Introduction to Theatre

Mr. Paynter

paynters@wcsoh.org

I.  Course Overview

Introduction to Theatre is a course in which students will be exposed to the many facets of theatre:  the structures and types of plays, historical developments in the theatre arts, an introduction to the basic principles of acting, the viewing of actual productions in the community, and an introduction to the technical aspects of theatre.  Students earn .50 elective credit toward graduation, and it counts as visual/performing arts credit for college entrance expectations.

II. Course Content

The following constitute the topics of study in the course:

History of the Theatre:  Greek, Roman, Middle Ages, Elizabethan, Restoration through Modern, Experimental, the American musical; physical theater designs, styles and structures of plays, major plays and playwrights, theatre conventions, important terms.

Technical Theatre:  Types of stages, stage areas, theatre production, special effects, scenery, sound, lighting, costumes, changing scenery, make-up.

Styles of Theatrical Presentations:  Reader’s theatre, oral interpretation/dramatic reading, puppet shows, children’s theatre, experimental theatre, conventional theatre, musical theatre, dance, pantomime; playwriting, stage directions, presentations.

Literature and Reading:  Plays to be read may include Oedipus Rex, Sophocles; Our Town, Wilder; The Glass Menagerie, Williams; The Importance of Being Ernest, Wilde; The Dumb Waiter, Pinter; independent reading selections.

Acting:  Monologues and dialogues; inflection, projection, emotion, diction, physical carriage.

III.  Course Materials

Textbook: The Theatre Experience, 8^th Edition.  Edwin Wilson. © 2001.

Independent reading:  students may select titles from a collection of plays stored in the classroom.

Supplies:  Students should bring planners, pen/pencil, notebook paper, and class folder/notebook to class every day; students should bring independent reading to class when applicable.  Students may need to acquire art supplies for projects/presentations (e.g. making puppets for puppet shows). When using the writing lab or computers, students will need a floppy disk, flash drive, or other storage device.

Lab equipment: Building computers are PC, Windows XP, with MS Word, Publisher, Excel, & PowerPoint.

IV. Course Policies

1. Absences and make-up policy follows the guidelines in the student handbook.
2. Tardiness policy follows the guidelines in the student handbook.
3. Late work will be docked 1 grade (10%) for every day the work is late, no more than 50% of the earned score.
4. Discipline and hall pass policies follow the guidelines in the student handbook.
5. Independent reading, polishing writing assignments, and preparing class presentations will constitute the majority of homework for this class.
6. If a student copies another’s work (or allows his/her work to be copied), he/she will receive no credit for the assignment.

V.  Grading Policies

1. Grading scale is the district standard (98-100%=A+, 92-97%=A, 90-91%=A-, 88-89%=B+...).

     B.  Assignments will be weighted according to level of difficulty, effort required, and time allotted.

     C.  Whenever possible, assignments will reflect an equal balance between academic tasks (notes, reading, writing, tests and quizzes) and performance tasks (presentations, skits).

     D.  Semester grades will be calculated by the following categories, unless an exemption from the exam pertains (in which case the semester grade will be an equal average of the two quarters):

            40%     First quarter                                     

            40%     Second quarter                                            

            20%     Semester/Final exam                                   

E.  Extra credit will be offered to those who work on Westerville Central Theatre Department’s technical crews (5 points for every hour of work).  Hours are not redeemable for both Thespian points and extra credit (one or the other).  Extra credit will also be offered to those who attend a theatrical performance during the duration of the course and write about their experience.  Written responses should be approximately one page in length and should draw connections between the performance they viewed and the topics we have studied in the course.  Ticket stub should be stapled to the written response (15 points).

F.  Types of assessment tasks for the course are wide-ranging.  They will include traditional quizzes/ tests, individual and group presentations, performances, playwriting, and written responses.  Students will always be given scoring criteria when they are given assignments.

VII.  Words of Wisdom

To succeed in this class, I suggest you do the following:

1. Trust yourself and do your best work; everyone’s best work will earn him/her a passing grade.
2. Invest some effort.  While this is not a particularly demanding class, students earn the same credit for this class as they do for English, history, science or math semester courses.  If you do not invest much effort, the course will be difficult and your grade will reflect your efforts.
3. Try some extra credit; the options offer interesting educational alternatives to the traditional classroom.

Contact Information

For quickest response, contact me by email.

Scott Paynter              paynters @ wcsoh.org                      

school 797-6800          voicemail  797-8580