Introduction
This work was submitted by Dr Alex Mangold (Aberystwyth). The animated video was part of the creative assessment for a second year module named ‘The Language of German Drama’.
The module looks at several epochs, styles and playwrights in German Theatre history. It provides students with an opportunity to discuss philosophy, literary style, character and theatrical aesthetics through a number of representative plays, film excerpts and theatre scripts.
The example provided above is a mixture of representative style and content with iconic characters taken from the plays discussed as part of the module.
Assessment
The module discusses 10 representative playwrights and ends with an interactive theatre workshop or presentation. Students have to prepare one written dramatic piece or scene (in any format or medium) which will have to be presented or reflected upon in the module’s final two workshop sessions. The written piece and the presentations are each worth 20% of the overall mark.
The module offers students a choice. They can choose a more traditional presentation format or perform/direct/act in a dramatic scene. Students can submit a film/graphic novel/radio play or use any other medium of their own choice.
The final mark is a combination of the creative piece (20%), its enactment or presentation/discussion (20%) and a final essay-based exam (50%).
Rationale
Inviting students to write their own creative piece in German opens up a new form of discussion which allows for a truly personal engagement with the subject matter. Students relate their own experience of the plays and styles studied to their own dramatic plots. This in turn later allows for in-depth discussions of the module’s contents in the workshops. It also empowers students to use German in a more creative and more artistic way.
Creative modern languages 