Venning Intro Syllabus Spring 2010 (1)

8/10/2019 Venning Intro Syllabus Spring 2010 (1)

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Thea 101: Introduction to Theatre

Department of Theatre, Hunter College Spring 2010Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:35 :50pm

!oom: H" 50#

$nstru%tor: Dan &enning 'ffi%e: H( 520)

)mail: d*enning+hunter%unyedu 'ffi%e Hours: -ri 2:15.3:15pm, or /y appt

Course Description and Objectives: $n $ntrodu%tion to Theatre e ill eplore the hys and

the hos of theatri%al produ%tion, paying parti%ular attention to the glo/al nature of theatre andits status as an art form that %rosses multiple %ultures /oth past and present '*er the semester

e ill ta%4le a num/er of uestions, in%luding the folloing: "hy do artists produ%e theatre,and hy do spe%tators attend theatri%al produ%tions6 Ho do the produ%ers of theatre go a/outtheir or4, and ho do e thin4 a/out the relationship /eteen artisti% pro%ess and final

produ%t6 'f parti%ular interest is the ay that theatre plays a %ru%ial role in shaping and

transforming identities and %ultures7 e ill eamine this topi%, through *arious lenses,throughout the %ourse of the semester

8y main goal as an instru%tor is to sho you my lo*e of theatre, and to foster your on

en9oyment, %riti%al appre%iation, and understanding of this %omple art form eter ;roo4 rites:

To play needs much work !ut when we e"perience the work as play# then it is not work

any more $ play is play%This fully arti%ulates my philosophy a/out this %lass ;ut that doesnainor, >arner, and u%ner, eds, The Norton Anthology of Drama?2 *ols@

$ndi*idual lays for ur%hase:

A Henri4 $/sen,A Dolls House

A ;ertolt ;re%ht, The Threepenny Opera

$ndi*idual lays on ;la%4/oard:

A ;ertolt ;re%ht, The Measures TaenA Bnna De*eare Smith,!ires in the Mirror

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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Course &e'uirements:

A !egular, prompt attendan%e:ou are epe%ted to /e in attendan%e for e*ery %lass and /e on time and ready to start $f

you must /e a/sent or late for medi%al or personal reasons, please spea4 to me and

pro*ide appropriate do%umentation )a%h student is epe%ted to parti%ipate in dis%ussion)*ery une%used a/sen%e after the third ill redu%e your final grade /y 2 Bny lateness

%ounts as half of an a/sen%e

A )ngaged and a%ti*e parti%ipation:

Theatre is a hands.on, %olla/orati*e art form, and $ epe%t that you ill %ome to %lass

ha*ing %arefully prepared the assigned materials, ready to parti%ipate ith uestions and

%omments a/out the readings lease note that $ ill e*aluate parti%ipation on /othuantity and uality >ood parti%ipation entails thoughtful and %ourteous responses to

your %olleagues, as ell as engaged listening arti%ipation ill %ount for 5 of your

grade

A !eading:

Bll readings should /e %ompleted /efore the %lass meeting for hi%h they are indi%ated

A "riting and EuiFFes:

During the semester, $ ill post four /rief uestions related to the reading on ;la%4/oardou ill /e responsi/le for riting a response to ea%h uestion of at least G50.1000

ords ?roughly one.and.a.half to to dou/le.spa%ed page@ and ;'TH e.mailing your

response to me B(D /ringing a hard %opy to me in %lass These responses are designed to

%hallenge your thin4ing a/out the material %o*ered in %lass and in the reading, %reating aforum for dis%ussion and de/ate and a 9umping.off point for our net %lass There are no

right or rong ansers to these uestions They should offer you an opportunity to

de*elop your %riti%al thin4ing s4ills, hone your opinions into %ogent arguments andformulate your thoughts into stru%tured riting I will count the best three o* your *our

responses

I will not accept late readin) responses$f you ha*e not e.mailed your response to me

/efore the /eginning of se%tion time hen it is due, and fail to /ring in a hard %opy, you

ill re%ei*e a Fero on that response 'nly illness ith a do%tor


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A erforman%e !e*ies:

ou are reuired to attend the Theatre Department produ%tion of ;re%ht


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in the tet and prepare a 3.5 minute demonstration, rite and perform a s%ene of your

on, produ%e a puppet play, dire%t other students in a s%ene, or %reate a dire%torial

