Course

20810230 Introduction to Theatre
Course Information
Description
Examine and experience theatre in its various forms. Explore theatre as an art and industry from today back to its Greek origins. Learn about playwriting, acting, directing, and design and the roles they play in production. Analyze scripts, attend performances, and write artistic critiques.
Total Credits
3
Course Competencies
  1. Perform common theatre industry roles such as director, designer, performer and playwright
    Assessment Strategies
    Project, Skill Demonstration, Mock production of a play
    Criteria
    Differentiate production and administrative functions within professional theatre
    Categorize personnel groups (orchestra, actors, lighting technicians, etc.)
    Demonstrate stage movement (blocking)
    Implement effective stage design and scenery
    Use stage property
    Demonstrate costume use

  2. Perform collaboratively as part of a group or team
    Assessment Strategies
    Skill Demonstration, Oral
    Criteria
    Demonstrate active listening
    Perform individual duties assigned by group consensus
    Assess immediate tasks and tasks you will perform later
    Speak and/or write out your ideas
    Show respect for the ideas and opinions of group members
    Determine when task delegation and/or task elimination is needed
    Meet self-imposed or external deadlines or inform group if deadline is at risk
    Use scheduling tools, if applicable

  3. Analyze plot and character development
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product and/or Presentation
    Criteria
    Justify your selection of the inciting incident in a selected script
    Justify your selection of the episodes of action in a selected script
    Justify your selection of the crisis in a selected script
    Justify your selection of the climax in a selected script

  4. Examine dynamics and use of technique in stage performance
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product - Critique
    Criteria
    Explain the motivations of a character
    Describe how the play’s characters are developed physically in a selected script
    Critique includes performance analysis of at least one performer, focusing on the performer’s movement, voice, and character choices

  5. Analyze the essential functions of technical roles in production
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product - Critique
    Criteria
    Describe the functions of costume, lighting, set, sound, and properties design
    Describe the core functions of a theatre director
    Identify the key types of staging such as proscenium, thrust, and arena/in the round
    Assess lighting effectiveness
    Assess sound effectiveness
    Assess costume authenticity
    Assess makeup credibility
    Assess the stage design

  6. Review historical plays
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product, Exam
    Criteria
    Reviewed play is from ancient Greece
    Reviewed play is from the Renaissance Era
    Review includes the identification of the correct classification from the selected scripts as tragedy, comedy, melodrama, farce, or tragicomedy
    Review includes the identification of specific movements as realism, symbolism, expressionism, existentialism, or surrealism from the selected scripts
    Review includes clear explanation of the relevance of selected artists, works, and eras in theatre history
    Describe the historical origins of Commedia Dell'Arte
    Identify shapers of theatre history including Sophocles, Shakespeare, Brecht, and Stanislavski

  7. Write a short play
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product
    Criteria
    Play includes a plot structure applied to nonfictional storytelling
    Play integrates documentary theatre methods
    Play integrates a scene that demonstrates the book musical format
    Play implements specific elements of absurdism or expressionism to convey the play's internal message
    Design a sequence within the script that utilizes non-traditional performance art markers
    Rationalize the inclusion of a classical revival element
    Explain how modern themes and diverse casting choices offer a new perspective on a traditional story

  8. Evaluate the historical and contemporary impact of influential playwrights, composers, and theatrical works on the professional industry
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product and/or Exam
    Criteria
    Explain how the collaboration of Rodgers and Hammerstein shifted musical theater into an integrated musical format
    Assess the cultural significance of "Oklahoma"
    Use Theatre Communications Group (TCG) data to identify the most-produced playwrights and plays over the last decade
    Identify common themes or styles currently trending in American theater
    Analyze the cultural and artistic impact of “Hamilton”
    Differentiate between the Broadway model and the broader professional ecosystem

  9. Analyze the historical and contemporary impact of BIPOC artists and their work on the theatrical landscape
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product and/or Exam
    Criteria
    Identify the works and contributions of key BIPOC artists
    Evaluate the impact of plays by BIPOC artists that shaped the industry
    Explain revivals of classical works with more modern themes and diversity in casting
    Examine the rights of BIPOC artists to accurately depict and take ownership of stories reflecting their culture