Diploma in Drama & Theatre Studies
What is Drama & Theatre Studies ? The Diploma in Drama and Theatre Studies (Special Purpose Award) is a two year part-time programme that combines an extensive education in the history and theory of Drama with a course of training in a range of practical theatre skills and techniques. Students move through a series of ten short modules covering the history of Western theatre from the Greeks to the present, with a more specialised study of Irish drama and of some of the cultural and political dimensions of theatre practice across the world; simultaneously, they participate in a series of workshops, classes and a summer school variously devoted to directing, performance, stage lighting and stage design. Allowing these elements to inform and influence each other, the programme takes students through a broad and varied exploration of the art of drama that is of significant value in its own right and designed to open possibilities for the future.
Aims and Objectives The Diploma in Drama and Theatre Studies is designed to be of interest and use to a variety of learners. For those participating in community theatre, in drama education or other drama related fields and projects, the programme provides an opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of the history and contexts of theatre, and to acquire a skills base that will enhance their work as practitioners of drama. More generally it can address the educational needs of those who have a strong interest in, but no direct personal experience of drama and performance, and it can help to bring them into study or practice.
The objectives of the programme can be broadly summarised as follows:
- To provide an extensive knowledge of the history of theatre from the classical period to the contemporary world, with a more specialised knowledge of the Irish theatre tradition.
- To promote an awareness and appreciation of the human and cultural significance of drama and the theatre arts, and the roles they play in history, society and culture.
- To promote the practice of wide and varied reading across a range of dramatic and non-dramatic texts and to encourage and enable connections between the theory and practice of drama.
- To equip students with academic writing and research skills.
- To equip students with the knowledge, awareness and understanding required to engage in self-critical theatre practice.
- To facilitate students in the development of skills of stage lighting, stage design, performance and direction.
- To enable students to make a positive contribution to the life and development of drama and theatre in the community.
Programme Structure
The programme is divided into two years and into two strands: the academic/historical and the practical. The programme is taken in its entirety.
Year One - Delivered 1 night per week for a total of 25 weeks, the academic strand of the first year consists of a series of academic and historical modules in the history of Western theatre from the classical period to the beginnings of modern drama in the early twentieth century. Students also participate in a series of workshops and classes on performance, directions and design delivered over 5 weekends and a summer school.
Year Two - Delivered 1 night per week for 25 weeks, and over a series of five weekends, in the second year students develop their academic and historical study of drama into a number of more specialised areas and further build on the skills and competencies established in the first year.
Students will also be required to attend an assessment day at the end of the programme.
Programme Duration This programme can be completed on a part-time basis in two years part-time. Academic elements are delivered in classes 1 night per week from 7:00 to 10:00 pm for 25 weeks per year, from September to April. The practical elements of the programme are delivered over a series of 5 weekends per year and a 1 week summer school at the end of year one.
Teaching & Assessment The programme employs a wide variety of teaching and assessment methods. Course delivery is primarily through interactive lectures, workshops, practical and instructional activities. Assessment methods are designed to develop and test the student’s acquisition of a very wide range of knowledge and skills and will include assessed performance, written examinations, essays, case studies, the production of model boxes and design plans, individual and group presentations, research and practical projects.
Further Career & Study Options The particular strength of the programme is its mixture of a strong academic base in theatre studies with training in practical theatre performance and production. The intention is to allow learners a variety of possible outcomes, with the academic elements allowing progression into further study in cognisant areas and the practical elements providing the skills with which learners can develop practice and thereby enrich both their own lives and that of the community.
Programme Content Year 1
| Academic
- Introduction to Drama and Theatre Studies
- Classical Theatre
- Medieval and Renaissance Drama
- 17th and 18th Century Drama
- Modern Drama
| Practical - Stage Direction I
- Performance I
- Design I
- Design II (summer school)
| Year 2
| Academic - Irish Drama I
- World Drama I
- Irish Drama II
- World Drama II
- Contemporary Drama
| Practical - Acting & Directing for Camera
- Stage Direction II
- Performance II
| Please note this programme is subject to validation. Learner protection for this programme is provided in accordance with Section 43 of the Qualifications (Education and Training ) Act 1999.
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