Faculty Syllabus

Our Course

This survey course is designed to introduce you to the world of theatre, and hopefully, light a fire within you to continue your relationship with it outside of our time together. It will simultaneously serve as a foundation for students interested in studying theatre at the collegiate level and instill an appreciation and deeper understanding of theatre for those who intend to encounter theatre recreationally after this course.

In our time together we will wrestle with the big questions of: “What is theatre?”, “Why theatre?”, and attempt to move toward answers. We will study theatre history with the intention of gaining an understanding of how the past informs the now. We will immerse ourselves in a variety of theatrical forms and genres through a series of viewings. We will gain an appreciation of theatre and its artists, a critical lens through which we can view it, and vocabulary that allows us to think and talk about it. Finally, we will try our hands at some practical applications. For most of us we will find that getting up in front of one another isn’t so bad; for the rest of us, we will be inspired and invigorated by the practice.

Course Objectives:

By the end of this course the student will…

• Understand and appreciate theatre as a complex, multifaceted art form
• Be able to identify the six Aristotelian Elements of Drama
• Be able to generally map the dramatic structure and identify key dramatic components of a play
• Recognize the historical roots of contemporary performance trends
• Be able to distinguish among major types of theatre and genres of drama
• Be able to generally critique a theatrical production though a developed understanding of theatrical concepts and vocabulary
• Be able to identify the three major types of theatrical spaces and explain their differences when dealing with theatrical experiences
• Understand the basics of the theatrical production process
• Be able to describe the work of the actor and major styles of acting
• Be able to describe the roles of the stage manager and director in a contemporary theatrical production
• Be able to Identify the basic practices involved in dramatic writing
• Be able to identify the roles and responsibilities associated with designers (scenic, costume, sound and lighting)

ACC Drama Program’s Student Learning Outcome

• Performance Skills:  Students will demonstrate proficiency in the skills of the performer's physical and vocal instrument and the application of acting and performance techniques.
• Dramatic Analysis & Criticism:  Students will analyze and critique dramatic works of literature, performance and design using the Aristotelian elements of drama.
• Techniques and Craftsmanship:  Students will effectively handle materials, methods, and techniques to prepare and present neat, well-crafted projects using standard practices in the field.
• Design Principles:  Students will apply a variety of skills, methods, and technologies to create works that demonstrate basic knowledge of formal elements and principles of design.
• Professionalism in Collaboration:  Students will demonstrate professional decorum and discipline in collaboration with members of a dramatic production.

ACC’s General Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the general education component of an associate’s degree, students will demonstrate competence in:

• Communication Skills: Develop, interpret, and express ideas and information through written, oral and visual communication that is adapted to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.
• Critical Thinking Skills: Gather, analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply information for the purposes of innovation, inquiry, and creative thinking.
• Empirical and Quantitative Skills: Apply mathematical, logical and scientific principles and methods through the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions.
• Personal Responsibility: Identify and apply ethical principles and practices to decision-making by connecting choices, actions and consequences
• Social Responsibility (Civic and Cultural Awareness): Analyze differences and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.
• Teamwork: Consider different points of view to work collaboratively and effectively in pursuit of a shared purpose or goal.

Instructional Methodology

While a large component of this course involves lectures and demonstrations, it is also a participation-intensive course.  Course activities encourage students to move beyond readings and lectures to an active participation in the learning process through in-class exercises and activities, creative projects, presentations, and class discussions.  It is of the utmost importance that you attend class regularly and stay current with assigned readings, viewings, and written work to be able to participate to your fullest potential. Students will use the Blackboard learning management system for assignment instructions, submitting assignments, accessing course materials and grades, and virtual office hours by appointment.

Grading System

Grades will be updated regularly and be visible in the “Gradebook” menu section of Blackboard. You can consider the percentage in your “Weighted Total” to be your current, overall score in the course. Final grades will be accessible through your MyACC account and will be assigned as follows:

90-100%: A (excellent)

80-89%: B (good)

70-79%: C (meets minimum expectations)

60-69%: D (minimum passing, below expectations)

0-59%: F (not passing)

The weighting of the assignments and class components are as follows:

Class Participation – 25%

Play Responses – 20%

Quizzes – 15%

10-Minute Play Project – 15%

Group Production Project – 15%

Final Exam – 10%

Class Participation – 25%

This score encompasses your attendance, punctuality, participation in class activities and discussions, and general contribution to the learning environment.

This class works best as a communal learning experience. Participation is essential – it’s worth more than the final exam! Your attendance is required. Please follow the syllabus and come prepared each day. You will be expected to ask questions, respond to my questions, and make connections during lectures and be able to participate and speak intelligently in discussions. During discussions, don’t be afraid to speak up! Art is subjective and we are all entitled to our opinions. During readings and activities, don’t be afraid to dive in and have fun!  Your participation will enrich the class, help you to learn the material, and give you a head start when studying for our final.

