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The current and official versions of the course specifications are available on the web at .
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THT1000 Foundation Skills of the Working Actor

Semester 1, 2021 On-campus Toowoomba
Short Description: Foundation Actor Skills
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
School or Department : School of Creative Arts
Student contribution band : 2021 Grandfather Funding Cl 2
ASCED code : 100199 - Performing Arts not elsewhere
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner:

Rationale

Theoretic principles and applied skills in vocal practice, physical alignment and body/spatial awareness are fundamental to professional theatre practice. Practicing professional actors appropriately prepared in body/vocal capabilities, apply methodological approaches to momentary collaborative responsiveness as the basis of professional practice. This course aims to establish a foundation of skills and knowledge in vocal, physical and spatial capabilities that underpins all practice-led work encountered throughout the degree and in ensuing professional practice. Students successfully completing this course should possess the skills and theoretic knowledge to self-initiate their continued learning in their discipline of practice. Students should also possess the knowledge and fundamental processes of application to plan for safe body/vocal practice in the workplace.

Synopsis

This course introduces students to the fundamental knowledge and processes of three distinct and inter-related aspects of professional theatre practice at a formative level. In the voice classes, students acquire the knowledge and applied processes of safe vocal production, maintenance and growth. The movement classes guide students through a kinaesthetic awareness of physical alignment, spatial orientation and qualities of energy/rhythm/focus. In improvisation classes, students negotiate the fundamental principles of creative collaboration through physical, narrative and scene structures. Combined, these separate foci prepare students for ongoing iterations and levels of collaborative and creative practice in a range of career path practice and applications. Students will complete a series of authentic assessment tasks based on industry practice in performance training linked to real-world industry training experiences. Applied in a supervised work environment. Practice is the laboratory through which reflective analysis is applied and ongoing learning derived.

Objectives

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. Apply and formulate efficient techniques for foundational daily vocal production practice and maintenance.
  2. Apply body/physical and spatial skills in preparation and practice
  3. Apply momentary responsiveness to sentient stimuli within the work space
  4. Apply the principles of improvisation across a range of improvisational structures and forms

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Voice: fundamental principles and techniques for safe vocal production, maintenance and growth. 25.00
2. Movement: the exploration and application of body/spatial skills and awareness. 25.00
3. Circles of Awareness: the exploration of holistic engagement within defined boundaries of focus. 25.00
4. Improvisation: the introduction and application of skills and techniques for collaborative practice. 25.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2021&sem=01&subject1=THT1000)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

No materials required. Any in class readings will be made available through the Library on Study Desk..

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Berry, Cicely 1991, Voice and the Actor, Wiley Publishing Company.
Johnston, Keith 1979, IMPRO:, Improvisation and The Theatre, Methuen Publishing, London.
Rodenburg, Patsy 2000, The Actor Speaks, Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Rodenburg, Patsy 2008, The Second Circle, Norton and Company.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Independent Study 35.00
Practicum 130.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
VOICE: PRACTICAL WSHOP VOCAL 100 40 21 May 2021 (see note 1)
MOVEMENT: PRAC WSHOP IN TASKS 100 20 28 May 2021
IMPROVISATION: PERFORMANCE 100 40 04 Jun 2021

Notes
  1. The stated due date is the final date for all weekly assessments to be completed. Students will nominate a date, each week throughout semester, to deliver the practical assessment. This will increase the accumulative learning process over the semester. Details are in the Assessment Task Sheets and Rubrics on Study Desk.

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them, to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks for that item.

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative items for the course.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no examination in this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.

  8. University Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Date printed 18 June 2021