Theatre History & Theory (9719.6)

Please note these are the 2024 details for this unit
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Theatre History & Theory
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
 South Bank, QLD
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Arts And Design
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
School Of Arts And Communications Level 1 - Undergraduate Introductory Unit Band 2 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 2 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
This subject introduces students to the key theatrical, cultural and historical events, ideas and practices that have influenced and enabled the development of theatre and performing arts culture through history, from the early Greek dramatists to contemporary international and post dramatic theatre.

Students will be provided with an overview of important historical eras, playwrights, and acting styles through play scripts, historical documents, archival footage and practical engagement with texts.

The unit also aims to develop students' individual skills for critiquing and analysing dramatic texts, productions and relevant performance theories.

This subject focusses on developing communication skills in academic and creative contexts.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Identify the theatre practices and writing of various historical eras, and place them within their social political and historical contexts;
2. Identify and evaluate historical genres and theatrical techniques and compare them to contemporary theatre practices;
3. Critically examine and evaluate play-texts, productions, reviews and theoretical writings for the purposes of engaging in performance at an introductory level; and
4. Apply communication skills in an academic/creative context.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development


Prerequisites

None

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None

Equivalent units

None

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2025 South Bank, QLD Semester 2 28 July 2025 On-campus Mr Anatoly Frusin
2026 South Bank, QLD Semester 2 10 August 2026 On-campus Mr Anatoly Frusin
Not available

Required texts

Required Text:

Nellhaus, T. (Ed.). (2016). Theatre histories: An introduction (3rd ed.). Routledge.

NB. It must be this 3rd Edition

Recommended Texts:

Cole, T., & Chinoy, H. K. (Eds.). (1970). Actors on acting: The theories, techniques, and practices of the world's great actors, told in their own words. Crown Publishers, Inc.

Gale, M. B., & Deeney, J. F. (Eds.). (2010). The Routledge drama anthology and sourcebook: From modernism to contemporary performance (2nd ed.). London and New York: Routledge.

Nagler, A. M. (1952). A source Book in theatrical history. Dover Publications.

Nicol, A. (1976). World drama. Barnes & Noble.

Rudlin, J. (1994). Commedia dell'arte: An actor's handbook. Routledge

Extra readings:

Beard, M., & Henderson, J. (1995). The Classics. Sterling.

Forbes, B. (1980). That despicable race: A history of the British acting tradition. Elm Tree Books.

Garfein H., & Gordon, M. (1978). The Adriani lazzi of the commedia dell'arte. The Drama Review: Italian Theatre Issue, 22(1), 3-12.

Mudrooroo. (1997). The indigenous literature of Australia: Milli milli wangka. Hyland House.

Pascoe, J. (2014). The Sarah Siddons audio files: Romanticism and the lost voice. The University of Michigan Press.

Tatsumi Hijikata. (2002). Man, once dead, crawl back! In M. Huxley & N. Witts (Eds). The Twentieth-Century performance reader (2nd ed., pp. 225-228). Routledge.

Vineberg, S. (1991). Method actors: Three generations of an American acting style. Schirmer Books.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Participation requirements

Many of the activities that occur in this class involve group work and physical contact with other students.  This is the nature of acting.  Classes will, at times, be quite physically vigorous and students need to be willing to participate in all activities.  Students need to wear comfortable clothing to each class and should bring a hard copy journal to take notes during and after classes in order to be able to write the second assessment item in voice.

Required IT skills

Students must be familiar with the LMS Cavas as they will be required to download all lecture notes and readings and submit assessment tasks.

Work placement, internships or practicums

N/A