Madrid PAU Performing Arts II study plan
Madrid PAU Performing Arts II · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Theory and history of dramatic literature and performance & Analysis and commentary of dramatic texts
Build a chronological timeline of major periods of Western dramatic literature from Greek tragedy to the 20th century, placing at least 20 canonical authors on it with dates.
Define and correctly apply 15 core dramatic-theory terms (anagnorisis, peripeteia, catharsis, hamartia, dramatic irony, denouement, subtext, verisimilitude, unity of action) in your own words.
Produce a structural breakdown of one classical tragedy, identifying exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action and catastrophe.
Write a 300-word commentary on a short excerpt of your choice, arguing how form (verse, stichomythia, monologue) supports meaning.
Your checkpoint
A one-page timeline plus a 300-word practice commentary scored against a self-made rubric (thesis, evidence, terminology, structure).
Theory and history of dramatic literature and performance & Analysis and commentary of dramatic texts
Compare the dramatic conventions of Spanish Golden Age comedy (Lope's arte nuevo: three acts, polimetría, breaking the unity of time) with French neoclassical rules, listing at least five concrete differences.
Analyze character construction in one Golden Age play, distinguishing the gracioso, the galán and the dama and citing textual evidence for each.
Practice a timed 45-minute commentary on an unseen passage, moving from literal paraphrase to interpretation of theme and dramatic function.
Identify and explain at least ten rhetorical and versification devices (redondilla, romance, silva, aparte, quintilla) with an example of their dramatic effect.
Your checkpoint
One full timed commentary (intro, analysis, conclusion) on an unseen Golden Age passage, written in 45 minutes without notes.
Theory and history of dramatic literature and performance & Analysis and commentary of dramatic texts
Trace the shift from Romantic drama (Don Álvaro, Don Juan Tenorio) to realist and naturalist theatre, naming the formal features that changed (verse to prose, hero to milieu, soliloquy to fourth-wall staging).
Analyze how a realist play uses stage directions, props and offstage space to carry meaning, quoting at least three textual details.
Deconstruct the plot of one modern tragedy using Freytag's pyramid and then critique where the model fails for that play.
Write a comparative paragraph (200 words) contrasting how two plays from different periods stage a recognition scene.
Your checkpoint
A comparative 200-word paragraph plus an annotated list of ten formal features distinguishing Romantic from realist drama.
Theory and history of dramatic literature and performance & Spanish and international theatre traditions and movements
Map the major 20th-century movements (expressionism, epic theatre, theatre of the absurd, Artaud's theatre of cruelty, postdramatic theatre) onto a chart of practitioner, key text, and core principle.
Explain Brecht's alienation effect and Artaud's cruelty in your own words and give one concrete staging device that realizes each.
Analyze one absurdist play for how it dismantles causal plot, character psychology and coherent dialogue, citing three examples.
Connect at least two Spanish post-war playwrights to European movements, arguing influence or divergence with evidence.
Your checkpoint
A movement-practitioner-device chart covering eight movements plus a 250-word argument on one Spanish playwright's relation to a European movement.
Stagecraft, staging and performance production & Theory and history of dramatic literature and performance
Draft a full staging concept for a chosen scene: set, lighting, costume, sound and casting, justifying each choice by reference to the text.
Explain the roles and workflow of director, stage manager, set designer, lighting designer and sound designer, and describe how a production moves from read-through to opening night.
Analyze how lighting and sound create mood and rhythm, giving three practical examples of cueing decisions.
Identify at least five safety and logistics constraints (sightlines, load-in, budget, rehearsal time) that shape a staging decision.
Your checkpoint
A two-page staging dossier for one scene: concept statement, ground plan sketch described in words, cue list of at least eight cues, and justification tied to the text.
Performance spaces, audiences and reception & Stagecraft, staging and performance production
Compare at least five performance-space types (Greek amphitheatre, corral de comedias, proscenium arch, thrust, black box, site-specific) by audience-performer relationship and acoustic consequence.
Explain how the physical space historically shaped playwriting, giving one example from the Spanish corral and one from the proscenium stage.
Describe the variables of audience reception (expectation, audience composition, applause conventions, censorship, criticism) and analyze how they can change a play's meaning.
Write a 250-word review of a filmed or live performance, separating description, interpretation and evaluation.
Your checkpoint
A 250-word performance review plus a comparison table of five space types across audience relationship, acoustics and staging implications.
Analysis and commentary of dramatic texts & Spanish and international theatre traditions and movements
Complete two full timed commentaries (45 minutes each) on unseen passages from different periods, applying the same structure each time.
Self-assess both commentaries against the exam criteria, marking where evidence was thin or terminology missing, and rewrite the weakest paragraph.
Summarize in your own words the defining features of at least six international traditions or movements and one representative work each.
Build a quotation bank of 20 short, memorable lines from your set texts, each tagged by theme so you can deploy them under time pressure.
Your checkpoint
Two timed commentaries plus a rewritten paragraph and a 20-entry thematic quotation bank.
Theory and history of dramatic literature and performance & Analysis and commentary of dramatic texts & Stagecraft, staging and performance production & Performance spaces, audiences and reception & Spanish and international theatre traditions and movements
Simulate a full exam under timing conditions, covering theory, commentary and staging questions, and score it against the official criteria.
Review your error log and re-teach the three weakest sub-topics from your own notes without consulting the textbook.
Consolidate the timeline, movement chart, space table and quotation bank into one two-page revision sheet.
Rehearse three staging-concept justifications aloud in under three minutes each to build fluent, evidence-based argument.
Your checkpoint
One complete mock exam scored against the criteria plus a two-page consolidated revision sheet.
Milestones
Week 2: You can write a structured commentary on an unseen passage in 45 minutes, with a clear thesis, at least five quoted details and correct use of dramatic terminology.
Week 4: You can place any named playwright on your timeline and movement chart and state two formal features of their work without notes.
Week 6: You can justify a staging choice by reference to the text and to the performance space, and you can distinguish description from interpretation in a review.
Week 8: Your mock exam scores at or above your target band on every domain, and your error log shows no repeated weakness in the two heaviest domains.