drama 2013 undergraduate brochure

Drama

Undergraduate study Entry 2013

Degree courses

Single Honours UCAS code

Drama and Theatre Practice W400 BA/D

Drama (including Foundation English Language) W4Q3 BA/DFEL

Music and Theatre WW3K BA/MT

Joint and major/minor Honours UCAS code

Drama and English QW34 BA/DE

Drama and Film Studies WP43 BA/DraFilm

Drama and French WR41 BA/DFr

Drama and German WR42 BA/DGer

Drama with History of Art W4V3 BA/DHA

Drama and Italian WR43 BA/DIt

Drama and Music WW34 BA/DMu

Drama and Spanish WR44 BA/DSp

Estimated places 90

Typical entry requirements 280–320 points

All of the courses listed above are taught at the Hull Campus.Admissions/enquiriesHull CampusEmma Holdnall (Single Honours)[email protected] 466141

Kay Nock (Joint Honours)[email protected] 466059www.hull.ac.uk/FASS

DramaUniversity of HullHull, HU6 7RX

© University of HullPublished September 20122765~ME

Dates of semestersSemester 130 Sep 2013 – 24 Jan 2014

Semester 23 Feb – 13 June 2014

Key facts

ContentsA dramatic vista | 1

Drama at Hull | 4The student

experience | 10Careers | 12What our graduates say

about us | 14FAQs | 16 Staff and their

interests | 18

Dramawww.hull.ac.uk 1

Do you want to make and study theatre? Areyou considering a career in directing, writingfor theatre, acting, costume design, stagedesign, stage or production management,teaching, radio or journalism? Perhaps youhave no idea what you want to do afteruniversity yet but you know that you lovetheatre and want to learn more about it.

The University of Hull’s drama degrees are unusualin that they combine the best of tradition andinnovation, the best of theory and practice, andallow you to build a degree course which suits youby offering interesting core modules and a widerange of options. Students in our DramaDepartment can choose from modules in subjectsas diverse as Greek tragedy and popular comedy inperformance, medieval theatre and modern Britishtheatre, costume making and creating drama forradio.

Each Single Honours student takes a range ofmodules which introduce them to the theoreticaland practical study of drama. Joint students choosefrom a wide range of modules but take only threerather than six each year, the rest of their timebeing spent on the other half of their degree.

Hull was one of the first British universities to offerdrama, and for 50 years its Drama Department hasplayed a significant part in developing theacademic study of the dramatic form as well asproducing graduates who are practically aware andhave the necessary skills to be employed in theatre.

Regular follow-up surveys show that more than70% of our graduates go on to careers in thecreative industries (theatre, television, radio, film,events, journalism, arts education andmanagement). Others use their transferable skillsto begin careers in areas such as law, advertising,education, hospitality and retail management. Thedepartment is committed to developing theemployability of its graduates by keeping studentsup-to-date with professional practice, so we haveclose ties with theatres in the region, including HullTruck Theatre and the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Many of our staff are engaged in projects withregional theatres and with theatre companiesacross the country. There are regular visits totheatres (both performances and general visits)from Hull Truck to the West End, and our graduatesoften return to the department to talk about theirexperiences working in the creative industries tothe benefit and enlightenment of our currentstudents. We like to think that once you are amember of our department, you will always be amember of our department.

As any of our graduates would tell you, what youstudy at Hull is only part of the experience. We havea range of performance spaces that are run bystudents for students. They include the Donald RoyTheatre, situated at the heart of the department,which delivers a public production programmeeach year, and the Minghella Studio, which has itsown internal production programme. So you willhave the opportunity to create and watch ground-breaking theatre from the day you arrive.

A dramatic vista

The University of Hull has been at the forefront of drama teaching for five decades – and we’re still earning rave review

s. In the most recent National

Student Survey, 96%

of our students praised our staff’s enthusiasm

for the subject, w

hile T

he G

uard

ian’s 2013 University Guide ranked us am

ong the

two best drama departments in the North for teaching quality.

Leading light

Our drama degrees educate you inall aspects of the subject: as wellas honing your performance skillsand techniques, you can selectoptional modules in technicalareas such as costume design, setconstruction and lighting.

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Drama at Hull

The aim of our degrees, both Single and JointHonours, is to provide a critical and historicalstudy of the theatre and of drama as aperformance art. Our courses are academicallyrigorous but practical work forms an integralpart of them, the department being fullyequipped to integrate the study and the practiceof theatre.

Participation in the department’s productionprogramme is encouraged for all students, thougheach may make a personal choice as to the extent oftheir involvement in this activity. Plays are studiednot only in seminar and lecture but also inproduction; formal teaching is reinforced andilluminated by practical work in our three theatresand by performance in public. In this way,technical, physical and intellectual skills areengaged at one and the same time, which is whydrama at Hull is not like other other academicdisciplines.

Single Honours students can gain extensive first-hand experience of theatre practice in unrivalledfacilities, exploring various areas of technical,design, administrative or performance activity. ForJoint Honours students, the study of drama in all itsmanifestations is balanced by the demands of adifferent arts subject taught in another department.All students should find that their degree work willgive them a broad understanding of the complexart of the theatre and a basic academic training forany future career.