%on%ept and partiture, or many other pro9e%ts of your %hoi%e=

The pro9e%t does not reuire that you a%t or perform in front of the group, although you

ill li4ely ha*e to present $deally, ea%h pro9e%t should /e 4ept to 3.K minutes per personin the group, includin) set.up and clean.up time

A )aminations

There ill /e a midterm eam in %lass on Tuesday# ,arch 1>and a final eam on

D$T6 $4D TI,6, in the same room in hi%h %lass meets )ams ill %onsist of

multiple %hoi%e, short ansers, and essay uestions There ill /e %lass time set aside tore*ie for ea%h eam

9rade !reakdown:

A Class parti%ipation: 5

A Creati*e ro9e%t: 10A !eading !esponses and EuiFFes: 20

A Theatri%al !e*ies: 20 total ?10 ea%h@

A 8idterm )amination: 20A -inal )amination: 25

Course 8olicies:

A )le%troni%s, ets, and >uests: lease turn off all %ell phones /efore %lass Do not

anser them, do not lea*e the %lassroom to anser them, and do not tet hile in %lass

Similarly, please donuests ?other than infants or small

%hildren@ are alays el%ome in %lass, /ut please %onta%t me /eforehand to let me 4no

you ha*e a guest %oming

A ).mail and 'ffi%e Hours: $ strongly en%ourage you to send me any uestions a/out the

reading, assignments, or dis%ussion, or to *isit me during my offi%e hours This ill help

me to get to 4no you, and you ill get more out of the %lass Bdditionally, %he%4 your

(unter Colle)e e.mail dailyand %he%4 ;la%4/oard often $ ill send any

%ommuni%ation to your Hunter College e.mail Hoe*er, it ill usually ta4e me at least

2K hours to respond to your e.mails $ ill respond as promptly as possi/le, /ut please tryto send important e.mails ell in ad*an%e $ am happy to meet ith you /y appointment

if my offi%e hours do not or4 for you Students may also lea*e messages in my mail/o

in the Theatre Department offi%e, H( 522 or /y %alling the department at 212GG251K#lease do not slip assignments under the door of H( 520)7 use my department mail/o

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8la)iarism:

(unter Colle)e re)ards acts o* academic dishonesty ?e) pla)iarism# cheatin) on

e"aminations# obtainin) un*air advanta)e and *alsi*ication o* records and o**icial

documents@ as serious o**enses a)ainst the values o* intellectual honesty The colle)e

is committed to en*orcin) the C24 policy on $cademic Inte)rity and will pursuecases o* academic dishonesty accordin) to the (unter Colle)e $cademic Inte)rity

8rocedures

8lease be aware that the o**icial de*inition o* pla)iarism is the unacknowled)ed use

o* three ?=@ or more words *rom another personAs writin)# or o* any o* their ideas

without proper attribution ou must cite your sources 8la)iarism is a serious

academic o**ense and can result in e"pulsion andBor a permanent record on your

colle)e transcript I* you have any 'uestions about how to cite a source# or i* you are

unsure about any material that you have included in an assi)nment# please contact

me I will be )lad to help you sort it out

I* you want help with citations or writin)# you may also contact the (unter Colle)e

&eadin) and ritin) Center *or any advice ?rwchuntercunyedu@ I would also

recommend that you purchase The Chicago Manual of Style, 15 th Edition hile

lar)e# it will prove invaluable in your academic career

I; O2 85$9I$&I6# O2 I55 !6 C$29(T $4D I55 ;$I5 T(6

CO2&36# $4D IT I55 9O O4 O2& 86&,$464T &6CO&D ItAs not worth

it ItAs also antithetical to the purpose and meanin) o* a colle)e education I* youAre

desperate and a written assi)nment is comin) due# talk to me# or turn it in late

instead

8lease note that $4 copyin) or 'uotation without citation is pla)iarismeven

*rom the te"tbook or plays we readE I* you 'uote# make sure to use 'uotation marks

and cite your sourceE $lso# please note that the assi)nments this semester do not

re'uire the use o* secondary sources

$ccessibility:

$n %omplian%e ith the Bmeri%an Disa/ility B%t of 1##0 ?BDB@ and ith Se%tion 50K of

the !eha/ilitation B%t of 1#G3, Hunter College is %ommitted to ensuring edu%ational

parity and a%%ommodations for all students ith do%umented disa/ilities andNor medi%al%onditions $t is re%ommended that all students ith do%umented disa/ilities ?emotional,

medi%al, physi%al, andNor learning@ %onsult the Hunter College 'ffi%e of B%%essB;$L$T

lo%ated in !oom )112K to se%ure ne%essary a%ademi% a%%ommodations -or furtherinformation and assistan%e please %all 212GG2KO5G