Further, in many classes, we will be participating in enriching activities and readings. It is expected that you dive in, play, and volunteer to read often and do it with abandon and joy! You will not be graded on your acting prowess in this class; rather, I will consider your enthusiasm, demonstrated curiosity, and bravery.

Bring something (other than a phone) with which you can take notes each day. Bringing a tablet/laptop helps with Blackboard and script access while in class. Always be prepared with paper and a pen and pencil for in-class activities. Most students find it helpful to have a dedicated folder for the course for scripts and other handouts.

You will be assigned participation score every four weeks. Specific details on how your participation score are calculated in the “Course Policy” section of the syllabus.

Projects – 30%

Two projects will be assigned. Due dates are indicated in the course schedule below. The course and ACC policies apply to outside-of-class work sessions, rehearsals, or communications. Specific directions and grading rubrics will be posted to our Blackboard page.

• 10-Minute Play Project (15%): in addition to writing your own 10-minute play, you will actively participate in the creative process of your classmates.
• Group Production Project (15%): considering your expressed interests, you will be assigned a play and role and work collaboratively toward a performance on the final day of class.

Play Written Responses – 20%

Each time a viewing is assigned, you will be asked to complete written responses on the production via Blackboard. The goal behind these questions is two-fold: 1) to ensure you have, in fact, watched the play before class and 2) to help you formulate your thoughts before our in-class discussions.  Your responses to the plays are worth the following:

               Medea – 5%

               One Man Two Guvnors – 5%

               Frankenstein – 5%

               Pipeline – 5%

It is expected that your responses contain multiple sentences with minimal errors in spelling, punctuation, syntax, or grammar and that your writing demonstrates your ability to analyze the show using concepts and vocabulary from class. A grading rubric is available on our Blackboard page.

These responses must be completed before the start of class on the day they are due. If you do not watch the assigned production and submit your written responses by the due date, you can watch an alternative productions and submit an essay by the deadline. This may be completed only once. Directions and grading rubric can be found in the “Make-up Work and Extra Credit” section of our Blackboard page.

Final Exam – 10%

Your final exam will be posted to and completed on Blackboard. The exam is untimed and “open note” and questions will be mostly generated from in-class lectures and discussions. The final exam is cumulative (covering material from the entire semester) and questions will be in the format of multiple choice, true/false, sequencing, or matching. The exam should take you approximately one hour and fifteen minutes to complete.

Note: students with an “A” in the course (a “Weighted Total” of 90% or higher) when the exam is posted are exempt from the exam. Students with a “B” in the course may elect to take the exam. Students with a “C” or lower (79.4% or below) must take the exam.

Quizzes – 15%

Staying on top of your reading is critical to success in a college course. The reading serves to prime and prepare you for upcoming classes, reinforce critical themes, and offers the material through another voice. In an effort to ensure that you are staying current on your reading, a series of quizzes must be completed by their respective assigned dates as indicated in the course schedule below. These quizzes will be posted to Blackboard and are short (approximately 10 questions), untimed, and “open book”. Because these quizzes serve to prepare you for the day’s class, missed quizzes cannot be made-up. However, students may turn in an outline of a chapter (1 page of notes for every 5 pages of text) to make up for a missed quiz. This may be done twice.

Required Reading

• The Essential Theatre; 10th or 11th Edition by Brocket and Ball (the 11th Edition is preferred)
• Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (copy available on Blackboard)
• A TBD play for your group production project

Required Viewings

• The National Theatre’s production of Medea by Euripides translated by Ben Powers
• The National Theatre’s production of One Man Two Guvnors
• The National Theatre’s production of Frankenstein
• The Off-Broadway production of Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau

Course Schedule

Please refer to this daily. In addition to including quiz and assignment due dates, it lets you know what to expect in each class so you can prepare properly. Please have the readings and viewings done BEFORE each class. Updates to this schedule will be posted as an announcement to Blackboard and emailed out to the class.

Weeks 1-4

Wednesday, January 21

• Activity: Introductions
• Topics: Syllabus and Course Orientation

Monday, January 26

• Due: email introduction
• Due: Syllabus Quiz
• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “The Nature of Theatre”
• Due: Quiz on “The Nature of Theatre”
• Topic: Thinking About Art and Theatre

Wednesday, January 28

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “The Audience and Criticism”
• Due: Quiz on “The Audience and Criticism”
• Topic: Theatrical Terms and Superstitions

Monday, February 2

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “Theatrical Space”
• Due: Quiz on “Theatrical Space”
• Topic: Theatrical Space
• Activity: Theatre Terminology Sketches

Wednesday, February 4

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “Festival Theatre”
• Due: Quiz on Festival Theatre
• Topic: The Origins of Formalized Theatre

Monday, February 9

• Activity: Oedipus Rex Staged Reading

Wednesday, February 11

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “The Play”
• Due: Quiz on “The Play”
• Topic: The Elements of Drama
• Activity: Goldilocks Critique

