PERFORMANCE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is one of the most powerful stages in the world today. From TikTok dances to Instagram stories, creators are using everyday tools—like phones, apps, and memes—to perform, tell stories, and connect with global audiences.

This course explores how social media is changing the way we understand and make performance. We’ll look at how comedy, theatre, storytelling, and sketch formats are being reimagined by content creators working across platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Threads. We’ll study how these creators grab attention, build audiences, and communicate meaning in fast, funny, emotional, surprising, or even challenging ways.

As well as watching and analysing social media content, students will create their own short-form videos. You’ll learn how to use performance techniques, respond to trends, and apply creative tools—like editing, framing, and sound—to make content that is both personal and shareable.

Through hands-on projects, peer feedback, and critical discussion, you’ll develop the skills to perform for mobile-first platforms and reflect on how digital culture is reshaping what performance means today.

Objectives:
• To understand how social media platforms are transforming the way in which performance meets audiences.
• To consider the possibilities and limitations of social media as a site for creative exploration.
• To create innovative content for social media.
• To reach global (bilingual English and Chinese) audiences.

Key Text:
• Theatre and Social Media (Revised Edition) by Patrick Lonegran, 2024. London & New York: Methuen Drama.