Aims of the course:
1. To introduce students to the art of dramatic writing for the stage.
2. To examine and interpret the dramatic stories, characters, situations, devices and dialogue used in a range of play texts.
3. To encourage and guide students' own experiments in playwriting through practical writing exercises and critical feedback.
Course content overview:
- This course will explore the nature, purpose and features of dramatic writing.
- Students will examine and interpret dramatic stories, characters and situations.
- The course will focus on dramatic dialogue and devices
Course outline
Welcome week
By studying this week the students should have:
- Become familiar with navigating around the VLE and from VLE to links and back
- Tested their ability to access files and the web conferencing software and sorted out any problems with the help of the eLearning Helpdesk
- Learnt how to look for, assess and reference internet resources
- Used forums to introduce themselves to other students
- Contributed to a discussion forum to introduce themselves to other students and discuss why they are interested in the course, what they hope to get out their studies
Week 1
By studying this week the students should have:
- A better understanding of what drama does, and what it is for
- A better understanding of some of the basic features of dramatic writing
- Generated ideas for dramatic stories
Week 2
By studying this week the students should have:
- A better understanding of dramatic story arcs
- A better understanding of what makes a dramatic character
- Created compelling dramatic characters
Week 3
By studying this week the students should have:
- A better understanding of what makes a dramatic situation
- A better understanding of the importance of complications and different agendas
- Come up with ideas of dramatic ways to write an opening scene
Week 4
By studying this week the students should have:
- A better understanding of the interplay between the literal meaning of the words that are spoken and what they actually mean
- Created dialogue that does several things at once
Week 5
By studying this week the students should have:
- A better understanding of a range of dramatic devices
- Methods for re-thinking, re-drafting and re-writing scenes and sequences
Week 6
- Assessment of student learning
- Assessment of student satisfaction
- Encouragement of further play writing and further study
Schedule (this course is completed entirely online):
Orientation Week: 28 October-3 November 2024
Teaching Weeks: 4 November-8 December 2024
Feedback Week: 9-15 December 2024
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours reading material, etc., although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (discussion boards,etc).
A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.
What our students say:
"It is a great introduction and combines some basic theory with many practical examples and activities that helped me discover what I can do decently and where I need to improve to become more dramatical."
"The content was very clear, well illustrated and delivered in a measured and engaging way."
"The tutor responded promptly to all the contributions with encouraging and insightful comments. "
