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The overall objective of the Dramatic Art Course is to train, educate and equip students with the vocational skills required for a professional career in the dramatic arts.
The emphasis is on the study, practice, and mastery of practical skills informed by theoretical studies, which will enable the student to survive as a professional in the industry.
Lecturers are drawn from the professional industry and the standard expected from students is very high. To graduate from the Dramatic Art Course of the SASFTDA a student must demonstrate the ability to :
The SASTFDA offers two distinctive courses in dramatic art :
Both diplomas allow specialisation in one or more of the following disciplines :
Drama students are also required to act in various film and video productions produced by students of the Film & Television Department. It is very difficult for students enrolled in the Dramatic Art Course to maintain regular part-time employment.
(2 years, full-time)
In the first year students attend compulsory classes in all three of the above disciplines, as the techniques and skills acquired in each of these disciplines during the first year are regarded as an essential grounding for a successful professional career, regardless of the area of specialisation.
In the second year students are required to select one of the three courses as a major and a second as a sub major, while also attending all the classes in the Core Course.
Apart from the regular projects in acting, directing, and play writing for class, the school also mount extensive departmental productions every term. In July the school also takes a number of productions to the National Festival of the Arts in Grahamstown.
In the first year of the Acting Course students are trained in the basic skills and techniques required for :
Principle texts and methodology in first year acting include :
Although the acquisition of skills and technique for the stage is the primary focus of the first year, students are also trained in the elementary application of the above five areas of skill in acting for the camera.
In the first year of The Directing Course students are trained in the basic skills and techniques required for :
Textual analysis is concerned with the techniques and skills required for developing a coherent interpretation of the script, which includes the analysis of structure, communication themes, archetypes, given circumstances and the historical context of the script; visualising character; designing the theatrical environment; and developing floor plans.
Stagecraft is concerned with the study of the evolution of the stage from the Greeks to the modern day; stage configurations; the evolution of costume; and dramatic theory.
Directing performance focuses on the director's responsibilities in shaping the actor's interpretation and performance of a character; the psychology og the actor; and rehearsal procedure and technique.
In the first year of The Play writing Course students are trained in the basic skills and techniques required for :
In the origination of dramatic ideas students are guided through a carefully structured process of self-cognition, right-brain development, freeing the imagination, developing a philosophical disposition, the study of culture, literature, and the anatomy of emotion; as well as the techniques and skills for assessing the dramatic viability of an idea and bringing it to dramatic fruition.
The shaping of structure brings the student to a thorough understanding of the universal beginning-middle-end structure of dramatic narrative, the treatment of time and space, and a sense of the dramatic through the placement of emotion in a text.
The manipulation of plot looks at the idea of "beats" in a text, the means of complicating a story to hold audience interest, the handling of sub-plots, and the relationship between action and thought in a dramatic text.
In the creation of character students study the sourcing of characters for use in dramatic narratives; the factors that determine character; the factors that reveal character; and the methods for the creation of complex character.
In the generation of dialogue, students learn to develop an ear for and capture on paper the patterns of colloquial speech; to generate comic and magic dialogue; style and rhythm; concealment of exposition; and techniques for the generation of meaningful yet natural dialogue.
The second year is an intensely practical year in which students are expected to consolidate and refine the skills acquired in the first year, while still expanding their skills-base in terms of the course modules as stipulated in the first year course outline.
The second year is structured along a two-pronged approach :
While continuing with their studies in their major and sub-major areas of specialisation, all students are required to attend classes stipulated in the core course.
The Core Course consists of modules that are deemed essential to the development of professional theatre practitioners regardless of their areas of specialisation.
Core Course modules include :
Second year acting student will be required to demonstrate advanced mastery of character, dialogue, style, presence, and voice in regular performances in departmental productions and various class projects.
Second Year Acting Major students will also be trained in the skills required for :
Second Year play writing students will be required to demonstrate advanced mastery of the origination of dramatic ideas, structure, plot, character and dialogue construction in the writing of at least 4 extended monologues, 1 one-act play (comic or tragic) and 1 full-length drama (comic or tragic).
Playwriting major students will also be trained in the writing skills required for :
Second Year directing students will be required to demonstrate advanced mastery of the skills relating to textual analysis, stagecraft, and the directing of the actor in the directing of :
Directing major students will have preferential admission to the Film & Television Course should they wish to augment their directing skills in the area of film and television upon graduating from the diploma in Dramatic Art.
(1 year, full-time)
The main objective of the Advanced Diploma course is to provide a final professional finish to the student's training and to allow for a deeper consolidation of the skills acquired in the two-year Diploma Course.
In the Advanced Diploma Course the student stands with one foot in the department and the other in the profession. It is a year in which the student is guided through the professional and semi-professional production of projects within his/her area of specialisation.
All students registered for the Advanced Diploma Course will function as a professional production team under the guidance of the staff of the school, and will be responsible for the origination and production of various pieces with the purpose of selling it to a paying audience.
Advanced Diploma Students will be paid a fee from the profits generated by all the productions in which they take part.
While Advanced Diploma students spend most of their time in rehearsal and production and do not attend regular classes, they will be required to attend master classes and tutorials offered by professionals from the industry from time to time.
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