Courses of studyThe department offers three Single Honours andseven Joint Honours degrees, as follows. All aretaken over a period of three years except the jointswith languages, which are four-year courses.

Single Honours (W400)• Drama and Theatre Practice (W400)• Music and Theatre (WW3K)• Drama (including Foundation English Language)

(W4Q3)

Joint HonoursThe Joint Honours degree is intended for studentswho wish to read two subjects at the same levelthroughout their university career. Drama may becombined with

• Drama and English (QW34)• Drama and Film Studies (WP43)• Drama and a modern language – French (WR41),

German (WR42), Italian (WR43) or Spanish(WR44)

• Drama and Music (WW34)

Also available is the major/minor combinationDrama with History of Art (W4V3 BA/DHA), inwhich the proportion of drama to history of art isroughly 2:1.

www.hull.ac.uk 5Drama

‘One of the aspects of the dramacourse which attracted me most wasthe amount of control that I wouldhave over my own learning. There’s abroad range of modules to choosefrom, so you can tailor your course todevelop the particular skills thatyou’re interested in.

‘I really enjoy all the practicalopportunities that there are withinthe department. Whether you’reinterested in acting or backstageroles, there are so many extra-curricular performances that there’salways something to take part in.

‘As a result of my course I’ve begunworking in a theatre as a technicianand am planning to stay in Hull afterI graduate to continue working andgaining experience.’Emma ToozeBA Drama and Theatre Practice

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A broad range of modulesCore componentsAll drama students are introduced to varyingapproaches to theatre in their first year. A lecturecourse concentrates on European drama historyand dramaturgy, from ancient Athens to the presentday, and this is underpinned by a seminar-basedand part-practical introduction to rehearsalmethods, directing and spatial awareness,including a two week intensive technical inductionperiod. Single Honours students also develop voiceand body awareness and work on twodepartmental productions in different productionareas (including costume, construction, lighting,sound, stage management, front-of-house andpublicity). An end-of-year project gives students theopportunity to experience different theatricalmethods, processes and practices.

In the second year all students continue to developtheir knowledge through a year-long lecture coursewhich focuses on contemporary performance andcurrent theatre developments. Single Honoursstudents also continue to develop skills in theatrepractice by undertaking staff-led modules whichculminate in a public production.

In the third year Joint Honours students have nocore modules and are free to choose from a varietyof options. Single Honours students work towardsmaking their own public theatrical production,whether that be scripted or devised, in staff-supervised modules known as ‘MakingPerformance’.

Optional componentsOptional modules are taught in a variety of waysaccording to the nature of the subject, but they alloffer the opportunity both for detailed discussionand for a certain amount of individual research andpractice. Throughout the course, visits may bemade to selected films, theatres and places ofartistic and historical interest.

Optional subjects vary from time to time as staffresearch interests develop. The following modulesare linked to current research specialisms withinthe department.

World drama• Greek Tragedy• Folk Theatre and Ritual Drama• Commedia dell’Arte• 19th-Century Theatre, Art and Society• Shakespeare and the Director• Modern British Theatre• Intercultural Shakespeare• Modern Irish Theatre• The Director and the Stage• Reconstructing Histories• Medieval Theatre• Refiguring Antiquity• Ben Jonson: Masques and Plays• Russian Theatre• Literature and Culture in the 19th Century

Popular entertainment• English Pantomime• Musical Theatre• Dramaturgy for Stage and Screen• Costume for Stage and Screen• Radio Drama• Popular Comedy• Clowning• Drama and Theatricality• Carnival Theatre• Myth, Literature and History


Theatre practice• The Art of the Actor• The Language of Stage Space• Lighting the Stage• Projecting Performance• Process Drama• Managing the Theatre• Approaches to Directing• Voice• Scriptwriting• Set Construction• Light, Space, Design• Design and Realisation• Physical Performance• Dance Making• Culture, Politics and Performance• Autobiography and Performance• Acting• Applied and Interactive Theatre• Costume Interpretation• Costume Design• Site-Specific Theatre• Acting Shakespeare• Managing the Stage• Production Management• Managing and Curating Live Arts• Performance and Documentation• Stage Design• Live Artworks

AssessmentAll modules are examined within, or at the end of,the semester in which they are taught. Methods ofassessment range from formal written examinationon lecture courses, through essays, presentations,performance outcomes or a dissertation, tocontinuous assessment of practical work.

‘If you want to go to a great universitywith fantastic scope to learn technicaltheatre while still being educated in thetheory of theatre, then Hull is the place.The Drama Department here providessome of the best technical facilities inthe country, including an open-to-the-public theatre – in which all aspects ofperformance are run by students – andan on-site workshop where you canlearn all the techniques required tobecome a professional set constructorand (digital) scenographer. And there’san outstanding stage managementcourse. Study drama at the University ofHull for a real theatre learningexperience!’Jack ChristonBA Drama

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Facilities and productionsThe Gulbenkian Centre and other facilitiesOur drama facilities are housed in the GulbenkianCentre. Designed by Peter Moro, this is animpressively equipped building with vasteducational and artistic potential. It contains alarge, adaptable theatre (licensed for publicperformance), as well as an in-house studiotheatre, in which stage and auditorium can bearranged in any number of ways, and mobile blocksof seating can be disposed for different kinds ofaudience/performer interaction.

