a variety of modes (written, verbal, online, as performance)

6. Understand the role of indigenous performance as a defining energy of contemporary Australian theatre

7. Articulate a range of issues impacting on contemporary Australian theatre

8. Identify how the search for an Australian identity is articulated, explored and represented in the set play texts

Content

This unit covers the following: issues and challenges in contemporary Australian theatre; key periods in Australian theatre history; major Australian plays,playwrights and practitioners; Australian theatre companies and institutions; indigenous drama; women in Australian theatre; Brisbane theatre history; Australian performing arts as markers of identity; state and federal funding and arts policies.