MA Theatre-Making Programme Specification 2024-25

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1	ACADEMIC QUALITY TEAM
2	Programme Specifications 2024-25
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5	Programme Title			MA Theatre-Making
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7	This document applies to students who commenced the programme(s) in:			September 2024			Award type			MA
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9	What level is this qualification?			7			Length of programme			1 Year or 2 Years
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11	Mode of study (Full / Part Time)			Full time or part time
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13	Will the programme use standard University semester dates?			Yes			For York Online programmes, will standard dates for such programmes be used?			N/A
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15	Awarding institution			University of York			Board of Studies for the programme			School of Arts and Creative Technologies
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17	Lead department			School of Arts and Creative Technologies			Other contributing departments			None
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19	Language of study and assessment			English			Language(s) of assessment			English
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21	Is this a campus-based or online programme?			Campus based
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23	Partner organisations
24	If there are any partner organisations involved in the delivery of the programme, please outline the nature of their involvement. You may wish to refer to the Policy on Collaborative Provision
25	N/A
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27	Reference points
28	Please state relevant reference points consulted in the design of this programme (for example, relevant documentation setting out PSRB requirements; the University's Frameworks for Programme Design (UG or PGT); QAA Subject Benchmark Statements; QAA Qualifications and Credit Frameworks).
29	University Taught Postgraduate Programme Design Policy; QAA subject benchmark for Dance, Drama and Performance
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31	Credit Transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning
32	Will this programme involve any exemptions from the University Policy and Procedures on Credit Transfer and the Recognition of Prior Learning? If so, please specify and give a rationale
33	N/A
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35	Exceptions to Regulations
36	Please detail any exceptions to University Award Regulations and Frameworks that need to be approved (or are already approved) for this programme. This should include any that have been approved for related programmes and should be extended to this programme.
37	N/A
38	N/A
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40	Internal Transfers
41	Please use the boxes below to specify if transfers into / out of the programme from / to other programmes within the University are possible by indicating yes or no and listing any restrictions. These boxes can also be used to highlight any common transfer routes which it would be useful for students to know.
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43		Transfers in:	No				Transfers out:	No
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45	Statement of Purpose
46	Please briefly outline the overall aims of the programme. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
47	Our MA in Theatre-Making is an intensive and dynamic programme which offers you a unique opportunity to study and make theatre in a rich and stimulating environment, with full use of the Department of Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media's industry standard rehearsal and production facilities. The programme combines seminar-style explorations and discussions with practical workshop experiments, and is designed to ensure that you acquire the necessary analytical and practical skills to enable you to work with creativity and flair, whether your future is in professional theatre or in related areas (such as film and television, arts administration, journalism, publishing, education, or further postgraduate research). As a student on MA Theatre-Making, you will get first-hand experience of the intricate collaborative interplay – between dramatists, directors, and performers – which underpins successful theatre-making in the UK. You will also learn the critical and interpretative skills needed to map and analyse the processes of theatre-making at an ambitious level. We pair close engagement with very recent contemporary practice with active research into some of the longer histories that continue to influence how we make theatre now. You will explore contemporary approaches to making theatre via in-depth investigations of a range of case studies which may include documentary and verbatim theatre, site-responsive practices, theatre and climate crisis, theatre and robots, and intermedial performance. You will consider a range of theatre and performance case studies from ancient Greece to the present day, interrogating the work of the writer and bringing the roles of the dramaturg, performer, and director to bear on the text’s journey towards each new production. Throughout, the course aims to interweave the ethics, politics and aesthetics of theatre making and critical analysis. Building on these skills, you will have the opportunity to develop your own practical or written work in an extended independent project. MA Theatre-Making, therefore, provides a distinctive opportunity for you to acquire, practically, a rounded experience of theatre-making, to develop your performing and directing skills, and to hone your research skills to reflect critically upon your process. In addition to scheduled classes, you will also benefit from contact with leading theatre-makers. This includes theatre projects, masterclasses, lectures and workshops exploring a wide range of creative disciplines. We have previously worked with playwrights Simon Stephens and Laura Wade, companies Pilot Theatre and Slung Low, actors Penelope Wilton and Sam West and directors Sean Holmes and Sophie Lifschutz in this capacity, and we look forward to sharing an exciting programme of visiting speakers and practitioners with you.