The main house, the Donald Roy Theatre, is one ofthe best departmental theatres in any Europeanuniversity. There is a newly refitted fly-tower, astage basement facilitating trapwork and aningenious design to the space which allows avariety of staging from proscenium through totraverse, thrust and promenade.The same flexibilityextends to sound and lighting, which operate usingstate-of-the-art computerised control systems. Inthese conditions, widely divergent styles ofdramaturgy and mise en scène can be studied inaction.

The Gulbenkian also houses sound and radiostudios, a paintshop, wardrobe, a laundry, arehearsal room, a visualisation suite and dressingrooms, as well as seminar rooms and staff rooms.

Close by is the Old Boilerhouse building, whichcontains a workshop (equipped to professionalstandards, with metal and wood fabrication areas),a design studio and a CAD/CAM design suite(equipped with industry-standard architecturaldesign and image manipulation software). In thesame building there is also a further theatre studiofor small-scale experimental work. In addition thedepartment has the Loten Annexe, which containstwo rehearsal rooms (one of them equipped with adance floor) and two seminar/screening rooms.

Public productions Our teaching emphasises drama as an active formof expression: the ‘play in performance’ thusbecomes the ultimate criterion and the centre ofacademic interest. All students participate incourse-related productions/projects and have theopportunity of taking part in public productions,directed either by members of staff or by students.This involvement may take the form of acting,direction, design, technical work or productionmanagement; and, as far as possible,responsibilities are diversified so that students gainexperience in all aspects of theatrical presentation.As many as 10 public productions are staged eachyear, and Drama and Theatre Practice students mayopt to undertake both technical and administrativeproduction assignments as first-year core modules.

Public productionsAs any of our students or graduates would tellyou, the course modules are only a part of thestudent experience at Hull. Many dramastudents benefit from the vast amount of extra-curricular activity that the department has along history of supporting.

Throughout the year the Events Committee, run bystaff and students, arranges a number of in-houseextra-curricular events, including small-scalehappenings known as Studio Nights and Huddles,productions without decor known as Huddees, anda number of workshops and talks from visitingindustry practitioners. Every year there is a week-long festival of student-directed productionsknown as ‘Events Week’.

The active social side of student life in thedepartment is organised by the student-run GreenRoom Club, to which all past and present studentsbelong. The club arranges social nights, sportingactivities and theatre visits in addition to thosearranged by staff. The department also indirectlysupports Z Theatre Company, who tour a number ofproductions each year to the Edinburgh FringeFestival. As staff have an interest in world drama, anumber of departmental productions in the last fewyears have toured overseas – even as far afield asJapan.

More recently our students have also engaged inactivities with local theatre companies, includingHull Truck and Opera North, as well as twoemerging Hull graduate theatre companies, MiddleChild Theatre Company and Park Bench PoetsTheatre Company. Supported by the department, anumber of students also engage each year invarious educational projects at local schools and inlocal community projects run by organisationssuch as Humberside Police, the local NHS trust andthe Samaritans, to name but a few.

Our students are also practically involved in therunning of the prestigious National Student DramaFestival in Scarborough. See page 24 for details.

The student experience

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According to a recent survey that we conducted,more than 70% of our alumni go on to work inthe creative industries or education.

Our graduates have worked in some of the mostprestigious theatres and theatre companies in theworld, including the Royal Court Theatre, theNational Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company,the Royal Opera House and Paris’s Bouffes duNord.

Many students go on to work in creative industriesoutside the theatre. Hull drama graduates haveworked for the BBC, Channel 4, Sky and othertelevision companies, in radio, for eventscompanies, for creative and corporate enterprisesand for public relations and promotionscompanies. Many other students establishindependent theatre companies – often using theopportunities offered by final-year productionmodules as a launching platform. Companies tohave come out of the department recently includeRash Dash, Middle Child, Awkward Cough andPark Bench Poets.

Some of our students go on to further study andprofessional training. Recent graduates have beenoffered places at drama schools including theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York,the Bristol Old Vic, the London Academy of Musicand Dramatic Art and the Central School of Speechand Drama. Others have gone on to undertake MAcourses in subjects as diverse as Text intoPerformance, Documentary Television and ArtsJournalism, or have chosen PGCE and applieddrama courses.

Some of our famous alumni• Anthony Minghella (1975), film-maker• Dame Jenni Murray (1971), presenter of BBC Radio

4’s Woman’s Hour• Malcolm Sinclair (1971), actor and President of

Equity• Gordon Farquhar (1986), BBC radio sports

correspondent• Stuart Cosgrove (1974), Head of Programmes

(Nations and Regions), Channel 4

• David Pritchard (1976), Head of Production, RoyalOpera House, Covent Garden

• Marianne Elliott (1989), Associate Director,National Theatre

• Gillian Choa (1980), Head of Design, Hong KongAcademy

• Rosie Millard (1987), arts journalist• Indu Rubasingham (1992), theatre director• David Benedict (1980), London theatre critic• Gary Yershon (1975), musical director• David Hanson (1978), MP and shadow minister• David Brindley (2003), producer of Channel 4’sOne Born Every Minute

• James Graham (2003), writer• Mark Charnock (1988) and Sian Reese-Williams

(2003), actors in Yorkshire Television’sEmmerdale

• Tom Brooke (2000), actor• John Macmillan (2004), actor• Sam Troughton (1998), actor• Hannah Chissick (1998), theatre director• Laurie Penry-Jones (1999), actor• Adrian Lukis (1982), actor• Patrick Lau (1978), television director• Zoe Boyle (2005), actor in Downton Abbey, Grey’sAnatomy, Lewis and Sons of Anarchy.