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3chedule:

eek: Date: TopicsB&eadin):

1 Th 1N2O $ntrodu%tion to Course, "hat is Theatre6!)BD World of Theatre, Chapter 1 ?after %lass@=

2 Tu 2N2 Theatre and the Budien%e

!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapter 27 ;ertolt ;re%ht,

The Measures Taen?;la%4/oard@

ou should start arran)in) to see a theatrical

production *or your *irst theatre reviewE

Th 2NK The Theatre Criti%

!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapter 159uest 3peaker: $llison 5yman

3 Tu 2N# erforman%e Traditions

!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapter 57 Da*id Henry Hang,M. "utterfly?(orton@ &eadin) &esponse 1 Due

Th 2N11 B%ting and the B%torThe Stanisla*s4i Te%hniue

!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapter G7 Henri4 $/sen,A DollsHouse

9uest 3peaker: Fenni*er Foan Thompson

K Tu 2N1 B%ting and the B%torTraditional -orms

!)&$)": World of Theatre, Chapter 5

Th 2N1O 4O C5$33 G (24T6& ;O55O3 ,O4D$

3C(6D256

5 Tu 2N23 B%ting and the B%tor-rom the 'utside $n

!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapter 7 Bnna De*eare Smith,

!ires in the Mirror?;la%4/oard@

Creative 8roject 8roposals due

Th 2N25 Theatri%al Spa%es

!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapters #

Tu 3N2 Designing in Theatre and erforman%e Traditions!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapter 10

;irst production review due


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Th 3NK 4O C5$33

G Tu 3N# The Dire%tor

!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapter O7 ;re%ht, Threepenny

Opera

Th 3N11 8idterm !e*ie, Creati*e ro9e%ts

&eadin) &esponse - Due

O Tu 3N1: ,idterm e"am in class

Th 3N1O: The Dire%tor, %ontinued

9uest 3peaker: 8ro* Foel !assin

# Tu 3N23: Set and Costume Design

!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapters 11 and 12

Th 3N25: Lighting Design and Sound Design!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapter 13

38&I49 !&6$7# ,O4 ,$&C( -H G ,O4 $8& /

10 Tu KN: Design "rap.Pp, Cat%h up from Spring ;rea4

9roup 8roject 8resentations due

Th KNO Dramati% Stru%ture

!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapter 3

11 Tu KN13 Tragedy and Bn%ient >ree%e

!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapter K7

Th KN15 Tragedy

!)BD: Sopho%les, Oedipus the #ing?(orton@

The Theatre Department production o* !rechtAs Threepenny Operadirected by 8ro*essor

Foel !assin will play in the 7aye 8layhouse *rom $pril -0.-/ ?B-0 G B- at Jpm and B-/

at =pm@ $ll students in Introduction to Theatre are re'uired to see this production The

tickets are *ree with your (unter Colle)e ID# available the day o* the per*ormance The

theatre is small so DO 4OT $IT *or the last *ew days to see the show I* you can only see

the production on a speci*ic day# buy your tickets in advance

12 Tu KN20 Tragedy, %ontinued!)BD: "ole Soyin4a,Death and the #ings Horseman

?(orton@

G


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Th KN22 Comedy

!)BD: "illiam Sha4espeare, T$elfth Night?(orton@

&eadin) &esponse = Due

13 Tu KN2G Comedy %ontinued

!)BD: 8oliQre, Tartuffe?(orton@Theatrical review o* Threepenny Operadue

Th KN2# Theatre of the B/surd!)BD: Samuel ;e%4ett, Waiting for %odot?(orton@

1K T 5NK 8a4ing Theatre Happen

!)BD: World of Theatre, Chapters 1K and 1

Th 5N Creati*e ro9e%ts

Creative 8roject 8resentationE

15 Tu 5N11 Cat%h.up and "rap.up, &eadin) &esponse Due

Th 5N13 -inal )am !e*ie

;I4$5 Tu 5N25, 5:20.G:20pm ;I4$5 6K$,# I4 4O&,$5 C5$33&OO,

This syllabus and schedule is subject to chan)e durin) the semester

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Documents

Venning Intro Syllabus Spring 2010 (1)