Playwriting and Dramaturgy (Taught)

This Masters gives you a practical and theoretical engagement with the many forms of writing and production for theatre. Blending practice, theory and history, the programme is designed for those wishing to develop playwriting skills and knowledge of script development and support, opening the way to many theatre roles, including dramaturgy. You will learn about the changing roles of the playwright and dramaturge in contemporary theatre in the UK and elsewhere around the world, and be supported to define your own creative practice while developing valuable transferable skills in research, project management and critical reflection.

WHY THIS PROGRAMME

• In addition to being taught by world-class scholars, you will work with professional writers, dramaturgs and theatre-makers ensuring you engage with a wide variety of practices and that the programme content is relevant and up to date with the latest trends in theatre.

• The programme includes the opportunity for playwrights to develop a major script through workshops and staged readings with professional actors and theatre directors.

• In addition to masterclasses and workshops with external specialists, the work placement option and visiting speaker series build on our long-term links and collaborations with an extensive number of theatre practitioners and arts organisations. These include the National Theatre of Scotland, the Playwrights’ Studio, The Tron Theatre, the Citizens’ Theatre, and A Play, A Pie and A Pint at Òran Mór.

• In recent years the playwriting modules on this programme have been led by acclaimed professional playwrights including Lewis Hetherington and Lynda Radley, and the script workshop by leading director Philip Howard.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Our programme is the only one in Scotland that combines playwriting with dramaturgy. You will undertake core practical playwriting and dramaturgy courses before choosing to specialise in one pathway involving a dramaturgy placement or the creation of a full-length script. You will also produce an independent research-based project over the summer.

Semester 1: September to December
Research Methods
Playwriting 1
Debating Dramaturgy

Semester 2: January to March
In semester two you will take one compulsory core course.

Core course
Contemporary Dramaturgical Practices

Optional courses
You will choose one programme-specific option. You can choose between:
Theatre Studies PGT Work Placement
Playwriting 2

You will also choose another optional course from Theatre Studies or the wider College of Arts and Humanities.

For this, we recommend taking:
21st Century Theatre in Britain: New Writing in Context

However, this course may interest those wishing to develop skills in applied theatre:
Applied Theatre: Contextual Practices and Critical Pedagogies

Alternatively, you may choose any suitable course from Theatre Studies or the wider College of Arts and Humanities subject to availability. You may even select a course that runs in Semester 1 rather than Semester 2.

Some potential examples are:

Contemporary Devising Practices
Performing Character
Practising Location: Space, Place and Landscape
Making Time: performing and thinking temporalities in the creative arts
Digital Art and Performance (20 Credits)
Festivals
Genders
Queer Exceptions

Please note that the optional courses available may vary from year to year.

Summer: April to September
Individual Research Project (Dramaturgy)