Employers tell us …that they find our graduates very employablebecause of the range of people, managerial andadministrative skills that they developed duringtheir three years with us. Since we give our studentsresponsibility and allow them to run most of theproduction activity that takes place here (includingtheir own drama festivals and the annual Z TheatreCompany’s tour to Edinburgh), it’s not surprisingthat employers find Hull drama students to becreative self-starters with well-honed practicalskills who work well in a team.

Careers


Recent Hull Drama graduate Zoe Boyle is becoming a familiar face on our screens –catching the eye with recurring roles in Downton Abbey and, in America, Grey’s Anatomy.

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What our graduates say about us

‘Being at Hull taught me a huge amount. WhetherI’m working on stage or on screen I have a muchwider appreciation of what other people’s jobsentail than I would have done had I not studieddrama at Hull. The course gave me an awareness ofall the different elements beyond writing, directingor acting that make a piece of drama come together.

‘I also have a lasting group of friends who work asdirectors, writers, in TV production and more, andwho not only provide friendship but also form anetwork of people working in the industry. I havebeen in a position to pass work or opportunitiestheir way, and vice versa, and this extends to thosein the years above and below as well as my ownyear.

‘The thing I most enjoyed about studying drama atHull was the sense of exploration and experiment –putting on a piece which might stand or fall but,either way, trying it out, learning throughexperience and practice, and collaborating with allthe wonderful minds around you.’

Alexa Brown (Drama, 2002)

‘At Hull Uni you have the freedom to explore theareas that interest you, with so much support fromthe staff and peers. I’m now a presenter on Channel5's Milkshake! – a pre-school early-morning show –and my experience at Hull gave me the confidence,and the space, to discover my strengths.’

Amy Thompson (Drama, 2003)

‘Hull University Drama department was the perfectspringboard for a career in the arts. The dedicationof the staff and their flexibility to let ourimaginations run wild was incredible. Whether itwas making it snow in the studio or producing 33plays in a week, no challenge was too small and wetried them all. I now work developing the artsindustry in Cambridge and delivering major musicfestivals, ice rinks, community events and outdoorconcerts.’

Elaine Midgley (BA Drama, 2004)Arts and Events Manager, Cambridge City Council

‘What I find surprising is that the longer I spend inthe theatre industry the more I realise that mydegree at Hull was a microcosm of how it allworks. It’s great preparation. The seminars andlectures were where my passions for aspects oftheatre were founded – the studio and theatrewere where these were explored. As a director Iam only as good as my ideas, and I am rated onhow well I can realise these. I am indebted to Hullfor enabling me to explore both the theoreticaland the practical side of theatre so that I can nowapproach the rehearsal room or the producer’soffice with confidence.

‘I also had a lot of fun, and I made friends andcreative partnerships that will last for as long as Iam a functioning human being. As the Head ofDrama said to us all on my first day: ‘You have theright to fail.’ It is this spirit of work, investigationand exploration that made those three years themost important and inspirational in my creativedevelopment.’

Henry Bell (Drama, 2004)Community, Education and Literary Director at theOrange Tree Theatre

‘I joined the Hull Drama Department in 2001 andhave since gone on to run my own video productionbusiness. It’s not what I’d expected from joining adrama degree, but the course is certainly whatstarted me off in that direction. The Hull course isfantastic for giving you an immersive experience ofall things drama, and the reach of the course isincredibly broad. I started off being interested inacting but was then drawn towards stagemanagement and finally the audiovisualdepartment. I’ve since honed my skills with an MAin film editing at another university and plenty ofexperience at different production companies, butit was the diverse and practical facilities availableat Hull that really allowed me to start making thedecisions that would govern the rest of my career.’

Chris Tongue (Drama, 2004)


‘I graduated from the Drama Department in 2003and can honestly say that it was incrediblegrounding for a career in making theatre.

‘I am now a full-time theatre maker, doing my ownwork and collaborating with others. My first soloshow, Running on Air, won a Fringe First Award atthe Edinburgh Festival in 2010 and toured to 23theatres in the UK in 2011. My next show is beingsupported by the Theatre Royal, Harrogate, and theJunction in Cambridge and will premiere in Londonin Autumn 2012.

‘The course encouraged collaboration, bravedecisions and risk taking. The building was alwaysalive with activity, and it seems as though thissense of creativity has continued throughout thecareers of other graduates I am still in contact with.Ten years later I am married to a Hull dramagraduate, I share my allotment with another one,and I make work with lots of them!’

Laura Mugridge (Drama and French 2003)

‘The best thing about drama at Hull University werethe opportunities it provided to be involved in allaspects of theatre from acting to technical todirecting. For me personally it was preparation fortaking on the challenges of being Awkward CoughTheatre Company Manager, and it taught me skillsto a high standard that I previously had noknowledge in. The staff went beyond and above thecall of duty, which meant a friendly environmentthat made you feel that you were an important partof the department and that your opinion mattered.I doubt I would have had such a good experienceelsewhere.’

