1. 1.  All course readings marked in the syllabus should be read prior to class. Read carefully, take notes and come to class prepared to discuss and apply the material. Homework is assigned to make sure you are completing the readings prior to class, to give you the chance to organize your thoughts, and to provide ample opportunity for students who may not feel comfortable speaking in front of large groups to express their thoughts and opinions. You are expected to use class time to pay active attention and take notes during lecture portions, contribute to discussions and take part in any application exercises.
   2. Discussion Questions: Students will submit answers to 2 discussion questions of their choosing prior to our in class discussion. Posts must be 200 words in length to receive credit, minus any quoted material. Students must also pose a question of their own for our discussion.
   3. Research Posts: In order to place the works we are reading and viewing in context, and prepare for project work., students will respond to one posted research article and post an additional one of their own.
   4. Project 1 Design SKM: Working in pairs, students will complete a character analysis and then translate it in to a visual costume design for their character(s). Students will also submit a reflection on their process.
   5. Project 2: Play Review-students will view either Medea or A Midsummer Night’s Dream and submit a play analysis and personal reflection connecting the performance to the historical underpinnings discussed in lecture and using the vocabulary of elements of production
   6. Project 3: Fences and Acting-students will complete a written empathy project on the character from Fences of their choosing
   7. Project 4 Dramaturgy: In small groups, students will deliver a presentation on the contemporary relevance of Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez play, accompanied by an individual dramaturgy display (See blackboard for a complete description of the assignment).

All readings (required and supplemental) will be available on blackboard. Students are required to read the following: “EF’s Visit”; She Kills Monsters; Everyman; Everybody; Zoot Suit. Students will be required to view either Medea or A Midsummer Night’s Dream (available through ACC library) and we will view August Wilson’s Fences in class.

COURSE SCHEDULE

READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE THE DAY THEY APPEAR ON SYLLABUS

Unit One: Plays on Stage and in Production

Week I                   1/18                        Introductions, Syllabus, Theatrical Terms and Ideas                                  

Week II                                                                                

1/23                        The Play

                                DUE: Read EF’s Visit

1/25                        Dramaturgy/Elements of Drama

                                DUE:  BB post 1 (Trifles Research) by 12pm 1/30

Week III                 1/30                        Elements of Drama/Acting

                                                                Due: Trifles plot chart rough draft-due in class

                2/1                          SKM      

Week IV                2/6                          Directing

                                                Due: BB post 2 (SKM discussion) by 12pm 2/6

                2/8                          Design

                                                                Due BB post 3 (SKM discussion) to blackboard by 12pm 2/8

Week V                  2/13                        Design/Project Work

                                                                Due bb post 4 (SKM research) to blackboard by 12pm 2/13

                2/15                        Project Work Day

                                                Due bb post 5 (SKM image research) by 12pm 2/15

UNIT 2 Theater Histories

Week VI                               

2/20                        Presentations/Egyptian Theater and Ritual

                                                                Due: Project 1 SKM Costume Design (in class) and Reflection-due

to blackboard by 2/22 at 5pm

2/22                        Greek Theater

Week VII                             

2/27                        Medea

                3/01                        Roman and Medieval

                                                                Due: bb post 6 Medea by 12pm 3/1

Week VIII             3/06                        English Renaissance

                                                                Due: bb post 7 Everyman by 12pm 3/6

                                3/08                        French and Italian Theater

SPRING BREAK 3/13-3/17

                                                                Watch:  A Midsummer Night’s Dream or (TBD)

Unit 3: Realism and African American Theater                                     

Week XIV             3/20        Melodrama

                                                                Due: Project 2 Play Review

                                3/22        Minstrelsy                            

Week X                                                 

3/27        Realism

                DUE: Bb Post 8 (Fences Discussion 1)

                3/29        African American Theater

Week XI                                DUE BB Post  9 (Fences Discussion 2)        

                                4/03        Watch Fences

                                                Due: bb post 10 (Fences Research Post 1) 

                                4/05        Watch/Discuss Fences

                                                Due: bb post 11 (Fences Research Post 2)

Unit 4: African American and Latinx Theater

Week XII              4/10                        Project Work Day

4/12                        Brechtian Theater

                                                                DUE: Project 3 FENCES  

Week XIII             4/17                        Burlesque and the Musical

4/19                        Latinx Theater

                                                                Due: (bb post 12 Zoot Suit discussion 1)

Week XIV             4/24                        Newspaper Theater/Theater for Social Change

                                                                Due bb post 13: Zoot Suit discussion 2)

                                Last Day to drop the course

4/26                        Watch Zoot Suit

                                                                Due: bb post 14 Zoot Suit research 1

Week XV               5/1                          Watch/Discuss Zoot Suit

                                                                Due: bb Post 15 Zoot Suit research 2

5/3                          Group Work

Week XVI            

5/08                        Group Work

                                5/10                        Final Presentations and Wrap up

                                                                ***Due Project 4/Final Reflection to bb by 5/13 at 5pm

* = Class Schedule is subject to change

For the Department of Drama:  The purpose of Austin Community College’s Drama Program, playing its part in seeking to support the overall mission of Austin Community College, is to provide students with the opportunity to achieve an Associate of Arts Degree, which is compatible with and comparable to the first two years of Drama education at other universities and colleges. It also seeks to prepare degree and non-degree students for industry jobs through real experiences on and behind the stage, and to establish competency in voice and diction, movement, improvisation, scene work, audition techniques, production work, stagecraft, and theater history. DRAM 1310, Introduction to Theatre, is also part of the CORE Curriculum Requirements for General Education and other degree programs.

For the Course:  By the end of this course, the student should:

1.  Develop skills in principles of dramatic analysis.

2.  Illustrate competency in dramatic interpretation.

3.  Display a basic knowledge of theatre history and genre.

4.  Become acquainted with the various roles and responsibilities in theatrical production.

5.  Evaluate a theatrical production using terms, principles and concepts outlined in this course.