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58	If there are additional awards associated with the programme upon which students can register, please specify the Statement of Purpose for that programme. This will be most relevant for PGT programmes with exit awards that are also available as entry points. Use additional rows to include more than one additional award. Do not include years in industry / abroad (for which there are separate boxes).
59	Exit Award Title			Is the exit award also available as an entry point?	Outcomes: what will the student be able to do on exit with this award?				Specify the module diet that the student will need to complete to obtain this exit award
60	Postgraduate Certificate in Theatre-Making			Exit award only	PLOs 1, 2, 4, 6				Any 60 credits, except Extended Project
61	Postgraduate Diploma in Theatre-Making			Exit award only	PLOS 1, 2, 3, 4, 6				120 credits excluding Extended Project
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63	Programme Learning Outcomes
64	Deploy team work skills to create innovative and ambitious practical work in order to respond to challenges and to communicate ideas with clarity and focus.
65	Construct and present compelling ideas and arguments demonstrating systematic research, resourcefulness, and rigour on a variety of written and oral formats.
66	Practise, at an advanced and independent level, the craft of theatre-making: of conducting rehearsal experiments, of developing ways of making theatre, and planning and leading rehearsals.
67	Interpret how scripts are translated into a range of performance events by critical evaluation of a range of scripted drama.
68	Creatively and ambitiously apply the skills acquired and developed on the MA to complete complex projects of their own devising in acting, directing or written research.
69	Ambitiously employ the transferable skills that they have gained by working with theatre academics and professionals (via module tutors and visiting artists) so as to advance and develop their own theatre research and practice, and enhance their employability for future careers.
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72	Diverse entry routes
73	Detail how you would support students from diverse entry routes to transition into the programme. For example, disciplinary knowledge and conventions of the discipline, language skills, academic and writing skills, lab skills, academic integrity.
74	The programme does not map directly to an area of study that all students will have completed previously. As such, all discipinary content and conventions are covered with this in mind, with specialist terms fully explained. Students will be directed to additional language, academic and writing support as appropriate. Academic integrity is explained within the context of the discipline.
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77	Inclusion
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79	Please confirm by ticking the box on the right that the design, content and delivery of the programme will support students from all backgrounds to succeed. This refers to the University's duties under the Equality Act 2010. You may wish to refer to the optional Inclusive Learning self-assessment tools to support reflection on this issue.										TRUE
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81	Employability
82	Please give a brief overview - no more than 5 sentences - of how the programmes helps develop students' employability. Your Faculty Employability Manager can help reflection on this issue. This statement will be used by Marketing as the basis for external content with respect to employability.
83	For the reasons outlined in ii) above, the MA is designed to engage with contemporary theatre, both from a scholarly and practical perspective. Some of the leading practitioners who regularly join us for masterclasses for our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes have told us that they are particularly attracted by the programmes' emphasis on the collaborative nature of the theatre process, and on the need for each participant in that process to be alert, and pro-actively responsive, to the indispensable contributions made by others to the joint endeavour's ultimate success or failure, plus the programmes' inculcation (among other skills) of fundamentally collaborative working methods. So, in addition to the specific skills that students can focus on in their extended practical project/dissertation, at its core are a set of competences which are fundamental to employment in theatre, and other media. These are also, as our PLOs make clear, crucial transferable skills into other realms of employment.
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90	[For Undergraduate and Integrated Masters Programmes Only]
91	Are you offering any variations of this programme, such as additional years abroad or industry?
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93	Year abroad			FALSE		Will the year abroad programme be available directly via UCAS; for students to transfer in having entered the main programme; or both?				N/A
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95	Year in industry			FALSE		Will the year in industry programme be available directly via UCAS; for students to transfer in having entered the main programme; or both?				N/A
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97	Year in enterprise			FALSE
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99	Placement year			FALSE
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