Beki Harrison (BA Drama, 2010)

‘The strong community spirit of the departmentmade me feel so welcome – you’ll always see afamiliar face. The support I was given by fellowstudents and staff made me believe that I couldreally achieve great things in my degree. I wasgiven the freedom to explore exactly what I wantedto, and there were no limits to the areas I had aninterest in. The student–staff relationship wasgreat. I was given responsibilities when working onshows and was trusted to do the job properly. Thegreat variety of subject areas on the course meansyou can follow your own path, and by the end ofyour degree you have a much clearer idea of whatthe future holds.’

Fiona Darling (BA Drama and Theatre Practice,2011)

We will take intoaccount not just Alevel grades butalsoevidence ofexperience in someaspect of theatre orother performancearts.

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What qualifications will I need?For the Single Honours degree course the academic requirement is currentlythree A levels (or their equivalent), one of which should normally be a modernlanguage, Classical Studies, English, History, Music, Art or Theatre Studies,though science-based qualifications will be considered. You will normally beexpected to have attained 280–320 points in your three subjects.

For Joint Honours degree courses admissions policy is broadly similar to thatfor Single Honours. Please contact Kay Nock in the Faculty Admissions Officefor entry requirements for particular subject combinations.

For both Single and Joint Honours degrees, however, Drama will take intoaccount not just A level grades but also evidence of experience in some aspectof theatre or other performance arts. Details of such experience should beincluded in a separate letter sent to Emma Holdnall in Drama (Single Honours)or to Kay Nock, Faculty Admissions Coordinator (Joint Honours).

Applications for deferred entry are welcome.

Do you encourage applications from mature or overseas candidates, and fromthose with qualifications other than A levels? Yes, we positively encourage applications from both mature and overseascandidates. Qualifications other than A levels, such as BTEC, the InternationalBaccalaureate, the Irish Leaving Certificate, the Scottish Certificate ofEducation, and Access certificates, or applications based on professional orvocational qualifications or experience, will also be considered. If you areuncertain as to whether your qualifications are suitable, please contact SueHumphrey in Drama (Single Honours) or Kay Nock, Faculty AdmissionsCoordinator (Joint Honours), for advice.

Do you have open days and/or interviews?Yes, in addition to the University Open Days, we offer three ‘Pathway Days’ eachyear (usually held in May and September). These give anyone interested inundertaking a degree in drama a ‘taster’ of what we have to offer at Hull. We alsointerview as many Single Honours applicants as have a reasonable chance ofreceiving an offer. Interviews are held from November onwards, when groups ofbetween 8 and 24 are invited to attend for an afternoon or to spend a whole dayin the department. No audition is required, but applicants should be prepared totake part in a practical session of some sort. Open days for Joint Honoursapplicants are conducted on Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays. Theseinclude an opportunity to visit the other department. Please contact us if youwould like information on either our Pathway Days or University Open Days.

Do I have to be an actor to obtain a place in the department?No. Although many students do have acting experience, a significant proportionhave interest and experience in technical, design or other aspects of theatre inwhich we specialise. More generally, the University believes in equality ofopportunity for all students and does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour,culture, religion, language, disability, gender, age, sexuality or political affiliation.

Frequently asked questions

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AdministrationPaula Lambert is the Department Administratorand will often be your first port of call both beforeyou arrive and during your period of study. Amongother things, she arranges the teaching timetableand organises module opting.

Emma Holdnall is a Clerical Assistant who supportsPaula in the day-to-day administration of thedepartment. She is responsible for admissions andsupports the administration of production activity.

Emeritus Professors of DramaOur emeritus professors, Donald H Roy and J Michael Walton, are founding members of thedrama course and world-renowned experts in theirrespective fields. Although now retired, they stillmaintain a close working relationship with thedepartment, and students and staff benefit fromtheir vast experience and knowledge.

Academic and specialist staffAristita Albacan, BA, BA (Babes-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca, Romania), PhD (LMU, Munich, Germany)Aristita is a theatre practitioner (director andproject manager) and theorist. In the past decadeshe has developed various performance projectsthat combine theatre and new media, in Romania,Germany and the USA. She has also taughtperformance making at the University of Mainz,Germany. Her PhD thesis was on the theatre workof Robert Lepage. Her research interests areintermediality and spectatorship in contemporaryperformance; contemporary directing and devising,performance creation and new media; appliedtheatre; and the Québécois ‘théâtre du recherché’.

Christophe Alix, DEUG, Licence, Master(Montpellier, France), PhD (Aston)Christophe has worked as an actor, director,producer and co-author. He has research andteaching interests in the history of 20th-centurydirecting; actor-training techniques; devisingprocess in performance; surrealist theatre; andperformance and new technologies. His PhDfocused on the emergence and the contemporaryrole of the theatre director.

Christopher Baugh, BA, MA (Manchester) Chris is Professor of Theatre. His teaching interestsinclude staging histories (with particular focus onthe period from the mid 17th to the mid 19thcentury), places of performance (theatrearchitecture) and the theory and practice ofscenography. His work has included practice-as-research projects (the Terezín operas, for example)and traditionally published books, essays andchapters. He is currently exploring the ways inwhich computer visualisation, as a researchmethodology, gives new insight into ideas ofsensation, sensibility, technology and spectaculareffects in the late 18th century, using reconstructionsof Loutherbourg’s extant scenic models.

