TheatreH101

Materials and texts for Ohio State's Introduction to Theatre for Honors students, which uses manuscripts and primary sources to explore how the art of theatre is created.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Syllabus

Theatre H101 5 credits The Ohio State University
Autumn 2006
Title: Introduction to Theatre: Making History -- Honors Early Experience Research Seminar
TR 9:30 a.m. - 11:18 a..m. Drake 2068
Instructor: Dr. Alan Woods
1433 Lincoln Tower
2-6614 woods.1@osu.edu

Office: MW 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., T 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
and by appointment

Required Texts:
Reilly, Joy & M. Scott Phillips, Introducing Theatre (10th ed.) (Thomson Learning 2005)

Description: Introduction to all aspects of theatrical performance through examining primary source research material in the archives of the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute at The Ohio State University.

Learning Objectives: Through an examination of manuscripts in the International Center for Women Playwrights (ICWP) Archive, the Eileen Heckart Senior Theatre Collection, and other collections in the Lawrence and Lee Institute, students will learn the various steps through which a script reaches performance, the roles of the different members of a production team, and the conditions of performance at differing performance sites, ranging from professional to amateur, commercial to non profit. The cultural and aesthetic conditions which shape the generic concerns of performance artists will be explored.

Course Requirements: Each student will examine the work of an individual playwright represented in the ICWP Archive, and the conditions of production of that writer's work. In addition to exploring manuscript materials, each student will also interview the playwright and significant members of the producing team. Students will present the results of their research in a formal written paper. Two of the playwrights will be brought to campus in the second half of the quarter to participate directly with students in preparing staged readings of selections of their work. In this way students will not only examine the primary source materials in the archive, but also experience the process at an introductory level of preparing work for performance, working with the original artist.

Students will also be organized into groups of four as a theatre group, and will structure the theatre’s season around their individual plays. There will be two short written assignments as part of this process: 1) a season announcement; and 2) a brochure for season subscribers. Due dates are on the schedule below.

Field Work: Arrangements have been made for students to attend rehearsals at local productions in the Columbus area, pending student availability. Details will be worked out in the first class sessions.

Playwrights and texts:
Dan Aibel: Lapses
Shirley Barrie: The Pear Is Ripe
Ludmilla Bollow: In the Rest Room at Rosenbloom's
Katherine Burkman: Hungry Hearts
Alan Brody: Clara at One in the Morning
Neville J. Bryant: Roses in November
Carole Clement: Babes in America
Jean Cummins. Lives of the Saints
Catherine Filloux: Mary and Myra
Carolyn Gage and Andrea Jill Higgins: ‘Til the Fat Lady Sings
Nancy Gall-Clayton: The Snowflake Theory
Robert Gately: Hat Trick
Paddy Gillard-Bentley: White Noise, Comic Strip, Sanguine Sonata
Katy Hickman: Bright Boy: The Passion of Robert McNamara
Hole, Jonrick. Family Grave Dancing
G.L. Horton: Boston’s Brothers in Liberty
Margaret McSevenery and Elizabeth Roberts: Wallace’s Women
Kamath, Mrinalini: Celestial Motions
Sherry Kramer: When Something Wonderful Ends
Robin Rice Lichtig: Embracing the Undertoad
Larry Loebell: Girl Science
David Muschell: Birds in the Weather
Rebecca Nesvet: The Diamond Net
Rich Orloff: Advanced Chemistry
Janet Overmyer: My Beginning
Sandra Perlman: In Search of Red River Dog
Marcia Rudin: The Carina Limone Musuem
Caridad Svich: Luna Park

Grading:
Theatre season documents: 10%
Research Paper: preliminary draft 10%
Research Paper: final draft: 25%
Presentation of research: 10%
Final Examination: 25%
Staged Reading Preparation: 20%

R 9/21 Introduction: assignment of playwrights, concepts of archival research; rehearsal attendance

T 9/26 Theatre companies; theories and realities; Reilly & Phillips, "Conventions "
R 9/28 Archival research: reading assigned playwrights; Reilly & Phillips: "The Playwright" No class session.

T 10/3 Season announcement due.
R 10/5 Concepts of production: Reilly & Phillips, "Types of Drama"

T 10/10 Directorial concerns and practices; Reilly & Phillips, "The Director"
R 10/11 Rehearsal practices; Reilly & Phillips, "The Actor"; Season brochure due

T 10/17 Rehearsal realities
R 10/19 Design concepts: scenery and costume;Reilly & Phillips, "The Designer"

T 10/24 Design concepts: light and sound
R 10/26 Theatre context and audience; Reilly & Phillips, "The Audience"@

T 10/31 Technical realities;
R 11/2 Publicity, Public Relations, and Critical Response

T 11/7 Research paper preliminary draft due
R 11/9 Staged reading I: rehearsal with playwright

T 11/14 Staged reading I
R 11/16 Staged reading II: rehearsal with playwright

T 11/21 Staged reading II
R 11/23 Thanksgiving holiday; no class

T 11/28 Staged Reading III
R 11/30 Research paper final draft due; summary and conclusions