Final Project

Performance Intervention and Documentation (Final Project)

Working in teams, choose an issue you care about, that affects your life or community, and that you believe needs addressing. Compose a research question and gather information about the issue and about past and/or current strategies that have been or are being used to effect change. Drawing from your research, create and/or participate in a live, public performance event with the goal of inciting change, generating awareness of or creating a critical conversation about the issue. Consider: Which community does your issue effect? What is the goal of your performance? What is the significance of the space where your live, public performance occurs? What theatrical  strategies are used and why? What is your role in the performance and who are the other players involved? Finally, who is your audience and how do you encourage participation, either as part of the performance or after the event as actors in the social arena.

Each student needs to contribute to the team projects in all stages: research, performance, documentation, and final in-class presentation. During final presentations at the end of the semester, each member of the group needs to present on one aspect of the project for 4-5 minutes (in other words, each group of four members will have up to 20 minutes to present their material to the rest of the class). There will also be time for questions and discussion after presentations. One member of each group could be assigned to field questions and lead a post-presentation discussion.

Final Project Components: 

Annotated Bibliography

Use your annotated bibliography to record research conducted on the history of the selected issue, the architectural aspects of the place where the performance occurs, and performative strategies used. Include a minimum of 2 sources per group member. MLA format.

Consult assignment guidelines and template for more details.

10% of final grade

Annotated Bibliography Rubric

  • 25% Quality and relevance of sources
  • 25% Formatting of bibliography & citations
  • 25% Execution of critical summary
  • 25% Analysis of sources in relation to project topic

Performance and Documentation

Documentation of your live public performance may take the form of a video, podcast, photo essay, or interactive map. Alternative documentation formats will be considered but must be approved by instructors in advance.

20% of final grade

OpenLab Project Site

A section of an OpenLab project site will be created by each group, containing an introduction to the project, a summary of research findings, an annotated bibliography and citations for all additional sources consulted, planning and promotional documents related to the performance event, documentation of the live event (see above), and anticipated outcomes of your performative intervention including the impact on the urban environment where it takes place.

10% of final grade

In-class Presentation

Each group has 20-25 minutes to discuss their project. You should display your work on OpenLab project site and discuss all the elements there. Every member of the group must participate in the presentation. Importantly, the presentation is a moment to conduct a reflection on the different stages of development, performance, and documentation. Think about the successes and shortcomings of the performance. Why were certain aspects successful and why did certain aspects fall short of expectations? What might you have done differently if you could do it again? The presentation is not about convincing the audience that the performance was a complete success. Rather, it is about showing that you can think critically about your own work.

Preparation:

  • Create speaking notes: a bullet-point list of topics on a piece of paper so you don’t go off topic while speaking.
  • Use concepts from the course readings and lectures to conduct a meta-analysis of the development, performance, and documentation process. Cite specific readings, guest lectures or site visits to frame your observations or make comparative analyses.
  • Time yourself and practice presenting ahead of time. Five minutes will seem longer when you are speaking in front of a group of people. You also want to practice to make sure you are staying on topic and you are able to express everything you need to say in the period of time provided.
  • Work collaboratively. Make sure each member in your group understands their role.

10% of final grade

 

Grading Rubric for Intervention Documentation and Presentation

RESEARCH

25 22 19 16
To what degree did the group research and understand the particular site of intervention, performance tactics, and the target issue? Excellent in all areas. Relevant and appropriate materials used. Research was well integrated into the performance and / or documentation. Very good demonstration of research ability. Some minor gaps in research and sources could be better integrated into performance and / or documentation. Average demonstration of research ability. Some sources are not appropriate or a good fit for the project. Integration of research into performance and / or documentation needs improvement. Poor in all areas.

SPACE AND PERFORMANCE

25 22 19 16
How well did the site of intervention support the performance, in terms of appropriate audience, choreography, sound, and use of space? Excellent. Creative use of space and performance materials. Relationship between performance, space, and issue are clear. Strong engagement with audience. Very good use of space and performance materials. The choice of performance space is logical. Engagement with audience is good. Average creativity. Choice and use of performance space is decent, but uninspired. Minimal engagement with audience.   Poor in all areas.

CRITICAL RESPONSE

25 22 19 16
How well did the group summarize their experience and analyze the effects of their intervention, particularly by engaging concepts from the course readings and seminars? Excellent. Students expertly used concepts discussed in class to reflect on their experience and evaluate the impact of their performance. Students consider audience reactions and potential social outcomes. Very good. Students incorporated concepts from the course in their self-reflection. Impact on audience is considered on a basic level. Connections made between performance actions and potential benefits to society. Average. Minimal use of concepts from the course. Average level of self-reflection. Cursory examination of audience impact. Poor in all areas.  

DOCUMENTATION

25 22 19 16
How effectively did the group document the event with audio, video, podcast, and/or text? How effectively was that material organized on OpenLab, presentation slides, social media, etc.? Documentation was complete and appropriate to the performance. Site was well organized and designed. Very good. Documentation was appropriate and complete. Information on the site was discoverable. Average. Documentation method was not a great fit for the project or elements were missing. Site design and organization could be improved. Poor in all areas.