Christian Billing, BA (Kent), MA (Leeds), PGCE(London), PhD (Warwick)Christian is a Senior Lecturer and currently teachesin the areas of early modern English and ancientGreek theatre as well as in scenography. Moduleson which he teaches include InterculturalShakespeares; Shakespeare and the Director; BenJonson: Masques and Plays; TheatricalTransvestisms; Greek Tragedy; and RefiguringAntiquity. His research and publication interests lieprimarily in theoretical and practical investigationsof early modern English and European, as well asancient Athenian, drama; theatre direction andrehearsal processes; and the theory and practice ofscenography.

Pauline Chambers, BTEC HND (Theatre Wardrobeand Design), SIAD Certificate (Costume)Pauline is the department’s Costume Tutor andSupervisor and teaches the modules CostumeDesign, Costume Interpretation, Costume for Stageand Screen, and Making Performance, as well ascostume-making specialisms throughout the threeyears. Her particular specialist areas are women’speriod cutting, corsetry, and techniques used byMadame Grès and Mariano Fortuny. She continuesto work regularly for the BBC and for companiessuch as Angels and Bermans, GlyndebourneFestival Opera, Welsh National Opera, NorthernBallet Theatre, Leicester Haymarket, York TheatreRoyal, Salisbury Playhouse, Redgrave Theatre

Staff and their interests


(Farnham), Peter Hall Productions and WestYorkshire Playhouse. Pauline is the founder of theNorthern College of Costume, based in York.

Robert Cheesmond, BA, DipDrama (Manchester)Robert is a Lecturer in Drama who teaches themodules Folk Theatre and Ritual Drama; 19th-Century Theatre, Art and Society; Scenography;Contemporary Popular Entertainment; ActingShakespeare; and Practical Stage Design. Robertwas the founder member, and is now co-convenor,of the Scenography Working Group of theInternational Federation for Theatre Research, inwhich capacity he has organised conferences andgiven papers in Moscow, Tel Aviv, Puebla, Prague,Canterbury and Cracow.

Maria Chatzichristodoulou, BA (Patras), PhD(London)Maria is a cultural practitioner (curator, producer,performer) and theorist. She is completing her PhDon ‘cybertheatres’ (Goldsmiths Digital Studios, UK).Maria was co-director of Fournos (Athens, Greece,1997–2002), co-founder/co-director of Medi@terraFestival (Athens, Greece, 1998–2002) andinitiator/co-director (with Rachel Zerihan) ofIntimacy: Across Digital and Visceral Performance(London, 2008). She has worked as a CommunityOfficer (The Albany, 2003–2005) and has taught atRichmond International American University (UK)and at Birkbeck, Goldsmiths and Queen Mary,University of London. She is co-editor of Interfacesof Performance (Ashgate, 2009).

Philip Crispin, BA (Oxford), MA (Sussex), DEA(Paris), PhD (London)Philip is a Lecturer in Drama who teaches a varietyof modules, including Modern Irish Theatre;Shakespeare and the Director; Medieval Theatre;and Carnival. Philip cites festive and political skeinsthat link his research interests in medieval, earlymodern and modern anglophone and francophonedrama. He is currently completing a project ofcomparative analysis of late medieval and earlymodern French and English festive drama.

Sarah-Jane Dickenson, BA (Exeter), MA (UCE),PGCE (MMU)Sarah-Jane is a Senior Lecturer and a NationalTeaching Fellow. She currently teaches the modulesDramaturgy for Stage and Screen; Scriptwriting;Process Drama; and Drama for Social Change.Sarah-Jane has recently supervised PhD studentsworking on process drama and on Alan Ayckbournand his plays for young people. She has been adrama worker with South American refugees inMontreal, Canada, and with the mentally ill(including prisoners), and she has worked inmainstream schools and colleges.

Jill Dowse, BA (Exeter), MA (CSSD), LRAM Jill is a Lecturer. Her teaching and research focus onperformance, particularly in relation to devising,site-specific practices and voice. She is a freelancetheatre practitioner and joint artistic director of TheBone Ensemble. In 1987 she co-founded FoursightTheatre, with whom she has created manyperformances, appearing most recently in thenational tour of Can Any Mother Help Me? (2009).She is now an Associate Artist. Recent solo workincludes Car Park Show No. 1 (2008), commissionedby the Humber Mouth Festival, Voice In-Site (2007),for Om Laboratoriet, Denmark, and a UK/Irelandtour of Again (2006). Jill has also worked as asongwriter, most recently on Thatcher Musical(2006), and she was recently involved in a Fermataproject developing a co-production between theRoy Hart Theatre and The Other Theatre, Denmark.

Professor Pavel Drábek, Masters (Masaryk), PhD(Charles), hab. (Masaryk)Pavel is Professor of Drama and Theatre Practice inthe department. His teaching ranges from earlymodern drama and theatre in Europe throughdrama translation and music theatre to theatretheory. He has published on translations ofShakespeare, on John Fletcher, on 17th-centuryEnglish comedy in Germany, on early modernmarionette theatre in central Europe and on theatrestructuralism and semiotics. As a theatrepractitioner he has been writing and translatingplays and opera librettos.

