Theatre and Performance Studies
The Department of Theatre and Performance Studies is part of the School of Letters, Art and Media.
About the major
In Theatre and Performance Studies we look at a broad range of aesthetic, social and everyday performances: from theatre, dance or ‘live art’, to the performative dimensions of politics, sport and popular culture. As a Theatre and Performance Studies major you will explore different approaches to performance making, devise short works, and engage with professional artists-in-residence. While this is not vocational training, it does provide a window onto professional practice. As well as developing skills in workshops, you will attend a wide variety of performances, learn how to document them, how to describe the way spaces are used, how bodies are moving, and how to build these observations into a detailed critical analysis.
Performance, as a conceptual lens, also provides a powerful way of interpreting many non-theatrical events, using theoretical approaches from a diversity of disciplines, including theatre and movement studies, anthropology, history, philosophy and sociology. A Theatre and Performance Studies major provides a strong basis for students who later train as performers, directors, teachers, arts administrators, or those who wish to work in related areas of cultural practice.
Pathways through the major
A major in Theatre and Performance Studies requires at least 36 senior credit points made up of 2000 and 3000 level PRFM units of study which must include our compulsory 2000 level units of study PRFM2601 and PRFM2602, and at least one unit of study at senior (3000) level.
The units of study for the major can be found in the unit of study table for Theatre and Performance Studies. The table shows units of study being offered in the current handbook year.
Junior units of study (1000 level)
You need to complete 18 junior credit points from Table A in your first year. These should include PRFM1601 Performance: Process and Collaboration and PRFM1602 Dangerous Performances.
Senior units of study (2000 and 3000 level)
To qualify for a major in Theatre and Performance Studies you must complete at least 6 senior credit points at 2000 and 3000 level. There are two compulsory 2000 level units of study for a Theatre and Performance Studies major: PRFM2601 Being There: Theories of Performance and PRFM2602 Performance: Production and Interpretation. You then need to take 4 other senior level PRFM units (at least one must be a 3000 unit). In 2016 you can choose from PRFM2603 Between Impro and Text: Making Performance, PRFM3606 Approaches to Acting, PRFM3611 Dramaturgy, PRFM3961 Rehearsal Studies, and PRFM3965 Inside Rehearsal (prerequisite is PRFM3961)
Sample student pathway through the Theatre and Performance Studies major
| Sample pathway - Performance Studies major | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First year | S1 | PRFM1601 | Junior prerequisite unit | Junior unit | Junior unit |
| S2 |
PRFM1602 |
Junior unit | Junior unit | Junior unit | |
| Second year | S1 |
PRFM2601 (compulsory) |
PRFM2600 | Senior unit | Senior unit |
| S2 | PRFM2602 (compulsory) | and/or PRFM2600 | Senior unit | Senior unit | |
| Third year | S1 | PRFM3000 | PRFM3000 | Senior unit | Senior unit |
| S2 | PRFM3000 |
and/or PRFM3000 |
Senior unit | Senior unit | |
Honours
Our Honours year brings theory and practice together. It involves specialised seminars, a research thesis on an individual topic and a detailed case study based on first-hand fieldwork. Honours students become a valued part of the department’s research culture.
Admission to Theatre and Performance Studies honours requires an average of 70 percent or above across 48 senior credit points in Theatre and Performance Studies, including a major in Performance Studies (36 credit points with PRFM2601 and PRFM2602 included) with another 12 credit points: PRFM3961 Rehearsal Studies and PRFM3962 Inside Rehearsal.
Refer to the degree resolutions in this handbook and to the Faculty Admissions Policy for Honours: sydney.edu.au/handbooks/arts/rules/faculty_resolutions
Contact/further information
Department website: sydney.edu.au/arts/performance/
Undergraduate Coordinator: Associate Professor Ian Maxwell
Phone: +61 2 9351 6847
Email:
Honours Coordinator: Dr Amanda Card
Phone: +61 2 9351 8253
Email: