A PROJECT PORTFOLIO
Length 2500, words weighted at 100%
Learning Outcomes 1-4

This module examines the historical development of performance on screen. It considers how different styles of acting and presentation have emerged within cinema and broadcasting to provide audiences with new forms of recorded and live dramatic entertainment. It will introduce the ways in which the craft of acting has been remediated from the theatre to the screen, and how a range of production considerations have impacted upon the actors within the studio and on location. It begins with a look at the origins of screen acting and its close relationship with the theatre, and importantly the ways in which actors have gone on to develop styles of performance unique to recorded and live media. There will also be an examination of how certain styles of performance have been evolved by performers working within popular screen genre (e.g. comedy, variety entertainment and series/serial dramas) from the early part of the 20th Century to contemporary live broadcasts of theatre productions in UK cinemas.

There will be a series of weekly workshops and screenings to look at the historical changes of performance on screen, and follow-up seminars to explore further these themes and case study examples. The emphasis will be around charting the key trends of performance in cinema and television, and how technical changes have modified the actor’s work and audience responses to presentation. The project portfolio will consist of a critical exploration of an aspect of the history acting on screen and a linked case study group presentation.

Benedetti, R. (2006) Action!: Professional Acting for Film and Television, Boston: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.
Bennett, J. (2011) Television Personalities, London: Routledge.
Churcher, M. (2011) A Screen Acting Workshop, London: Nick Hern.
Double, O. (2012) Britain Had Talent, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Klich, R. and Scheer, E. (2012) Multimedia Performance, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lovell, A. and Krämer, P. eds. (1999) Screen Acting, London: Routledge.
Wojcik, P. R. ed. (2004) Movie Acting, London: Routledge.

See module handbook for a full listing of reading texts.

Blackboard, Library and online resources, TV/DVD playback facilities.
The Blackboard virtual learning environment will be available to support this module. Details will be supplied in the module handbook.