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Campbell Edinborough, BA, MA, PhD (London)Campbell is a Lecturer in Drama. Modules that heteaches include Physical Theatre; Movement;Contemporary Dance; Acting and PerformerTraining; Devising; Performance Theory;Approaches to Theatre; Performance Contexts; andMaking Performance. His practical teaching isstrongly influenced by his training as a Feldenkraispractitioner and his study of the martial arts ofAikido and Kashima Shinryu. Recent research hasexplored the use of the Feldenkrais Method withinperformance training, focusing particularly on thedevelopment of decision-making skills.

Cat Fergusson Baugh, BA (London)Cat is a Lecturer in Drama whose teaching focuseson historical reconstruction through computervisualisation and the applications of virtual andinteractive technologies in scenography andperformance. Her research has a twin focus: theapplications of computer visualisation incontemporary production design and theatrehistory; and the use of theatrical space (architectureand scenography) in the 17th, 18th and 19thcenturies. In combining these two areas, she madecontributions to Channel 4’s Lost Buildings seriesand THEATRON, a virtual exploration of historicaltheatre space (now available in Second Life).

Dr Colette Conroy, BA (Bristol), MA Res (London),PhD (London)Colette has recently joined the department assenior lecturer. She is the author of Theatre and theBody (Palgrave, 2009) and a number of articles andchapters on bodies and performance. Her workfocuses on spectatorship and the perception ofdifference. As a researcher she is interested indisability politics and feminist and queer theory, aswell as sport and the politics and aesthetics ofparticipation. She teaches courses on disabilityculture, democracy and performance and has abackground in theatre directing. She is on theeditorial board of the journal Research in DramaEducation: the Journal of Applied Performance.

Graham Foot Graham is our Sound Supervisor. He is in charge ofthe network of sound studios in the GulbenkianCentre. As a technician he supports the modulesRadio Drama and Production Management as wellas sound specialisms throughout the three years.

Andrew Head, MA (Leeds)Andrew has directed a range of projects on campusand at several venues outside. His main researchinterest is the work of Samuel Beckett, specificallythe role of the actor in the performance of his laterdramatic works. He is also interested in Britishpolitical theatre before and after the last war and inearly Soviet drama. He has performed in new andestablished texts, including the UK premiere ofHoward Barker’s Ego in Arcadia (1996). RecentlyAndrew has directed Not I (National Theatre ofPalestine / Sibiu International Theatre Festival,Romania), Krapp’s Last Tape (Scarborough /Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield) andFootfalls.

Duncan Holt, MA (London)Duncan attained his Masters degree in DanceStudies after many years in the profession. Hetrained at Toronto Dance Theatre and the LondonContemporary Dance School, and he has performedextensively throughout the UK, Canada andAustralia, having created and performed manyworks funded by arts councils in Canada, Wales,England and Australia. He has worked with keyinitiators of British New Dance, includingRosemary Lee and Gregory Nash, and in the theatrewith Steven Berkoff and Annie Castledine. He wasDance Animateur for Theatr Clwyd Dance for manyyears before becoming an academic at Bretton Hall(now University of Leeds), the University of WesternSydney and the University of Hull. At Hull he leadsthe Dance programme and coordinates the Facultyof Arts and Social Sciences’ work overseeingdegrees in arts subjects at several of theUniversity’s partner colleges.

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Louise Peacock, BA (London), MA, MSc, PGCE,PhD (Hull)Louise is a Senior Lecturer and currently teaches themodules Commedia dell’Arte; Popular Comedy inPerformance; The Comic Text; Performing Comedy;and Theatre Practice. She has also led a number ofpractical student projects, including site-specificprojects, installations and a multi-faceted project onthe reception of comedy. Louise has a strong interestin clown training and in Lecoq’s notions of play andcomplicité in relation to comic performance. Otherareas of research interest are post-war British stagecomedy and the development of the sketch show.

Simon Richardson Simon is the department’s Workshop Supervisor.Working in the Old Boilerhouse, he teaches Designand Realisation, Set Construction and otherspecialist construction modules. He has touredwith numerous theatre companies to more than200 venues in the UK, Europe, Poland, Scandinaviaand Australia. In addition he has worked as an ‘in-house’ technician for visiting companies and artistsin a large number of different theatres andperformance spaces, including Liverpool Playhouseand Coventry Belgrade.

Tim Skelly, BA (Kent) As Stage Lighting Tutor and Theatres Supervisorand Technical Manager, Tim manages our technicalfacilities and teaches modules including Lightingfor the Stage; Light, Space, Design; Scenography;Stage Design; and Theatre Practice. As a lightingdesigner Tim has worked prolifically throughoutBritain, and his design work has been seeninternationally in France, Italy, Poland, Moldova,Zimbabwe, Eritrea, China and Singapore. He hasworked with Northern Broadsides, PlymouthTheatre Royal, West Yorkshire Playhouse, RedLadder Theatre Company, Opera North, ColchesterMercury Theatre and Scottish Dance Theatre, andhas provided technical management and lightingdesign support for Phoenix Dance Theatre both inBritain and for international tours, including theVenice Biennale.

