Key facts

Type	Online and Distance Learning
Location	Online
Dates	Wed 25 Sep to Fri 6 Dec 2013
Subject area(s)	Creative Writing
CATS points	10
Fees	From £320.00
Application status	Applications being accepted
Course code	O13P391CRV
Course contact	If you have any questions about this course, please email onlinecourses@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Enrol online now!

to secure your place on this course now

Overview

Drama is a hugely popular art form. This creative and critical course will help students to turn their passion for drama, whether stage, radio, television, or film, into the craft of dramatic writing, and to understand and appreciate the work of established dramatists.

Description

People love drama. Theatre attendance exceeds that of football matches every week, and television audiences are still counted in their millions. Radio’s popularity is increasing, and Cinema receipts rose to a record level last year. At the heart of all this drama is the script - the focus of our course. The approach of this course is both creative and critical. After a methodological introduction, students will learn the key elements of successful dramatic writing: structure; characterisation; dialogue; and be shown how to employ these in their own work. They will also acquire greater understanding of the four main media: stage; radio; television; and film; as well as insights into genre and adaptation. This course is for anyone who wants to write drama, or to learn more about how drama is written, in an environment that is supportive and inspirational.

Programme details

Week One: In The Beginning
Week Two: Where do Stories come from?
Week Three: Structure 1: Building Blocks
Week Four: Structure 2: Focus
Week Five :Structure 3: Variations on a Theme
Week Six: Characterisation
Week Seven: Dialogue
Week Eight: Making a Scene
Week Nine: Difference and Similarity
Week Ten: From Page to Stage

We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral, and very rewarding, part of the course and the online learning experience.

Course aims

This course will enable students to:
1. Develop a series of key technical skills that are intrinsic to all dramatic writing.
2. Develop further understanding of both the similarities and differences between Stage, Radio, TV and Film.
3. Practise individually and collectively exercises designed to improve their skills as dramatists..
4. Gain a greater understanding of the collaborative nature of dramatic writing within the context of evaluating both their own and other’s work.
5. Build a writerly practice around the ‘Portfolio’ model.

Certification

This course is accredited and you are expected to take the course for credit. To be awarded credit you must complete written contributions satisfactorily. Successful students will receive credit, awarded by the Board of Studies of Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. The award will take the form of 10 units of transferable credit at FHEQ level 4of the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS). A transcript detailing the credit will be issued to successful students.

Assessment methods

Students will be assessed on the basis of their two written assignments, one of approximately 500 words and one of not more than 1000 words.

Level and demands

FHEQ level 4, 10 weeks, approx 10 hours per week, therefore a total of about 100 study hours.

Recommended reading

To participate in the course you will need to have regular access to the Internet and you will need to buy the following books:
Edgar, David: How Plays Work (Nick Hern Books, 2009)

Egri, Lajos: The Art of Dramatic Writing (Touchstone,New York) either the 2004 edition or 2010 edition will be fine.

In addition, pick one of the following plays and read it. You will be referring to several times during the course.

Anton Chekhov, Uncle Vanya
Henrik Ibsen, A Dolls House
J M Synge, The Playboy of the Western World.

As Synge is out of copyright any edition will do. For consistency on Ibsen and Chekhov translations I suggested Penguin Modern Classics.

Alternatively, you can access all these plays on www.gutenberg.org

Teaching outcomes

By the end of this course students will understand:
1. Key elements of successful dramatic writing.
2. The practical application of those elements in their own work
3. The collaborative process involved in seeing a project though from initial idea to completion of first draft.

By the end of this course students will have gained the following skills:
1. Enhanced ability to employ a number of techniques in their writing.
2. An increased confidence in the use of those techniques, and their application.
3. An awareness that they are writing out of their ‘influences’ and into their own ‘voice’.

Fee options

Programme Fee

Home/EU Fee: £320.00

Non-EU Fee: £495.00

Apply for this course