Weeks 5-8

Monday, February 16

• View: The National Theatre’s production of Medea via Drama Online
• Due: Medea Written Responses
• Discussion: Medea
• Topic: Dramatic Storytelling

Wednesday, February 18

• View: re-watch a Favorite Movie
• Topic: Dramatic Storytelling
• Activity: movie analysis

Monday, February 23

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “Playwriting”
• Due: Quiz on “Playwriting”
• Activity: Playwriting Exercises

Wednesday, February 25

• Due: Playwriting Exercises and One Page of Original Dialogue
• Activity: Playwriting Workshop
• Topic: Playwriting Project Directions

Monday, March 2

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “Creating a Professional Theatre”
• Due: Quiz on “Creating a Professional Theatre”
• Topics: Theatre History – From the Greeks to the Renaissance, The History of Comedy

Wednesday, March 4

• Due: An Original Scene (2-3 pages)
• Activity: Playwriting Workshop

Monday, March 9

• View: The National Theatre’s Production of One Man Two Guvnors via Drama Online
• Due: Written Responses to One Man Two Guvnors
• Discussion: One Man Two Guvnors
• Topic: Shakespeare

Wednesday, March 11

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “From Romanticism to Realism/Theatre in the 1800s”
• Due: Quiz on “From Romanticism to Realism/Theatre in the 1800s”
• Topic: Romanticism

Monday, March 16 – Spring Break

Wednesday, March 18 - Spring Break

Weeks 9-12

Monday, March 23

• Activity: performing melodrama

Wednesday, March 25

• View: The National Theatre’s Production of Frankenstein via Drama Online
• Due: Written Responses to Frankenstein
• Discussion: Frankenstein
• Topic: Directing

Monday, March 30

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “Directing”
• Due: Quiz on “Directing”
• Activity: Directing

Wednesday, April 1

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “Modernism”
• Activity: Directing

Monday, April 6

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “Acting”
• Due: Quiz on “Acting”
• Topics: Realism and Acting

Wednesday, April 8

• Due: Playwriting Submission: 4-5 pages or a new scene (2-3 pages) and plot outline
• Due: Scored Script (objectives, beats, actions, and subtext)
• Activity: Acting

Monday, April 13

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “Musical Theatre”
• Due: Quiz: Musical Theatre
• Topic: Modern Styles & Musical Theatre

Wednesday, April 15

• Due: 10-Minute Play Rough Draft
• View: Pipeline via Blackboard
• Due: Pipeline Written Responses
• Discussion: Pipeline
• Activity: Playwriting Workshop
• Topic: Stage Management

Week 13

Monday, April 20

• Due: 10-Minute Play
• Activity: 10-Minute Play Readings

Wednesday, April 22

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapters on “Scenic Design” and “Costume Design”
• Due: Quiz: Scenic and Costume Design
• Topic: Theatrical Design

Monday, April 27

• Reading: The Essential Theatre Chapter on “Lighting and Sound Design”
• Due: Quiz on “Lighting and Sound Design”
• Activity: Group Production Project - Call-Backs
• Review Group Production project directions

Wednesday, April 29

• Reading: Your Play Multiple Times
• Due: Director Vision Questionnaires (Directors)
• Due: Ground Plans (Directors)
• Due: Scored Scripts (Directors and Actors)
• Activity: Group Production Project – Production Meetings and Blocking

Monday, May 4

• Activity: Group Production Project – off book scene work
• Due: actors off book
• Due: rehearsal reports (Stage Managers)
• Due: initial design sketches (designers)

Wednesday, May 6

• Activity: Group Production Project – full run-throughs with notes
• Due: final designs (Designers)
• Due: rehearsal reports (stage managers)

Monday, May 11

• Activity: Group Production Project - tech rehearsals
• Due: rehearsal reports (Stage Managers)
• Due: costume plots (Costume Designers)

• Due: writing on final designs (Designers)
• Due: rehearsal reports (Stage Managers)
• Due: Uta Hagan responses (Actors)
• Due: written concept statements (Directors)

Wednesday, May 13

• Activity: Group Production Project - performances
• Due: Rehearsal Reports (Stage Managers)
• Due: Scripts (Actors and Directors)
• Activity: Final Exam Review
• Discussion: Why Theatre?

*The Final Exam will be published on Friday, May 15, and must be completed by Sunday, May 17, at 11:59 pm. The Final Exam consists of approximately 70 questions (multiple choice, true/false, matching, and sequencing) and is open-note and untimed.

Students with an “A” in the course (90% or higher in the “Weighted Total”) upon the exam posting are exempt from the exam. Students with a “B” in the course may elect to take the exam. Students with a “C” or lower (79% or below) upon posting must take the exam.

All extra credit and acceptable make-up and late work must be submitted via Blackboard by 11:59 pm on Sunday, May 17.