Amy Skinner, BA, PhD (Hull)Amy is a Lecturer in Drama and specialises inRussian and early Soviet theatre and in theatres ofthe avant-garde. Her other teaching interestsinclude musical theatre, directing (in its historical,theoretical and practical contexts) and communitydrama. Modules on which she teaches includeApproaches to Theatre; Performance Contexts; Textand Process; and Making Performance. Herresearch is inspired by the forms and practices ofearly 20th-century Russian avant-garde theatre. HerPhD thesis focused on the work of VsevolodMeyerhold, exploring the relationship betweentheatre and fine art. Amy has continued to publishin this field while also developing a wider model forcross-disciplinary practice, a project whichincorporates a range of theatrical genres, includingopera and musical theatre.

David Sole Dave is the Workshop Assistant and supports theactivity of set construction and general productionactivity in the Old Boilerhouse and the GulbenkianCentre. He also provides tutorial support forComputer Aided Design.

Richard Tall, BA (Hull) PGCE (Hull)As Production and Stage Management Tutor andSupervisor, Richard organises and programmesboth internal and public productions and teachesmodules including Production Management, StageManagement, Managing the Theatre, and MakingPerformance. In 2008, as production manager ofthe third of the Chikamatsu Project plays, Lovers’Suicides at Imamiya, Richard toured to theEdinburgh Festival and to Japan – a project thatreflected the department’s continuing commitmentto cross-cultural exchange. Richard is alsointerested in new writing. He co-foundedDandelion Theatre Company, which was set upspecifically to tour new writing, locally and furtherafield. He is currently working with Middle ChildTheatre Company, which entirely comprises Hulldrama graduates.


Neill WarhurstNeill specialises in technology for theatre andperformance and teaches these elements of thecourse. He has worked as a freelance photographer,lighting designer, technical manager, designassistant, set constructor and robotics engineer. Hehas toured extensively throughout the UK andEurope. He worked as a production manager onObjects Found or Lost? (SUPA, Malta) and on(re)ACTOR (London), both in 2006.

DuncanWoodward-Hay Duncan is a Production Tutor. He studied design at St John’s College, York, and began his professionalcareer at the Theatre Royal in York. He worked inmost of the producing houses in the North beforebeing seduced by advertising, film and television.Still a working designer and sculptor, Duncan hascreated work across the board, from Rosie & Jim toOpera North. His most recent designs have beenconcerned with reinterpretations of Greek myth andthe use of mask in performance.

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On the Edgeis an annual programme of professionalcontemporary performance, including theatre,dance, music, digital media and video screenings, atthe University’s Scarborough Campus. It featuresemerging talent as well as established artists withlocal, national and international reputations.Performances take place in our well-equippedPerformance Studios, and after-show discussionswith the artists and companies provide a uniqueinsight into current professional practice. Studentsenjoy exciting opportunities to get involved with thevisiting companies by providing technical and front-of-house assistance.

National Student Drama Festival (NSDF)Since 1990 Scarborough has been the home of theSunday TimesNational Student Drama Festival(NSDF), which uses as its venues the University’sScarborough Campus, the Stephen Joseph Theatre,Scarborough College and the Spa Complex. TheNSDF is a week-long celebration of theatre and liveperformance, with discussion and special events. Itincludes the best student theatre from all over theUK alongside workshops and masterclasses led bysome of the country’s most acclaimed professionals.Drama students look after the organisation of thefestival, which includes venue coordination, front-of-house, box office, reception, and press andpublicity. Members of the team are givenopportunities to attend productions and workshops.The event provides our students with significantfestival experience, and the University values itsunique association with the NSDF.

Studying for a degree at the University of Hull is a unique experience. We aim to provide youwithan education that offers both depth and breadth of knowledge. Tomeet these ends the Universityhas developed an optional Free Elective Scheme. This scheme enables themajority ofundergraduate students to take onemodule a year from outside their main course of study.

So, how does it work?Each year you take 120 credits’ worth of modules.

Free Elective Scheme

SEMESTER 2SEMESTER 1

20 credits20 credits

20 credits20 credits

Here you take modules from your main course of study. Here you have the option to take a free elective or anothermodule from your main course of study.

What sort of subjects can I take?You can take almost any free elective module fromoutside your main course of study, usually at yourhome campus. You can even take a module fromanother faculty. You should discuss your choice offree electives with your supervisor.

Example Hull Campus options• Cities and Civilisations: Art and Archaeology in

Context• European Women’s History• Music Appreciation and Performance• Psychology of Performance

Example Scarborough Campus options• Outdoor Recreation and Education Management• Dive Training• Event Management• Dance Technique• Introduction to Poetry• Passport Spanish or French• Starting a New Business

What are the main reasons for participating?• The scheme gives you the opportunity to study a

subject without having to commit yourself totaking further modules in that subject area.

• By taking a free elective you are able to follow upyour interests as part of your degree.

• With a broader education you may acquire extraskills that will help you when you enter theemployment market.

20 credits

20 credits

Drama has a long and prestigioushistory at Hull. We’ve trained Oscar-winners, soap stars and members ofthe Royal Shakespeare Company.And we’d love you to be next.

Go beyond | www.hull.ac.uk

drama 2013 undergraduate brochure

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