The document provides instructions for a portfolio assessment in an Understanding Performance unit. It includes four required parts: a 500-word commentary on a quotation, a 500-word summary of an article, a 1000-word close analysis, and an annotated bibliography with a minimum of five sources. It also gives guidance on writing the 500-word commentary, including discussing the author, context, themes, and interpreting the quotation in relation to performance. Students are advised to structure the commentary with sections on author and context, themes, interpretation, and a conclusion.

1. Assessment Part A:
Commentary on a Quotation
by Louise Douse
Week3
UnderstandingPerformance

2. The Portfolio
Understanding Performance Week 3
When
• Friday 15th January 2021
What
• This assessment requires you to compile a
portfolio of all set writing tasks.This will include:
• a) Commentary on a Quotation (500 words)
• b) Summary of an Article (500 words)
• c) Close Analysis (1000 words)
• d)Timeline of key theorists and practitioners
• e) Annotated Bibliography (with a minimum of
five entries based on reading you have
undertaken for this unit)

3. The Portfolio
Understanding Performance Week 3
Weighting of the assessment
• This assessment forms 100% of the unit
Criteria for this assessment
• Demonstrate a sufficient subject knowledge of key
practitioners, practices, and theorists and their
historical contexts.
• Select the key historical ideas within both theoretical
and performance texts and express them in your own
words
• Communicate ideas using an awareness of the
conventions of grammar, spelling and formatting, with
a sense of structure. Have an awareness of good
academic practice.
• Undertake independent research in relation to the
historical concepts presented in the lectures.

4. Assessment Part A
 Commentary on a quotation
 Write a 500 word commentary on the following quotation:
 “[The text is a] multidimensional space in which a variety of
writings none of them original, blend and clash.The text is a
tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable centres of
culture.” (Barthes, p. 146)
 Barthes, R. (1977) ‘The death of the author’ in Image-Music-Text.
London: Fontana, pp. 142-148.
Understanding Performance Week 3

5. Commentary on a Quotation
 What is a commentary?
 Analysis - Detailed examination of the elements or structure
of something
 Explanation - Making an idea clear to someone by describing it
in more detail or revealing relevant facts
 Critical thinking –The objective analysis and evaluation of an
issue in order to form a judgement
Understanding Performance Week 3

6. So why might we want you to this
exercise!?
Discuss.
Week 3Understanding Performance

7. Reasons to quote
Quotations should be used sparingly and for the right reasons.
Quotations are useful for helping you:
 Give a definition
 State a fact or idea which the author has expressed in a unique
and powerful way
 Establish or summarise an author’s argument or position
Week 3Understanding Performance

8. Reasons not to quote
Don’t quote someone just because:
 You think that putting quotations in your essay will make it look academic and
will impress your tutor
 Some of the articles you have read used lots of quotations so your think your
essay should too
 You have written half your essay and haven’t used any quotations yet, so you
think you should put some in
 You haven’t given enough time to reading critically and making notes, so it
seems much easier to cut paste some quotations in your essay rather than
putting things into your own words
Week 3Understanding Performance

9. Commentary on a Quotation
 So, how do I go about it?
[The text is a] multidimensional space in which a variety of
writings none of them original, blend and clash.The text is a
tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable centres of
culture.
Week 3Understanding Performance

10. 1. The Author
 Who said this?
 Roland Barthes
 When was he alive – what era?
 What did he do?
 What was he known for?
Understanding Performance Week 3

11. 2. The Context
 When was it said?
 What publication?
 Why was it said?
 For what purpose was he writing?
Who was his audience?
 What is it’s relevance?
 How was it received? What’s its influence?
Understanding Performance Week 3

12. 3. Themes
 What does the quote mean?
 What does it reveal about the relationship between art and
culture?
 What does it say about interpretation?
 What are the key characteristics of postmodern art/practices?
Understanding Performance Week 3

13. 4. Interpretation
 How can this be understood in the context of postmodern
theatre/dance/performance?
 How does postmodern performance borrow from other art
forms/cultural practices?
 How are the key characteristics applied to performance?
 Is the author/playwright/director/choreographer really dead?
Understanding Performance Week 3

14. Structure
(500 words –
not including
quote)
Understanding Performance Week 3
The Author and
Context (150 words)
Who, what, when,
where, why, how?
Themes (150 words) Explain the quote
Interpretation (150
words)
Relate to
performance
Conclusion (50 words) Summarise key
arguments

15. Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It
takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of
deeper meaning. ~ Maya Angelou
MayaAngelou (1928-2014) was an African-American author, poet, dancer, actress and singer.
She was known for her defence of black culture through her intimately written autobiography I
KnowWhy the Caged Bird Sings in 1969. In the quote from her autobiography,Angelou is
commenting on her craft and on how her work only becomes meaningful when it is filtered with
the deeper meaning offered by multiple perspectives. In this, she addresses any and all readers
and encourages them to really connect with what they have read. In order for any reader or
audience to connect, it is important to think about what is being studied and to think about how
it is seen in the world, in your life, and in context of what you are reading or studying.One of the
most compelling reasons for studying the creative arts is the opportunity to push beyond the
literal into the substantial.The creative arts endure not because of the words on the page or the
steps learned but because of the meanings behind those words and steps. For example, The Lord
of the Rings (1954-1955) is a text which has had fame in all its forms, as a 3-part novel, 3-part film
and as a musical.The story is impactful because of the deeper meanings within the text as well
as in the tone of the voices used and the physicalization of the performers on the stage. Our
challenge is to push beyond what we literally read on a page or see on the stage and begin
infusing all that we see with the lens of human experience.
Week 3Understanding Performance